10 On the Composition of Sorghum Saccharatum. 



and immediate objects to be obtained by such an examination of 

 our cultivated crops are so full of interest that I venture to 

 express the hope that Dr. Voelcker will closely follow up what 

 he has so hopefully inaugurated in the short paper before us. 



One point in Dr. Voelcker' s trial of the sorghum requires 

 special attention on the part of future experimenters, viz. the 

 period at which the plant begins to be palatable to live stock. 

 A small plot of it sown here (West Riding of Yorkshire) last 

 April in a well-sheltered garden grew vigorously and produced a 

 large amount of both leaves and stems, the latter fully six feet 

 high ; both were greedily eaten by horses and cattle as early as 

 the month of July, and from that time until the end of October, 

 when it was cut down by frost. No special manure was applied 

 to this plot, but the land was in the high condition which is usual 

 in the case of garden ground. 



From the late period at which its growth commences, it is not 

 probable that the sorghum will be able to compete with our 

 clovers, &c., as a general crop for soiling, but two points are 

 already ascertained beyond doubt, viz., that a small piece of 

 land devoted to this plant will raise a large amount of produce, 

 and that at a certain period (to be hereafter ascertained) this 

 produce acquires considerable feeding value. 



If it should be generally found to be as palatable to stock in 

 July, as it was here, it will be very useful for soiling during 

 the months of A ugust and September ; if, however, like Dr. 

 Voelcker's, it should in most cases be unfit for cattle food until 

 late in September, it would still be worth while to try whether it 

 might not be made into valuable hay, either by cutting it in 

 autumn when the saccharine matter was fully developed, or by 

 cutting earlier and stacking it sufficiently green to induce con- 

 siderable fermentation in the stack. The sorghum is naturally a 

 plant of rapid growth, and it is possible that heavy doses of 

 guano or other highly concentrated manure might force on its 

 growth sufficiently to obtain not only a greater weight of produce 

 but earlier maturity. At all events those stockmasters who, like 

 myself, often experience a lack of material for soiling for a few 

 weeks after harvest, would do well to try experiments on a 

 limited scale with the sorghum, which is evidently a plant of 

 great capabilities. 



H. S. THOMPSON. 



