VARIOUS CROPS FOR SILAGE. 155 



cessfully siloed, but is not so grood for this purpose as corn. Burk- 

 ett says that if allowed to mature and used as dry fodder it makes 

 a very heavy yield, running several tons of dry matter to the acre. 

 It demands a rich soil with a good deal of moisture, and is partial 

 to hot climates, but unlike sorghum and kaflr, it cannot resist 

 drouth. 



Kale. The Oregon Experiment Station at Corvallis reports very 

 palatable silage from a mixture of eight tons of Kale and two tons 

 of mixed hay, cut short and well packed. Kale is not well adapted 

 for a silage crop, however, on account of its high water content, 

 and should only be put in the silo to avoid a loss in the spring. 



Sudan Grass, a wonderful drouth-resister, supposed to be the 

 parent stock of the cultivated sorghums, is making rapid strides 

 as a hay and fodder crop throughout Colorado, Oklahoma, South- 

 ern California and the Southwest generally. The seed is hard to 

 distinguish from Johnson grass. For large yields it should be 

 planted in rows from 30 to 36 inches apart, using from 2 to 4 

 pounds of seed to the acre, and cultivated. On account of its new- 

 ness and the heavy demand for seed, data is not available as to 

 its feeding value. It is the general opinion of feeders, however, 

 that it will make an excellent silage crop, if allowed to mature 

 properly before being placed in the silo. 



Devil Grass or Broncho Grass and Fox Tail have sometimes 

 proved a problem to alfalfa growers in California. Some feeders 

 have found that the beards of the Devil Grass and Fox Tail are 

 rendered harmless by cutting and siloing them along with the oat 

 hay, barley or wheat hay and second cutting of alfalfa and that it 

 makes a silage superior to alfalfa and grain hay silage alone, 

 leaving the ground available for a crop of corn. 



Vetches are relished by livestock of all kinds. They are ex- 

 cellent for milk production and have splendid fattening properties. 

 Being of the legume family, they are best adapted for hay, but 

 when conditions are unfavorable they may be cut into short 

 lengths and well packed in the silo and will make a very agree- 

 able feed. They should be cut the same time as for hay. 



Peanuts are especially valuable if mixed with kafir corn in the 

 silo, as they make a much better balanced feed than kafir corn 

 alone. 



