120 FORAGE CROPS 



rather hard on a machine and somewhat expensive. 

 The ordinary method is to cut with a mower, and 

 the crop should be left to cure well before raking. 

 Ordinarily, in the middle and western part of 

 Kansas, after being cut and raked, it is put into 

 large shocks or small ricks containing from a ton 

 to three tons each. This is done with a hay -gath- 

 erer, "buck -rake" or "go -devil," and saves a great 

 deal of handling. It keeps in excellent condition 

 when treated this way, and can be hauled when 

 needed. Under ordinary conditions kafir corn will 

 be ready to harvest for hay in about 105 days after 

 planting, and this should be before frost, as freez- 

 ing while green is detrimental; besides, the hay 

 will not cure as well in cool weather, and it is 

 essential that it be as perfectly cured as possible. 



Yield of grain in kafir corn 



The yield of grain will range from twenty to 

 ninety bushels per acre, with an average of about 

 forty-five bushels in eastern Kansas; in the 

 western and drier parts of Kansas it is smaller, 

 though there the difference in yield between kafir 

 corn and Indian corn is proportionately greater 

 than in the eastern parts. At the Kansas Sta- 

 tion the average yield of kafir corn for eleven 

 years was forty- six bushels per acre, while for 

 Indian corn it was thirty -four and five -tenths 



