196 FORAGE CROPS. 



which millet Is to be sown, the aim should be to have 

 it in fine tilth, clean and moist. With stiff clay soils 

 a fine seed bed is absolutely essential to the success- 

 ful growth of the crop. When millet is the only 

 crop grown on the land during the season, there is 

 ample time so to till the same that all the conditions 

 named above shall be secured before the period 

 arrives m which to sow the millet. They are secured 

 by stirring the surface betimes in the spring before 

 the seed is sown. This should not be neglected, 

 whether the land is plowed in the fall or in the early 

 spring, for when the land is thus harrowed at inter- 

 vals, weed seeds that lie near the surface will be 

 much reduced, to the great advantage of the crop. 

 But when millet is grown as a catch crop, the season 

 for preparing the soil is short, hence it may be nec- 

 essary to make a free use of the harrow and roller to 

 mellow sufficiently th^ upturned surface of the land. 

 When it is sown as a catch crop on a bare fallow, 

 there will be ample time to prepare the land in good 

 form. If the land cannot be plowed until dry 

 weather sets in, it ought to be rolled the same day 

 that it is plowed, to assist in retaining the moisture. 

 But when millet is sown as a catch crop, there are 

 instances when plowing- would not be necessary. 

 Some form of cultivation would be sufficient. 



It is not customary to manure land when pre- 

 paring it for millet, since it is seldom looked upon 

 as a leading crop. There are few crops, neverthe- 

 less, that will give a more liberal response to the 

 application of suitable manures. These are manures 

 rich in nitrogen and in an easily available form. 

 None are more suitable than farmyard manures 

 in a somewhat advanced stage of decay, and incor- 



