466 THE farmers' handbook. 



When to Harvest. — The right time t<> harvest depends on the manner in 

 which the crop is to be fed to stock. If it is desired to feed it whole— stem, 

 leaves, awd grain — it should be cut when the seed is in the firm dough stage. 

 The flag will remain fairly green and succulent up to this stage ; but by the 

 time the grain is quite ripe the stems have become quite pithy, the leaves 

 dry and dropping off, and the feoding value of the green part of the plant 

 considerably lessened. If, however, only the grain of the sorghum is 

 desired, Milo and Feterita can remain some considerable time in the field 

 without much deterioration or shedding of the grain. Kaoliang is the only 

 grain sorghum likely to shed its seed if not harvested shortly after it is 

 mature. Heavy rains, however, appear to seriously affect the colour and 

 possibly the feeding qualities of the grain of Milo when it is quite mature. 



Method of Hart esting. — If the cutting of the whole crop is desired it will 

 be found that it is too heavy for the wheat harvester, and a machine like 

 the maize harvester is necessary. Cutting the crop by hand and soiling it 

 like maize or Planter's Friend is neither practicable nor desirable, owing 

 to the habits of the plant. 



If the crop is grown for grain only, there are different ways of dealing 

 with it. The heads can be cut or broken by hand, as are the cobs in maize, 

 and afterwards heckled, crushed, or fed whole. The ordinary grain-separator 

 heckles the seed from the heads very readily. One of the best methods, 

 however, of harvesting the heads is by means of the grain header — a 

 machine after the style of the wheat header. If the crop is a uniform one, 

 the wheat header could itself be used with advantage. If the cultivation 

 of the grain sorghums is to be carried out in the future on a scale similar 

 to that of maize, machines like these will become essential. 



Feeding to Stock. 



Methods of Feeding. — Grain sorghums can be fed in the bundle without 

 threshing the seed, or the grain can be fed alone. If fed whole, it is necessary 

 to cut, bind, and stook in the field. Care should be taken not to place too 

 much in the barn at a time, owing to a tendency to develop mouldiness. 

 The grain is much more digestible when fed cracked than when fed whole 

 If none of the teeth of the grain-separator are removed, most of the grain 

 can be cracked in the heckling process. 



Nutritive Qualities of the Seed. — That the seed of grain sorghums has a 

 high nutritive content has been proved absolutely, both in actual feeding 

 experiments and by chemical analysis. This nutritive value of the grain is 

 increased by feeding with a leguminous plant, such as lucerne. The value 

 of Kafir has been found to be only slightly less than that of maize ; while 

 the official analysis of the grain sorghums in this State showed that Milo had 

 a higher feeding value than Kafir. 



Where the Grain Sorghums are Valuable. — In those districts where maize- 

 growing is impracticable or is undertaken with a risk, nothing better could 

 be grown than the grain sorghums as a summer crop. Even on the Mur- 

 rumbidgee Irrigation Area it is quite probable that grain sorghums will 

 yield better and produce better returns than maize, if they were used as they 

 should be. The value of good summer crops to the mixed farmer is of great 

 moment. At the present time late summer and early autumn are generally 

 critical periods for the sheep, and a crop of grain sorghums, whether grown 

 for ensilage, \vax, or grain, would be of considerable assistance. Farmers 

 who have tried these sorghums during the past few years all speak well of 

 them: and when minor difficulties, such as methods of harvesting and feeding, 

 are overcome they should become popular and be grown much more 

 extensively than at present. 



