GRAINS AND FORAGE CROPS 43 



ten inches of rain than any grain which has to make its growth in the 

 summer. Of course, barley or rye, growing while the rain is falling, will 

 get a higher duty from that much water. 



The Mixing of Sorghums. 



Will Egyptian corn, divarf milo, or Kaffir corn mix when planted in 

 adjoining fields? 



Yes, the sorghums are greatly inclined to mix, and that' is the reason 

 why one gets so many freaky plants from common seed, which is good 

 enough for feeding. Sorghum seed should be gathered from true plants 

 of the type grown at a distance from plants of other types. 



Corn Stalks, Bermuda and Alfalfa. 



Would it be a good idea to plow under corn stalks in November and 

 plant oats for hay; after the hay is cut, plow the land dry several times 

 to kill Bermuda grass and sow in the fall to alfalfa? Would the corn 

 stalks be worked up enough by that time so as not to interfere with a 

 good seed bed for alfalfa? 



We suppose you refer to moist land, for on a dry land Bermuda sod 

 you would presumably not get corn stalks enough to matter what you 

 did with them. On dry land, too, if you did have so little Bermuda as 

 not to check the corn, and you had plenty of stalks to plow under, 

 whether you would get oat hay worth mentioning would depend upon 

 whether there was a good heavy rainfall or not. With corn stalks below 

 and dry winter skies above, you would not get much oat hay. On moist 

 land your program might work through all right, but on ordinary plains 

 land we would windrow and burn off the stalks and kill out as much 

 Bermuda as possible by a good dry disking beginning as soon as you 

 can get clear of the stalks. Then you can put on your oats and get 

 winter growth while it is too cold for Bermuda and go on with your dry 

 working the second summer. But if alfalfa was the prime object we 

 would omit the oats, put in the alfalfa in the fall or spring as early as 

 safe. Unless the land has alkali enough to give the Bermuda the right of 

 way, alfalfa will fight it and make good feed of the mixed growth. 



Cover Crop to Reduce Moisture. 



/ am thinking of using sorghum broadcast for a cover crop in my 

 two-year-old prune orchard on account of the rank growth it makes, but 

 I wish to knozv if the decaying sorghum forms any acid injurious to the 

 prune. Will cow peas be better than sorghum, considering fertility and 

 humus added to the soil? I plowed under a heavy stand of bur clover 

 this spring and have again seeded to clover, but as a summer cover crop 

 I wish to use one of the above. I don't want_ to use alfalfa because with 

 the dense foliage it holds the top soil too moist. 



As you wish to get rid of moisture a broadcast of sorghum will do 

 that during the frost-free season better than any other plant known to 



