THE I K K 1 G A T I N AGE. 



747 



hay and well cured oat or barley hay possesses important 

 advantages, as it makes a better balanced ration. 



Corn. 



The West is not a corn country. The great value of 

 corn, however, as a forage crop and as a cultivated crop 

 for dry farming, makes it of much importance. There are 

 parts of the West where corn can be raised for grain with 

 profit, but its high value is as a fodder. 



Corn is one of the most productive plants we -can grow 

 in the amount of roughage produced per acre. Yields of 

 from four tons to twelve tons per acre are obtained of 

 cured fodder. When properly raised and cared for, corn 

 fodder is worth almost half as much as alfalfa, and it pro- 

 duces a large amount of digestible food per acre. 



Corn is one of the best drouth-resistant forage crops, 

 and one that can be most cheaply raised. Seed costs little, 

 cultivation may be done on an extensive scale, and shallow 

 cultivation is all that is necessary. The land may be 

 plowed and cultivated more shallow for corn than for any 

 other crop. Under dry farming, with proper tools, one 

 man can plant and tend 160 acres of corn, or of sorghum. 

 He must have plenty of horses, gang listers, large har- 

 rows, and gang weeders. 



There are many kinds and varieties of corn, but they 

 are all classified under about four heads. There are flour 

 corns, usually grown in the South; Dent corns large and 

 small, Flint corns suitable to the North, and sweet corns. 

 The best varieties for the most of the West are those 

 short season types represented by the Flint corns and the 

 small Dents. Sweet corn is one of the most valuable sorts 

 to grow for forage. It will produce almost or quite as 

 much forage per acre as the common kinds. The best 

 varieties for this purpose are the large growing late sorts, 

 like Evergreen or Stowell's Evergreen. 



Of the common corns those that will stand the most 

 drouth, the shortest season, and coolest nights are the 

 Australian Flint corns, the White Cap Dent corns, Cool 

 Night corn and Mexican corn. Corn is one of the easiest 

 plants to adapt to variations of soil and climate. 



Corn Culture. 



We recommend deep plowing for dry farming, and 

 more shallow plowing where irrigation is done. Plowing 

 should be as long before planting as possible in order to 

 let the soil become packed. The usual cultivation to con- 

 serve moisture and kill w_eeds is important. There are two 

 general methods of planting. Corn may be drilled in rows 

 three or three and one-half feet apart, dropping the seed 

 about a foot apart in the row. Or, it may be drilled more 

 thickly for the production of fine stemmed fodder. When 

 planted in this manner, usually from ten pounds to twenty 

 pounds of seed per acre are sown. For dry farming the 

 recommendation is to use a lister, planting in hills with 

 two pounds to five pounds of seed per acre. Cultivation 

 should begin almost as soon as the corn is planted. It 

 may be frequently harrowed until the plants are six or 

 eight inches high. Then it should be cultivated with a 

 weeder until too high for this machine, after which cultiva- 

 tion can be done with the ordinary corn cultivators, unless 

 there is sufficient moisture so the crop can be laid by. 



Corn fodder has the highest food value when it is 

 nearly mature. It is best to leave it until the ears are just 

 past the glazing stage. There is considerable loss in the 

 West of food value when corn matures. It should be put 

 ,in as large shocks as possible to save this loss. It does 

 not pay to harvest corn-stalks by turning in stock to eat 

 them. Fodder is less valuable if left to cure in the fields, 

 and there is considerable loss occasioned by cattle dying 

 suddenly from corn-stalk disease. There are no bad effects 

 from feeding cured corn fodder. Fifty pounds of corn 

 foder when it is in best condition is said to equal seventy- 

 five pounds of millet or sorghum. 



Sorghum and Kafir Corn. 



