224 



THE ESSENTIALS OF AGRICULTURE 



the top. The flowers are open and the pollen is carried through 

 the air ; consequently the varieties cross readily. 



The sorghums grown in the United States are sorgo, broom 

 corn, kafir, kaoliang, shallu, durra, and milo. 



292. Sorgo. The sorgos (often called " cane " or sweet sor- 

 ghum) were with one exception brought from Natal, South Africa, 

 in 1 8 5 7. Amber sorgo was brought from China to France in 1 8 5 1 . 



FIG. 106. Typical heads of standard varieties of sorghum 

 i, Eariy Amber; 2, Black Dwarf; 3, Kansas Orange; 4, Colman 



The flower and seed heads are short and dense, having numerous 

 short branches. The pith contains a large quantity of sweet juice. 

 The plants were first grown for sugar and sirup, but are now grown 

 for fodder, hay, silage, and sirup. The leading varieties (Fig. 

 1 06) are Amber (Black, Red, Minnesota, and Dakota), Orange, 

 and Sumac (Redtop). Others which are grown more locally are 

 Planter, Collier, Sapling, Honey, Gooseneck, and Freed. All of 

 these have brown seeds, except the Freed, which has white seeds. 



