36 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



of the sorghum and will greatly hinder its growth 

 unless much labor is expended in fighting them. 



Sorghum stools much when it is growing, 

 hence the growth is finer in character than the 

 growth of corn. This of course adds to its palata- 

 bility as a food for stock. But its greatest value 

 as a soiling food lies, first, in its power to pro- 

 duce more than one cutting per year when 

 grown under favorable conditions of soil and 

 climate; second, in its ability to grow in climates 

 with a limited rainfall. The plants grow slowly 

 for a time, and the development of root growth is 

 limited ; later they take a firm hold upon the soil, and 

 if the weather is warm they rush forward with much 

 quickness and vigor. 



Sorghum furnishes excellent soiling food for 

 horses, cattle, sheep and swine. Like nearly all 

 green foods it must be fed with some caution to 

 horses when working. It is becoming more com- 

 mon to pasture sheep and swine upon sorghum than 

 to feed it to them as a soiling food, owing to the 

 marked adaptability of this plant in providing pas- 

 ture for these animals. But when fed as soiling 

 food to sheep and swine it is much relished, more 

 especially when of tender and succulent growth. 

 Its highest use as a soiling food, however, is in pro- 

 viding supplies for milch cows. They are fond of 

 sorghum and it is good for milk production, and a 

 given area furnishes relatively a large quantity of 

 food. 



This plant has been known to produce thirty 

 tons of green food per acre, but the average is under 

 rather than over fifteen tons. In many instances the 



