n6 



Nature-Study Agriculture 



The grain 

 sorghums 



Their 



behavior in 

 drought 



Danger of 

 poisoning 



Its intro- 

 duction 



Its merits 



sugar sorghums are use- 

 ful as feed and also for 

 making sorghum sirup. 

 The sweet juice of the 

 stalk is relished by 

 animals. Kafir corn, 

 milo, Egyptian corn, 

 and some other varie- 

 ties do not contain 

 much sugar but are 

 very useful as feed. 

 They are spoken of as 

 the " grain sorghums " 

 (Figs. 94 and 95). 



The great value of 

 the grain sorghums lies 

 in the fact that they 

 withstand drought 

 better than any other 



important crop. Their strong root systems search, the 

 soil very thoroughly for moisture. During an extreme 

 drought that would kill other crops, their leaves curl, 

 and the plants do not grow much; but when rain 

 comes they uncurl their leaves and begin to grow again. 

 When growth is slow, sorghum sometimes develops a 

 poison called " prussic acid " ; so there is danger in letting 

 stock into a field on a hot, dry day, or late in the fall 

 after a stunted second growth has started. 



Sudan grass. This grass plant (Fig. 96), like the 

 grain sorghums, was introduced into the United States 

 from a rather dry climate. The Department of Agri- 



W. T. SJcilling 



FIG. 95. Milo (short and thick head) and 

 kafir (long and slender head). 



