1901.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 41 



Utility of Barnyard Millet. 



Yield per Acre. — The millet is a heavy yielder of green 

 fodder; from 12 to 18 tons per acre have l)een grown upon 

 the college farm, on naturally moist land in good condition, 

 while as high as 35 tons per acre have been reported by out- 

 side parties. Our own experience has shown it to yield 

 from 12 to 14 tons per acre upon medium loam in good state 

 of fertility, but not naturally very retentive of moisture. 

 Such quantities, however, were produced without the millet 

 appearing to suffer from lack of water ; and it is believed 

 that this amount is a conservative estiuiate of its productive- 

 ness, unless the land is especially moist, warm and fertile. 

 If the millet is planted in drills 15 inches apart and allowed 

 to mature, it will yield aliout 60 bushels of seed per acre, of 

 an average weight of 35 pounds per bushel. When sown 

 broadcast, 90 bushels per acre have been reported. 



Millet as a /Soiling Crop. — For use as a soiling crop, the 

 seed should be sown broadcast and harrowed in May 10 

 to 15, at the rate of 12 quarts per acre. The fodder will 

 be ready to cut August 1 or a few days earlier. It is 

 wise to begin cutting before the heads appear, and to con- 

 tinue for twelve days. It cannot be cut to advantage for a 

 much longer period, for the reason that after it is well headed 

 it becomes tough and woody, and the animals refuse a portion 

 of it. In order to secure green millet feed during the entire 

 month of August, a second seeding can be made June 1, and 

 a third about June 20. If green feed of this character is 

 desired in September, later seedings are necessary. We 

 have found it advantageous to sow peas with the first seed- 

 ing of millet, at the rate of one and one-half bushels of 

 Canada peas together with six quarts of millet per acre. 

 The peas are first deeply harrowed in, and the millet covered 

 with a tooth harrow. If the weather should prove cool dur- 

 ing ISIay and June, the peas are likely to get ahead of the 

 millet, but the latter catches up as the warm weather comes 

 on. This pea and millet mixture makes a desirable green 

 feed. No experiments have been made to measure the feed- 



