48 A TEXT-BOOK OF GRASSES 



relished by all kinds of stock and in general is a valuable 

 forage plant. Horses sometimes appear to suffer injury 

 if fed millet exclusively but cattle and sheep are free from 

 this danger. If cut too late the bristles of the seed-heads 

 may become troublesome. It can be sown after a grain 

 crop or in place of other crops when there has been a failure 

 to secure a stand. The tenderness of the growing plants 

 render early sowing impracticable. (See Farmers' Bulletin 

 No. 101.) 



57. Sorghum is grown in many parts of the world and, 

 according to the variety, for many different purposes. 

 The seed is used for food for man in parts of the Old 

 World, and in the United States that of certain forms, such 

 as kafir, is used for stock feed. One variety is called broom- 

 corn (Par. 211). The saccharine sorghums or sorgo con- 

 tain much sugar in the sap and are used for the commer- 

 cial production of sugar (Par. 97). The saccharine varie- 

 ties such as the Orange and Amber, and also some of the 

 non-saccharine such as kafir and milo, are grown for 

 forage. Those which are grown for the seed may furnish 

 forage also, the stalks being cut and shocked as in corn, 

 the grain being thrashed out or the heads cut off and the 

 remainder used as rough forage. In the semi-arid region 

 where drought-resistant hay crops are needed, sorghum 

 is much used as a hay crop. For this purpose it is sown or 

 drilled thickly, so as to produce numerous slender stems, 

 and the crop mowed and cured as hay. In some parts of 

 the Middle West, sorghum is known as "cane." (See 

 Farmers' Bulletins Nos. 246, 288, 322, 448, 552.) 



58. Com or maize is sometimes sown thickly and used 

 for hay as is described above for sorghum. The most 

 common use of com as forage is in connection with its 

 use as a grain crop. The corn may then be treated in 



