Part I.] REPORT OF SECRETARY. 13 



to grind the product, will undoubtedh" do much to prevent pro- 

 duction on a large scale, but grains of many kinds should be 

 produced for at least animal feed. Barley offers one of the 

 easiest of our grains to produce, and at the same time can be 

 used in many ways", particularly as a hog-fattening food. 

 Buckwheat, oats and rye can easily be grown, while spring 

 wheat can be grown in many places. Crops of over 40 bushels 

 of wheat to the acre have been reported this season. The 

 co-operative ownership and use of machinery will do much to 

 further the growing of grain. 



Sugar Beets. 

 The scarcity of sugar has again raised the question of beet 

 sugar production in this State, and many persons are urging the 

 revival of this industry in this section. The present outlook for 

 labor, and the lack of factories for utilizing the raw products, 

 seems not to warrant our farmers engaging in this industry at 

 the present time, although long continuation of the war may 

 make the growing of this crop profitable again. 



Sun Flowers. 

 Your secretary has several times been asked about the feed- 

 ing value of the sunflower as compared with silage corn for 

 dairy cattle, and has only lately been able to secure definite 

 answers to this question. In certain sections of the west, where 

 corn was a doubtful crop, sunflowers have been planted and 

 found to yield a great deal more bulk per acre than corn, with 

 a correspondingly high food value when used as a silage crop. 

 Plantings in Massachusetts show about twice the weight of corn 

 on poor land, and from one-quarter to one-third more on good 

 land. Sunflowers may be planted separately, with silage corn 

 or with sweet corn, and should be cut when the stalk is green 

 and the flowers about 5 inches in diameter. They are cut 

 readily by machinery, and are best when mixed with corn, 

 clover or alfalfa in the silo. Experiments in the feeding value 

 show that cows eat them as readily as corn, and that they 

 produce as heavy milk flow. The cultivation of this plant is 

 much simpler than corn, and seems at this time to offer at 

 least an addition to the dairy ration. 



