42 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



ing value of green millet for milk production, for the reason 

 that the time in its growth when it is available is too short 

 to secure any very reliable data. We have fed the green 

 millet to the station herd during the first three weeks of 

 August for a number of years. During the first week of the 

 cutting the animals eat it well, but the second week a con- 

 siderable portion of the stems remain unconsumed. Millet 

 acts as a laxative as well as a diuretic, and it is not ad- 

 visable to feed it as the entire source of coarse fodder. Fed 

 in this way, we have observed that the bowels become very 

 loose, the animals soon refuse to eat above 60 pounds per 

 day, and they lose in flesh and milk production. When 

 they are fed entirely in the barn or yard, 10 pounds of hay 

 per day, together with what green millet they will eat, is a 

 desirable quantity. This usually amounts to about 50 or 60 

 pounds of millet daily. When animals run in pastures, a 

 supplementary feeding of green millet at night is quite 

 helpful. 



From our observations we prefer corn fodder to millet as 

 a green feed, because more milk is secured and the animals 

 tend to keep in better condition. The corn fodder can be 

 fed for a longer period than the millet, and, being more or 

 less eared, its nutritive value is therel^y enhanced. Millet, 

 on the other hand, has the advantage of requiring less labor 

 to grow than corn, as after it is once sown it requires no 

 further attention until ready to cut. 



Millet as a Hay Groj^. — Brooks,* a number of years 

 since, called attention to the fact that, although the yield of 

 hay was from 3 to 6 tons per acre, the difiiculty of properly 

 curing it was such that the millet could not be very satis- 

 factorily utilized as a hay crop. AVe can simply confirm 

 this. The coarseness of the fodder renders it very diflicult 

 to eliminate sufficient of the water to enable the hay to keep 

 well unless several extra hay days follow one another ; the 

 hay therefore is likely to become musty and consequently 

 unsatisfactory for feeding, and the ftirmer cannot depend 

 upon it as a rule to furnish him with any considerable 

 amount of dry fodder. 



* hnco citato. 



