GRASS AND HAY 



115 



sheep. There are many sections of the country where this crop can 

 be made to supplement the pastures in such a way as to allow a mate- 

 rial increase in the number of stock that can be kept on the farm. 



Composition and Digestibility. The millets are all much alike 

 in composition and digestibility, there being often more variation in 

 the forage from a single variety cut at different periods in the devel- 

 opment of the plant than between that from different varieties, par- 

 ticularly when cut at about the same stage of growth. This shows 

 the importance of cutting at the proper time in order to obtain the 

 richest, most palatable, and most digestible forage. 



Manure Value of Millets. While this crop is of little impor- 

 tance as a fertilizer, when compared with the clovers, cowpeas, and 

 other leguminous crops, a knowledge of the kind and quantity of 

 fertilizing substances contained in the millet plant will give an idea 

 as to the drain on the elements of plant food in the soil by this crop. 

 There are many sections of the country in which the soil is very 

 poorly supplied with vegetable mold, and the turning under of any 

 leafy growth will prove beneficial. If the better leguminous crops 

 are not at hand or can not be grown, millet or any other plant that 

 will grow on the soil and produce a heavy foliage may well be used 

 for the purpose. The following table (adapted from Ninth An. Rep. 

 Mass. (Hatch) Agr. Exp. Sta.) shows the amount, in pounds, of the 

 various important fertilizing ingredients found in the millets, and 

 also the comparative value of a ton of the hay, straw, seed, or fresh 

 material at an average market price for these ingredients : 



Reputed Injuriousness of Foxtail Millet Forage. In some sec- 

 tions 01 the country the foxtail millets have gained the reputation 

 of being injurious to certain kinds of stock, and are therefore re- 

 garded with suspicion by many farmers and stockmen. Like many 

 other forage plants, these millets become very harsh and woody with 

 age, and are then difficult of thorough mastication and hard to digest. 

 Then, too, at this stage of growth the beards are stiff and harsh, and 

 are not only difficult to digest but produce more or less irritation in 

 the digestive tract of the animal, and sometimes unite with other 

 indigestible substances, forming compact balls in the stomach, ulti- 

 mately causing death. However, if the hay is cut at the right stage 

 of growth and properly cured, the action in either case will not bo 

 sufficient to lead to serious results if other hay or coarse forage is fed 

 along with the millet. One feed of millet hay per day for work 

 horses and one or two for other stock is sufficient, and when fed in 



