32 



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 summer, nitrification is 

 going on most rapidly, and the greatest possible benefit from the 

 application of stable manure is obtained. Something of a succes- 

 sion may be secured by sowing oats at intervals, but it is not 

 practicable to prolong 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, mil- 

 let 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 Agricultural College, the intro- 

 ducer 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 purposes, the one that has thus far proved superior as a 

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

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

 given liberal treatment, makes a rapid and heavy growth and is 

 ready to feed the latter part of July and the early part of August, 

 three or four weeks earlier than corn can be fed to advantage. 

 At maturity the stalks stand five to seven feet high, and should 

 cut from twelve to eighteen tons per acre of green forage. The 

 stems are not woody as are those of some of the other varieties, 

 but are succulent, tender and eaten with great relish by cows. 



As millet is somewhat watery, it may be fed to advantage in 

 conjunction with green clover or hay and a moderate ration of 

 grain. 



If pastures are large there is likely to be an abundance of dried 

 June grass so that the cows will regulate their ration themselves 

 by supplementing their millet feed with what the pasture affords. 

 The treatment for millet is between that for oats and Indian 

 corn. The land should be mellow, in fine tilth, and manured in 

 the fall, or with well-rotted manure in the spring. After harrowing 

 in two pecks to a bushel of seed per acre, it is well to roll the land 

 after seeding so as to give a hard surface for cutting. The quan- 

 tity of seed depends somewhat on whether the land is free from 

 weeds or not, land very free from weeds requiring less seed than 

 weedy land. 



Supplementary manures rich in nitrogen and potash may be 

 substituted for barn-yard manure in part. Cutting should com- 

 mence as soon as the heads appear and continue so long as the 



