254 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



farm animals, unless it be for poultry, is not likely to be- 

 come popular in the near future, owing, first, to the hand la- 

 bor required in harvesting the crop, and second, to the little 

 food value possessed by the stalks. 



Sunflower seed may be fed in the unground form to 

 sheep, swine, horses and poultry. When fed to cattle 

 they are commonly ground, except when fed as ensilage. 

 This is probably the most popular way of feeding them to 

 cattle. When so fed, it is common to ensile only the heads 

 and a small portion of the stalk which supports them. 

 When thus ensiled with corn and horse beans, an excellent 

 ration is obtained for feeding milch cows. When fed to 

 cattle, sheep, swine and horses, only a limited percentage of 

 the grain ration should be sunflower seed, because of the 

 high content of oil which they contain. Even when fed to 

 fowls, it should be along with other grain. Cake made from 

 sunflowers is about as valuable as oil cake. 



Sweet sorghum seed. Sorghum may be grown for 

 pasture, soiling food, fodder, or for making syrup, in nearly 

 all localities where corn will mature paying crops of the 

 grain. Sorghum syrup has been made in considerable quan- 

 tities as far north as southern Minnesota. This crop is sel- 

 dom grown primarily for the seed obtained from it, but 

 when grown to furnish syrup, the seed also is an important 

 consideration. Yields approximating 30 bushels per acre 

 are frequently obtained and in some instances considerably 

 more than the quantity named. As with Kafir corn and in- 

 deed with all the seeds of the sorghurn family, much care is 

 necessary to prevent them from heating to their injury as 

 food when stored. 



Nearly all of what is said with reference to the feeding 

 of Kafir corn seed will also apply to the feeding of sor- 

 ghum seed (see p. 255). The composition of the two is very 

 similar. This means that sorghum seed may, under certain 

 conditions, be fed with advantage to beef and dairy cattle, 

 to sheep, swine, horses and poultry. For cattle and swine 

 it is decidedly preferable to feed the seed as meal, but to 



