282 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



the length of the season and moisture conditions, and the 

 time of cutting. Sudan-grass is probably best cut when 

 in full bloom, and early cutting is advisable where two or 

 more cuttings are expected. There is little if any deteri- 

 oration, however, if the grass be allowed to stand longer, 

 as the later culms of the same stool continue to appear 

 over a considerable period. 



The grass can be cut with a mower, but more conven- 

 iently with a binder, especially in dry regions, as the hay 

 cures very readily in bundles. 



At Chillicothe, Texas, 4 cuttings were obtained in 1912 

 from a broadcasted tenth-acre plot, the yield being at 

 the rate of 8800 pounds of hay per acre. At Arlington 

 Farm, Virginia, single cuttings yielded at the rate of 2.8 

 tons and 3.5 tons per acre. 



340. Hay mixtures. Sudan-grass is well adapted for 

 growing in mixtures with cowpeas and soybeans or both, 

 as they mature well together and the stems of the Sudan- 

 grass prevent the leaves of the legumes from matting 

 together in curing. At Arlington Farm, Virginia, a plat 

 of Sudan-grass and Black cowpeas yielded at the rate of 

 4.6 tons an acre, about one-fourth being cowpeas, while 

 Johnson-grass and Black cowpeas yielded but 2.8 tons. 



A similar mixture of Sudan-grass and Arlington soy- 

 beans, a twining variety, yielded at the rate of 4.4 tons 

 per acre, about one-fourth of the material being the 

 legume. 



In these trials, Sudan-grass was seeded at the rate of 

 20 pounds, and the cowpeas and soybeans 30 pounds an 

 acre. 



341. Chemical analysis. As far as chemical analyses 

 can determine, Sudan-grass does not vary greatly in com- 

 position from before heading until the seed is ripe. As 



