444 



THE FAHMERS HANDBOOK. 



drought — ful)y[meets the requirements. Its capacity for thriving under dry 

 conditions is remarkable, and renders it one of the most valuable fodder 

 plants for dry districts. A few acres of this crop each year would provide 

 an insurance against drought, and make an excellent substitute for chaff 

 and other feeding stuffs winch would otherwise have to be purchased. 

 At the same time, the succulent green feed it produces keeps stock in a 

 healthy condition, and counteracts the tendency to colic and other diseases 

 prevalent when only dry feed is available. In more favoured districts it is 

 supplementary to maize rather than a main crop. 



•Sorghum will stand more frost than maize when mature, and this makes it 

 valuable for preserving a continuance of green feed into winter. Maize is 

 cut off early, but soighum retains its succulence, and this makes it a favourite 

 crop for autumn feeding. 



In America sorghum is. highly recommended as a crop for dry regions, and 

 is extensively grown where the conditions are too arid for the staple crop — 

 maize. It is used as green feed, hay and silage, and in some States the sweet 

 varieties are used for the production of syrup, though owing to the cheap- 

 ness of cane sugar it has not been used here for the latter purpose. 



The Soil. 



The following figures, based on an analysis of green fodder taken from 

 Henry's " Feeds and Feeding," show the quantities of plant-food absorbed 

 from the soil per acre by a crop of 15 tons of sorgum and maize : — 



They show that sorghum, in comparison with maize, makes small demands 

 upon the soil, and we find when we compare the quantities with those 

 removed by other farm crops, that they are by no means heavy. Sorghum 

 has a vigorous root system which enables it to exploit a considerable area of 

 soil, and utilise to the full its inherent fertility. Added to this, the season 

 of its growth is particularly favourable to the chemical and bacterial 

 agencies which are at work fulfilling their functions of releasing plant-food. 

 This combination of plant capacity to obtain food with rapid increase in the 

 available ingredients through changes in the soil, enables sorghum to thrive 

 on almost all classes of land. 



The most suitable soils are the deep sweet loams or alluvial soils, and on 

 these heavy yields are obtained. When such soils are available, little 

 manuring is required, and it is not necessary to enter into expensive tillage 

 operations to secure profitable yields. On many farms, however, areas of 

 poor land are found which are not suitable for most crops. Our experience 

 with sorghum shows that, when proper methods are adopted, such soils can 



