128 SECOND THOUSAND QUESTIONS IN AGRICULTURE 



be cut? Is it safe? Our land is not ready for alfalfa and we want 

 something to take its place for green feed. 



In the interior valleys, colonists are regularly substituting sorghum 

 for alfalfa for quite a while, but it needs alfalfa as soon as possible 

 to balance the ration. Sorghum was used in connection with alfalfa 

 hay and proved an excellent feed. If it is allowed to wilt before feed- 

 ing there is no danger from poisoning, and for this reason it is better 

 to cut and haul in as you suggest. If you have water for irrigation 

 it will keep growing all summer and fall and furnish green feed the 

 entire time but it depends upon the care and soil how many times you 

 can cut it, also upon how high you let it grow before cutting. Frost 

 will end it. 



Sorghum Stover. 



Are milo maize stalks harmful to cows after all of the grain has 

 been taken off except the secondary small heads ti'ith small amount of 

 grain on them? Will it pay to cut them and feed with alfalfa hay 

 or let the stock clean up what they will in the Held? 



Sorghum stalks are not injurious unless eaten in excess, when they 

 are apt to cause indigestion, as other coarse fodders sometimes do. 

 There is no poison in them as there is sometimes in rank green sorghum. 

 Sorghum stalks are sometimes siloed after the grain heads are gathered 

 because sorghum has the habit of holding juice in the stem longer 

 than Indian corn, which is generally counted not fit for siloing after 

 the ears ripen. In siloing sorghum stalks it is desirable to use some water 

 in filling and pack down very tightly. 



Egyptian Corn or Barley? 



Which is better to fatten hogs Egyptian corn, or barley when 

 soaked in skim milk? 



Egyptian corn contains about 8 per cent digestible protein and 71 

 per cent digestible carbohydrates and fat, while the corresponding figures 

 for barley are 9.4 per cent and 75.9 per cent, respectively. Barley is, 

 therefore, a somewhat more valuable feed than Egyptian corn. Prac- 

 tical feeding experiments with hogs have shown that the latter pos- 

 sesses about 10 per cent lower feeding value than Indian corn or other 

 cereals. This figure will doubtless be found approximately correct for 

 the comparison of the value of .the two grains for fattening purposes. 

 Like all small grains, Egyptian corn should be ground or soaked in skim 

 milk or water for feeding to hogs or calves, and should be ground 

 when fed to mature animals. F. W. W. 



Fodder and Molasses. 



What is the feeding value of gyp corn fodder for dairy cattle 

 zvhen chopped up and mixed with cane molasses? 



Egyptian corn (white or brown Durra, correctly speaking only the 

 latter) makes a valuable grain and forage plant of nearly similar feed- 



