THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



37 



Iving of the question of values. It is evident 

 I i.iiiler sueU large doses of dung as were used— 

 luuiKen tons yearly — the land must have, in course 

 of time, attained a maximum of fertility; and 

 the crops yielded indicate this. The amount of 

 cliiiiiicals Ubcd was also in excess of the requirement 

 of the plant in most instances. 



Reason tells u« that chemical farming must bo 

 successful, pr.-'vided we apply to the land yearly 

 what the crop removes, provided the elements which 

 are applied are kept during the seasou of growth in 

 condition lit for appropriation by the plant, and pro- 

 vided they are thoroughly diffused throughout the 

 land. Reason also tells us that manure farming is 

 successful under like conditions of application. 



Experience tells us that with abundant manure we 

 can raise on the average maximum crops for our 

 land. Experience also tells us that with an abun- 

 dant supply of chemicals we can do likewise. Thus 

 rca.son and experience coincide. 



Practically, however, we have other questions to 

 consider, and the question is not as simple as at first 

 sight appears. Practically, it U Ibund, it has been 

 found, that we need apply barnyard manure con- 

 taining chemical eleme.its far in excess of the chemi- 

 cal elements removed by the crop to 

 produce the crop. Practically, it has 

 been found that in many cases where 

 chemicals were applied, the amount 

 of the crop was proportionate to the 

 amount of the chemicals applied. 

 Practically, the application of a fer- 

 tilizer may fail to produce the antici- 

 pated crop. Practically, a large ma- 

 nuring will not always produce the 

 anticipated crop. 



The condition of the soil and the 

 facts of cultivation have also to be 

 considered while we are considering 

 plant-food, for in all farm questions 

 like this we have two sides to our 

 subject. The plant-food must be pres- 

 ent ; the plant must also be able to 

 appropriate it, and this latter fact is 

 an important one. 



Consider why we can raise larger 

 crops on sterile New England soil, by 

 the aid of manure, than they do on 

 the prairies of the Southwest, just fat 

 with fertility. Consider the large 

 yield on the acreage of England, and 

 the small yield on the acreage of that 



fjlden State which fronts on the 

 acific ! 



PEARL MILLET. 

 " Pearl ifillet lias beeu culti- 

 vated for some years as a ionige 

 plant in sou.e of the Southern 

 States, as ' African Cane, ' 

 'Egyptian Millet,' 'Japan Mil- 

 let,' and in some places as 

 'Horse Millet,' btit little wa« 

 known of it at the North before 

 last year, and then only in sucli 

 small quantities as to hardly al- 

 low of a fair trial. From what 

 we saw of it in 1.S77, we deter- 

 mined to give it a thorough trial 

 this season. A piece of good 

 strong loamy ground was pre- 

 pared as if for a beet or turnip 

 crop, by manuring with stable- t 



manure, at the rate of ten tons 

 to the acre, plowing 10 inches 

 deep, and thoroughly harrow ing. _ <- i 



The Millet was then sown in 

 drills 18 inches apart, at the rate 

 of 8 quarts to the acre. We sowed on the 

 l.">th of May, about the date we plant corn , 

 in 12 days the plants were up so that a culti- 

 vator could be run between the rovvs, after 

 which no further culture was necessary, for 

 the growth became so rapid and luxuriant as 

 to crowd down every weed that attempted to 



fet a foothold. The first cutting was made 

 uly 1st— 4.J days after sowing ; it was then 

 7 feet high, covering the wliole ground, and 

 the crop, cut 3 inches above the ground, 

 weighed, gi-eeii, at the rate of 30 tons per 

 acre ; this, when dried, gave (i^ tons per acre 

 as hay. After cutting, a second growth 

 started, and was cut August loth— 4.5 days 

 from the time of the first cutting. Its height 

 was 9 feet ; it weighed this time'at the rate of 

 5") tons to the acre, (jreen, and 8 tons dried. 

 The third crop started as rapidly as the sec- 

 ond, but the cool September nights lessened its 

 tropical luxuriance, so that this crop, which 

 was cut on October 1st, only weighed 10 tons 



1 green, and U tons dried. The growth was 

 I simply enormous, thus : 1st crop in 45 days, 

 gave 30 tons green, or 6^ tons dry ; 2nd crop 

 I in 45 days, gave 55 tons green, or 8 tons dry ; 

