MILLET. 195 



from the same, there may be seasons in which it 

 would be unwise to follow millet with winter wheat 

 or winter rye. But when the millet is pastured 

 rather than made into hay, the drain upon the fer- 

 tility and also upon the moisture in the soil is much 

 less than when the millet is grown for hay or 

 for seed. 



Soils. — The soils best adapted to millet are 

 those rich in humus. Such are the soils of swamps 

 and slough lands, basins or pockets surrounded by 

 higher land, the lesser and also the greater valleys 

 in clay sections, and river bottoms in which sand is 

 not present in any considerable proportion. Many 

 of the soils of the prairie also abound in humus, 

 especially when they are first broken, hence their 

 high adaptation to the growth of millet. Muck 

 soils are excellent when not too wet or too dry. The 

 crop may oftentimes be grown successfully on these 

 while yet undrained, after the saturating waters of 

 the springtime have subsided. But on such lands 

 the danger is imminent, in climates of ample rainfall, 

 that the saturating waters may come again before 

 the crop has been utilized. Medium to good crops 

 of millet may be grown on clay soils amply supplied 

 with moisture, but usually the growth on these is 

 slow. Sandy soils are ill-adapted to its growth 

 when low in plant food, and the want of adaptation 

 in these soils increases with the increasing dryness 

 of the climate. But the gray soils of the Rocky 

 mountain valleys have much adaptation for millet. 

 It is not so much needed in these areas, however, 

 because of the wonderful adaptation of the soils for 

 growing alfalfa. 



Preparing the Soil. — In preparing the soil on 



