Grains and Forage Crops 131 



ance would indicate. Wc know of cases where what seemed to he 

 a good stand of melilotus yielded only about ten tons of green stuff 

 to the acre, and what appeared to be a less growth of vetches or 

 peas yielded from fifteen to twenty tons to the acre. And yet we 

 believe that in some places it will be found extremely desirable for 

 a cover crop in harmony with what was reported some time ago as 

 the result of experiments by the Arizona Experiment Station. 



Spineless Cactus. 



There seems to he two distinct kinds of cactus: One for forage, tha 

 other for fruit. It is claimed by some people that the spineless cactus 

 is more valuable as a forage plant than alfalfa. What is your opinion^ 



There are many varieties of smooth cacti. Some of them bear 

 higher quality fruit than others, and some are freer growers and 

 bear a greater amount of leaf substance for forage purposes; there- 

 fore, varieties are being developed which are superior for fruit or 

 for forage, as the case may be. Spineless cactus is in no way com- 

 parable with alfalfa, either in nutritive content or in value of crop, 

 providing you have land and water which will produce a good product 

 of alfalfa. Cactus is for lands which are in an entirely different 

 class and which are not capable of alfalfa production. 



Probably Not Broom-Corn. 



/ have a side-hill ranch on which I would very much like to raise 

 broom corn. The soil produces good grapes, fruit, corn, oats, peas, etc., 

 and I wish to know if there are possibilities of broom-strazv. 



All the broom-corn which has been successfully produced in 

 California has been produced on moist, riverside land. The plant is 

 a sorghum — consequently subject to frost injury, and can only be 

 grown during the frostless season as Indian corn is. This makes it 

 impossible to get the advantage of rainfall on winter upland and 

 necessitates the use of lowlands, which carry moisture enough to 

 secure a free growth of the brush, for poor broom-corn is worthless 

 practically, being too low priced to be profitable for brooms and 

 too fibrous to be of value for feeding purposes. Even in a place 

 where the plant grows well its product is worthless unless properly 

 treated, and that requires full knowledge and a good deal of work. 



The Outlook for Broom Corn. 



Broom corn is way up in price, but that is an indication that everyone 

 who has ever grozun broom corn is likely to plant it this year. IVhat 

 is the outlook in California? 



Nothing but a local experiment will determine whether you 

 can get a satisfactory brush under the conditions prevailing in your 

 vicinity. Undoubtedly, the high price of broom corn will stimulate 

 production, but under quite sharp limitations in California, because 



