HAY AND PASTURE CROPS IN DRY AREAS 353 



GROWING HAY FROM THE MILLETS 



Millet, at least in several of its varieties, may be 

 fairly classed as a dry land plant. In some instances it 

 is grown for the grain, but more commonly it is grown 

 for the hay. It has relatively higher adaptation for 

 southern than for northern latitudes, and for low rather 

 than high elevations. It is readily injured by frost both 

 in the spring and in the autumn. 



Soils. The best soils for growing millet in the ab- 

 sence of irrigation are loams well capable of retaining 

 moisture. The more humus which they contain, the 

 higher is their relative adaptation. The plants have but 

 little power to struggle on soils leachy and light and prac- 

 tically destitute of humus. To sow them on pronounced- 

 ly alkali soil is to throw the seed away. 



Place in the rotation. The place in the rotation will 

 depend somewhat on the method of sowing. If the seed 

 is broadcasted, a method of sowing which should be 

 avoided, it will not succeed well after a grain crop in a 

 normal season, save where the rainfall is considerably 

 above 15 inches. Nor can the growth be considered safe 

 when it is sown on such land with the grain drill, all the 

 grain tubes being in use. If sown in spaced rows and 

 cultivated like corn, it may do reasonably well. On new 

 breaking, fairly good yields are obtained from drilling in 

 like grain and even from broadcast sowing but the plan 

 is attended with some hazard. Ground cultivated or 

 summer tilled cannot well be spared for this crop. A 

 cultivated crop on the summer-fallow naturally follows 

 millet, but when the millet crop has been cultivated a 

 small grain crop may follow. 



Preparing the land. While the preparation of the 

 land for millet should be fine and clean, it is specially im- 

 portant that the moisture shall be retained sufficiently 

 to germinate the seed when it is sown. The late season 



