THE USES OF RYE 239 



manufacture of these liquors from corn. The grain is also 

 excellent for feeding to stock, though best results are usually 

 obtained when rye is fed in combination with other grains. 

 The best use of the grain can be made when it is fed to horses 

 or hogs. For feeding to hogs it should be combined with 

 barley, corn, or shorts, while it is best for horses when fed 

 with oats. 



295. Uses of the Green Plant. The green plant is an 

 important item of stock food, both as late fall and early 

 spring pasture and as a crop for green feed. Rye which is 

 sown in August or early in September will furnish con- 

 siderable pasturage during the fall months, and can be pas- 

 tured quite closely without danger of winter killing. The 

 plants from this early sowing should be pastured closely 

 enough to prevent the formation of heads in the fall. Rye 

 also furnishes excellent pasture in early spring, and may be 

 pastured for two or three weeks at that time without seri- 

 ously reducing the yield of grain. For feeding green to 

 stock, the plants should be cut about the time they come into 

 head, as the straw becomes stiff and wiry and is unpalatable 

 if allowed to become more mature. 



Rye is frequently plowed under as green manure to add 

 humus to the land. It makes a quick growth in the spring 

 and produces a large quantity of material early enough so 

 that it can be plowed down and another crop planted on the 

 land the same season. In the South, rye makes a good 

 winter cover, as it may be sown later than most other crops, 

 it never winter kills, and it begins to grow as soon as the 

 first warm days come. While it is excellent to prevent the 

 soil from washing, it adds little to the fertility of the land 

 and is of much less value as a green manure crop than any of 

 the legumes. If sown with winter vetch or field peas, it pro- 

 vides a support and increases the supply of vegetable matter. 