 3rd crop in 45 days, gave 10 tons green, or 1^ 

 I tons dry. The aggregate weight being 95 tons 

 I of green fodderin 135 days from date of sow- 

 1 ing, and 10 tons when dried to hav. Tills ex- 

 ceeds the clover meadows of Mid-Lothian, 

 : which, when irrigated by the sewerage from 

 I the City of Edinbugh, and cut every four 

 , weeks, gave an aggregate of 75 tons of" green 

 clover per acre. There is little doubt that 

 Pearl Millet is e(iually nutritious as corn- 

 fodder, which it resembles even more tlitm it 

 does any of the other Millets. We found that 

 all our horses and cattle ate it greedily wliether 

 green or dry. If sowing in drills is not prac- 

 ticable, it may be sown broadcast, using 

 double the quantity of seed— say 16 quarts 

 per acre. The ground .should be smoothed by 

 the harrow, and again lightly harrowed after 



sowiul; if lolltd \ttei liiiio\Mm: ill tin lut- 

 ta. I know ol no faun (mp ilut will lit Itt i 

 repay high maniiung, but so pii.it is its lux- 

 uriance th.mt will produce a btltei ciop with- 

 out manure than any other plant I know of. I 

 In those parts of the Southern Slates where 

 hay cannot be raised this is a substitute of the ; 

 easiest culture, and, being of tropical origin, , 

 it will luxuriate in their long hot summers. ! 

 Even though our Northern sea.sons may be 

 too short to mature our seeds, our experiments 

 in New Jersey this summer show what abun- 

 dant crops may be expected if the similar con- 

 ditions are secured. Pearl Millet as a fodder- 

 plant presents a new feature in our agricul- 

 ture, and I feel sure that within ten years we 

 shall wonder how we got on without it. He- 

 sides our own testimony given above, we have 

 received the most satisfactory letters from ex- 

 perienced men in different parts of the country 

 to whom we sent seed of Pearl Millet for trial, 

 and all are unanimous as to its enormous 



productiveness and great value. From all 

 we have seen ami can learn, we are fully 

 convinced thtit Pearl Millet is to bo one of the 

 great fodder plaiitH of the future." 



The fiiregoiiig. from the .bin rican Ayricul- 

 turiM, for November. 1S78, conlaiiis the ex- 

 jieriments of I'l Ur Ilender.son, Esq., of the 

 firm of Peter llendersoii & Co., No. 35 Court- 

 land .street, New York, a man wliose reputa- 

 tion as a nur.vrymaii, seedsman and Horist 

 stands very high in this country. Of course 

 Millet can only be grown with success and 

 profit (as far north as Pennsylvania and New 

 York,) as a foraging pl:uit. And, now, since 

 the subject ..f keeping i;-:illle linii^cil during 



instead of turning tliein out into the llekls to 

 pasture, is looming up, this plant may a.HSume 

 an importance it never did before. We, there- 

 fore, deem it advisalile at this time to place 

 the matter l)efore our readers, in order that 

 they may avail themselves of whatever ad- 

 vantage there may he in its 

 culture. 



Farther south it may also be 

 of advantage to the farmers to 

 raise the seed. Although Millet 

 seeds have been ground into 

 meal, from which bread has been 

 made, yet it is not specially es- 

 teemed for that purpose ; but 

 cooked, as rice, it is used more 

 or les.s in some countries, and it 

 is said that no grain food is bet- 

 ter for poultry ; and if care is 

 taken in harvesting the yield is 

 usually large. 



The following we extract from 

 the Fariwrs'' Cychpedia, mainly 

 relating to its cultivation in 

 Europe, which may be of some 

 value in connection with the 

 above : 



" The soil for Millet should be 

 warm, sandy, rich and well pul- 

 verized to a good depth. The 

 seed is u.sually sowed about the 

 end of April or beginning of 

 May, regard being had to lati- 

 tude and the meteorological con- 

 dition of the sea.son. It should 

 not be sown thickly, and not 

 deei>ly covered. In the course 

 of its growth (according to Prof. 

 Thaler,) no plant is more im- 

 proved by stirring the soil, after 

 which it grows astonishingly 

 fast and smothers the weeds. 



In harvesting Millet great care 

 is required not to shed the seed ; 

 and. as it ripens rather unequal- 

 ly, it would be an advantage to 

 ^ cut off the spikes a.s they ripen. 



No grain is easier to thresh, or 

 to free from its husk by the mill. 

 It is used instead of rice, and 

 bears about the same price on 

 the continent of Europe, where 

 it is more cultivated than per- 

 s\=^— haps any other part of the world, 



especially in Germany. It pro- 

 duces a great bulk of straw, which is much 

 esteemed by some as fodder." 



There are various kinds of Millet, one kind 

 of which was introduced into Pennsylvania, 

 many years ago, (called "Bengal Gra.ss,") as 

 an object of culture, and at one time created 

 considerable interest among farmers ; it was, 

 however, found unsatisfactoiy in results, and 

 was .subsequently neglected or abandoned. 



According to bur recollection this was very 

 "long ago" — in our boyhood — but we have 

 no recollection as to what the "expectations" 

 of the farmei-s were in regard to it, or whether 

 cultivated for fodder or for the seeds. More- 

 over, they at that time knew nothing of 

 "green feeding "-other than pasturing— if 

 even they entertained a thought of it. 



The term MiUct comes from the French 

 word MHle—:\ thousand— alluding to the great 

 number of seeds produced by a single spike, 

 or "ear. " The generic name Panicuno comes 

 from paws— bread. 



