SPECIAL FARM TOPICS 239 



summer-tilled rotation must produce enough more small grain to 

 pay for the cost of th'" summer tillage. 



Corn should therefore be much more commonly grown than 

 it now is in this area, not because it is a profitable crop in itself, 

 but because it takes the place of summer-tillage in the rotation and 

 at least pays for the labor bestowed upon it. A corn crop might 

 therefore be considered a complete failure judged from the stand- 

 point of grain production, but still yield enough in the way of rough 

 fodder and be valuable enough in its effect upon subsequent crops 

 in the rotation to make it a very profitable crop. 



Sorghum. The grain-sorghum belt, broadly speaking, is the 

 southern half of the Great Plains region, nearly 400 miles wide and 

 1,000 miles long. It is characterized by low rainfall and high evap- 

 oration, by varied soils and considerable elevation, with correspond- 

 ingly shortened seasons. It is fitted to become a noted stock-feeding 

 region. 



The grain sorghums, including milos, durras, kafirs, and how- 

 liangs, are of recent introduction and have become important only 

 within the last twenty years. By their earliness, drought resistance, 

 and adaptability they are especially fitted for growth under Great 

 Plains conditions. The grain is largely used for feeding stock on the 

 farms where grown. Its feeding value is nearly equal to that of 

 corn. The protein content averages higher than that of corn, the 

 fat and fiber content lower. Any surplus is readily marketed as 

 whole grain or as chops for feeding purposes. It is in much demand 

 for poultry food, for which it is admirably suited. Over 25 per 

 cent of the ingredients of prepared poultry foods in the eastern 

 United States is kafir grain. It seems probable that the meal can 

 be used as readily as corn meal for human food and that both the 

 meal and flour can be used in mixtures with wheat flour. 



Kansas and Oklahoma grow annually over 1,250,000 acres. 

 It is probable that an equal area is also grown in Texas. The grain- 

 sorghum acreage in Kansas is nearly 10 per cent of the corn acreage, 

 and in Oklahoma over 12 per cent. More than half the kafir and 

 over 95 per cent of the milo are grown on the dry lanols west of the 

 ninety-eighth meridian. In this region the proportionate acreage 

 to grain sorghums to corn is steadily increasing. In spite of the 

 less favorable conditions under which much of the crop is grown the 

 average acre value of the grain sorghums in Kansas is higher than 

 that pf corn, and in Oklahoma it is 70 per cent as great. 



The grain sorghums may be greatly improved through the 

 selection of better varieties and the use of better methods. Im- 

 provement will be chiefly in the direction of (1) drought resistance, 

 (2) earliness, (3) dwarf stature, (4) productiveness, (5) freedom 

 from suckers and branches, and (6) erect heads. 



The drought resistance of the grain sorghums is very important. 

 It is probably a combination of several characters, some actually 

 drought resistant, as controlled transpiration and a strong root sys- 

 tem, others only drought evasive, as earliness and dwarf ness. Im- 



