Soiling Crops. 151 



non-saccharine sorghums, and one which has forced 

 its way to the front and scored a decided victory 

 over all other members of the same family. Its 

 chief competitors for supremacy were rice corn, 

 Milo maize, and Jerusalem corn. After a fair and 

 thorough test at the Kansas Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station, and on the great experimental 

 grounds of Central and Western Kansas, over a pe- 

 riod of fifteen years or more, all competitors practi- 

 cally withdrew from the field, and Kaffir corn wears 

 the laurels. The more farmers become acquainted 

 with it and with the manner of its behavior in times 

 of a crisis, the more they appreciate its high quali- 

 ties. Here is an object-lesson given on my own 

 farm : It was necessary last spring to replant a por- 

 tion of the area planted to corn, which was done 

 about May 2oth. About the same time fourteen 

 acres of Kaffir corn were planted. The late-planted 

 corn was practically ruined by the excessive heat 

 the latter part of August, while the Kaffir went 

 through practically unscathed and yields over thirty 

 bushels per acre. In times of heat and drought it 

 bravely holds up its head, and for the time being it 

 stands still. With its beautiful green foliage it 

 seems to defy the unmerciful fiends in the red-hot 

 air, and when King Sol begins to relent, and gra- 

 cious showers fall, it moves serenely on as though 

 nothing had happened. Such is Kaffir corn, and 

 these are the qualities which commend it to the 

 trans-Missouri farmer. " 



