276 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



classes of stock, are nutritious, succulent, ana nave a very 

 beneficial effect on milk production. 



If peas or vetch are sown with the oats, an increased 

 value is obtained by reason of the larger percentage of pro- 

 tein in the crop and the enrichment of the land in nitrogen, 

 peas and vetch having the same effect as clover. I would 

 recommend for forage purposes the sowing of three pecks 

 to a bushel of vetch per acre on moist land with oats, and a 

 bushel or a bushel and a half of peas on dryer land. 



The oat crop requires liberal manuring and likes nitroge- 

 nous manures particularly ; but, owing to its growth habits, 

 fresh application of green manure is not likely to prove as 

 beneficial to it as to succeeding crops. Manure should be 

 well rotted for oats, or perhaps, better yet, applied the 

 preceding autumn. This method allows the nitrogen to 

 become available, which is not the case to so great an extent 

 if green manure is used when the seed is sown. Fresh 

 manure should rather be used with crops making a later 

 growth, as, for example, corn. While the latter crop is 

 making its heaviest growth during the last part of sum- 

 mer, nitrification is going on most rapidly, and the greatest 

 possible benefit from the application of stable manure is 

 obtained. Something of a succession may be secured by 

 sowing oats at intervals, but it is not practicable to pro- 

 long the season of feeding this crop very greatly, as other 

 heavier yielding crops may now be secured. 



Millet. — Among the newer and less familiar forage plants, 

 millet is already recognized as one of growing importance. 



Of the varieties of millet, the German and Hungarian are 

 perhaps most familiar in this country, although the Japanese 

 varieties are rapidly coming to the front. Through the 

 efforts of Prof. Wm. P. Brooks of the Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural College, the introducer of the Japanese millets, 

 Massachusetts farmers have already learned much of their 

 value and are proving their merits. While other of these 

 Japanese varieties may be of greater value for special pur- 

 poses, the one that has thus far proved superior as a forage 

 plant is the barn-yard millet (Pamciwi crus-galli). This 

 millet, sown the middle of May in strong, well-drained land, 

 and given liberal treatment, makes a rapid and heavy 