The word sorghum usually designates the sweet forms 

 which may ' be grown for sugar. The common non- 

 saccharine sorghums are called Kafir corn, or Jerusalem 

 corn, rice corns, or Dhouras. The culture is alike for all 

 these sorghums and the general recommendation for prep- 

 aration of the land and cultivation of crop given for corn 

 is applicable to sorghum. These plants are valuable for 

 some parts of the West. The Kafir corns grow in the 



hotter, longer seasons, and the Dhouras and sweet sor- 

 ghum further north. They are usually grown for forage, 

 but the grain is of great value. Ground sorghum seed has 

 much the same nature as corn meal and has a value only 

 a little less than corn for feeding. The sorghums have 

 weak germinating seeds and are slow in the earlier part 

 of their growth. The seed should not be planted until the 

 weather gets warm, usually after the middle of May, and 

 level culture is better than listing, as the plants should be 

 up where they receive the sun and heat. They should be 

 drilled in rows, three feet apart, and when grown for 

 forage, about one and one-half bushels of seed may be 

 sown per acre. When grown for grain, from six to twelve 

 pounds of seed should be used which will distribute it 

 from four to eight inches apart in the rows'. The grain 

 may be sown broadcast and harvested with a mower for 

 hay. The usual method of harvesting when grown in rows 

 is but the use of either a mower or a corn binder. The 

 yield of grain varies from twenty bushels to ninety bushels 

 of grain in Kansas, the average being forty-five bushels. 

 These crops will yield -from four to eight tons of dry 

 forage. 



While sorghums may be more easily raised than corn, 

 their fodder is not so valuable. They are drought resist- 

 ant. They are sometimes cut early in order to produce 

 two crops in a season. It is more advisable, however, to 

 let the plants become more mature. If cut early, they are 

 succulent and cattle cannot eat enough to furnish them 

 with sufficient nutriment. They are best cut for food 

 when the grain is in the milk or early dough stage. Dr. 

 Headden found that good sweet sorghum gives poor feed- 

 ing results compared with corn fodder or other forage. 



The earliest and the best variety of sweet sorghum 

 for general planting is the Early Amber. Early Orange 

 is good, but it requires a little longer season. The best 

 variety of Kafir corn is the Black Hulled White. The 

 Red Kafir corn is usually grown where the season is long; 

 but the Black Hulled White has given the best results in 

 nearly all parts of the West. 



Millets. 



There are four distinct forms of millet.. First, the 

 Japanese millets, of which our wild crab grass is a near 

 relative; second, the round headed millets, like the Com- 

 mon, German, Hungarian, Golden, and Siberian millets; 

 third, the Pearl millets, which have round, cat-tail-like 

 heads, and. fourth, Broom corn, hog, or Proso millets, 

 which are drouth resistant forms. 



Of these forms the Pearl millet is suitable to the 

 South, and will not mature in our northwestern states. 

 The proso millets will stand more drouth and produce 

 crops of seed where others would fail, but as a forage 

 they are not so palatable to stock as are the other forms. 



On good soils, under irrigation, Japanese millet will 

 produce heavy yields of fairly good forage. The German, 

 Hungarian, and Siberian millet are the ones most gener- 

 ally recommended. Of these the Hungarian seems to be 

 the most palatable to stock, but the German or Siberian 

 millet will probably produce heavier yields. 



. Millets are quick growing, summer crops which are 

 qufte exhaustive on soils. They are not very useful at 

 altitudes above 6,000 feet, but at lower altitudes they pro- 

 duce valuable hay, especially under systems of dry farm- 

 ing. Millet is a good crop to raise on new sod, under 

 irrigation. Sow from thirty pounds to sixty pounds of 

 seed per acre, and as with other small seeds, we advise 

 the use of the press drill. Millets are good feeds for most 

 stock, but they must be fed carefully to horses. It is 

 better to mix millet with other hay, like oats, peas, or corn 

 fodder. 



There are several kinds of salt bush (Atriplex) grow- 

 ing in parts of the arid West. These plants have high 

 feeding value and are an important part of the forage 

 on many ranges. The Indians have appreciated these 

 plants for their horses. In "Captain Bonneville," Irving 

 says that many years ago old Chief Arapooish, in telling 

 that the "Crow-Country is a good country," spoke of the 

 value of the Salt Weed for their horses. lust what the 

 value of the Salt sages will be for cultivation is not known, 

 but some of them are very promising. The best native 

 kinds are apparently Nelson's Salt Sage, Shad Scale, and 

 the Annual Tumbling Saltweed. The one which is most 

 cultivated is the introduced Australian salt bush. This has 



