600 THE farmers' handbook. 



Yield. 



The yield ranges from 10 to 15 cwt. of clean marketable brush, and 25 to 

 30 bushels of seed per acre. The price of broom millet fluctuates consider- 

 ably with the season ; the general average may be set down at £30. Should 

 the prices, however, be somewhat low when harvesting takes place, the millet 

 may be stored for any length of time without deterioration, and disposed of 

 when higher prices are obtainable. 



Second Crops. 



In the warmer parts of the State, particularly the Northern Bivers, where 

 the rainfall is good, good second crops can sometimes be obtained from a 

 field of millet by cutting off the stalks close to the ground immediately after 

 the first crop of brush is harvested. As the plant is still in a green sappy 

 condition at the time the brush is harvested, the warm moist conditions 

 favour a suckering or stooling from the old roots. Immediately the old 

 stalks are cut and removed, the soil between the drills should be well stirred 

 and cleaned by thorough working of the cultivator. With the early-sown 

 crops it not infrequently happens that a second crop of brush is obtained 

 that yields more heavily than the first or main crop. In these localities the 

 season is sufficiently long to permit of the second growth maturing. Even 

 if the cooler weather does not produce the finest hurl, a good crop of short 

 millet can generally be depended upon, which is just as essential as the other 

 for broom making. 



With late-sown crops a second cutting cannot be considered, and the 

 plough should be brought into use as soon as possible after the crop is 

 harvested. 



Selection of the Seed. 



Special attention must be given to the selection of the seed. That 

 obtained in the process of stripping should not be used for sowing. The 

 practice of using such would speedily lead to deterioration, and the produc- 

 tion of inferior brush. 



Good reliable seed can only be obtained by sowing in special areas and 

 allowing the plants to mature their seed naturally. Individual plants may 

 be allowed to ripen their seed in an ordinary field, but there is always a 

 danger of them being hybridised by pollen from plants having inferior brush. 

 In any case, seed should be obtained from those which produce the best heads, 

 and which have not been cross-fertilised with degenerated millet, or have 

 been grown near areas of stock-feed varieties of the sorghum family. 



Of late years there has been a marked deterioration in the quality of the 

 broom millet grown on many farms. This is accounted for bj' the fact that 

 on these farms millet is planted alongside or in close proximity to areas of 

 sorghum, such as Planter's Friend, grown for stock-feed. The varieties 

 readily cross where they flower at the same period, and it can be easily 

 understood how such conditions lead to rapid deterioration of broom millet. 

 The short stunted brush, with the panicles growing out at right angles from 

 the main thickened stem along its full length, and its general straggly 

 appearance, are largely attributable to this practice. 



By proper cultivation and selection the quality and yield of any variety may 

 be improved. Where seed-eating birds are troublesome, it may be necessary to 

 cover the heads with some light material, such as muslin, when the seed is 



