288 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



Millet bears the reputation of being " hard on the land " 

 that is, reducing the yield of subsequent crops but 

 this is probably no more the case than with any similar 

 crop that produces equal yields. 



347. Importance. The foxtail millets are still im- 

 portant as cereals for human food in China, India and 

 other Asiatic countries. In mountainous regions of North 

 Asia they are cultivated by many wild or half savage 

 tribes. 



In Europe the variety known as Hungarian millet or 

 Mohar is extensively cultivated for forage on sandy lands 

 in Austria, Italy and the Balkan region. 



In America the foxtail millets are grown wholly for 

 forage, their culture being most important in the semi- 

 arid regions, but by no means insignificant in humid 

 areas. 



The area planted in the United States in 1909 was 

 1,117,769 acres, yielding 1,546,533 tons, an average of 

 1.33 tons an acre. The acreage decreased about one- 

 third between 1899 and 1909. The states where millet 

 is most important are Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas 

 and North Dakota. Some, however, is grown in every 

 state of the Union. 



348. The agricultural varieties of foxtail millet are 

 very numerous and many of them have been given two 

 or more names, which unfortunately have become vari- 

 ously used by different seedsmen. The problem of deter- 

 mining the original or proper application of each name is 

 very involved, and it is very doubtful if this can now be 

 done satisfactorily. The most prominent commercial 

 varieties now used in the United^ States and Canada are 

 the following : 



Common. This is the best known and perhaps the 



