SUDAN GRASS AND RELATED PLANTS. 



43 



Table XI. — Comparison of the composition of Sudan grass when grown under different 



climatic conditions. 



Locality where grown . 



Humid regions: 



Arlington Farm, Va 

 College Park, Md.... 

 Ames, Iowa 



Average 1 



Dry regions: 



Hays, Kans 



Chi'ilicothe, Tex 



Average 1 



Number 



of 

 samples. 



28 



Constituents. 



Ash. 



Per cent. 

 7.07 

 4.74 

 7.35 



6.85 



Ether 

 extract. 



Protein. 



Per cent. 

 1.47 

 1.87 

 3.53 



6.25 

 6.57 

 6.57 



1.74 



9.85 

 7.61 



8.25 



1.55 

 1.75 



1.69 



10.65 

 9.05 



9.52 



Crude 

 fiber. 



Per cent. 

 34.85 

 34. S3 

 32.36 



34. 57 



29. 68 

 27.93 



Nitrogen- 

 free 

 extract. 



Per cent. 

 50.36 

 51.99 

 50.19 



50.52 



48.27 

 53.65 



52.11 



1 These averages are weighted according to the number of samples. 



Actual feeding tests furnish the best measure of the value of Sudan 

 grass hay. The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station (22, pp. 

 21-27) in 1914 and 1915 conducted a series of feeding tests which 

 furnish a direct comparison between Sudan grass hay, alfalfa hay, 

 and kafir stover. One of these tests was made at the Fort Hays 

 Experiment Station during the winter of 1914-15 to determine the 

 value of Sudan grass hay as a roughage for wintering work animals. 

 The 12 horses and 6 mules used in this test were taken from a normal 

 grain and hay ration when work ceased in the fall and fed a daily 

 ration of 20 pounds of roughage alone, with the results outlined in 

 Table XII. Each lot consisted of 4 horses and 2 mules. The animals 

 had warm stalls at night and ran in an open corral during the day. 



Table XII. — Comparison of Sudan grass hay with alfalfa hay and kafir stover as a rough- 

 age for wintering idle work stock. 



Items of comparison. 



Test weighings. 



Jan. 11. Jan. 21. Jan. 31. Feb. 10. Feb. 20. Mar. 3. 



Sudan grass hay: 



Total weight 



Loss ( — ) or gain ( + ) from initial weight. 

 Alfalfa hay: 



Total weight 



Loss (— ) or gain ( +) from initial weight 

 Kafir stover: 



Total weight 



Loss (—) from initial weight 



Pounds. 

 7,436 



7,753 



Pounds. 

 7,270 

 -166 



7,630 

 -123 



7,945 

 -296 



Pounds. 

 7,300 

 -136 



7,590 

 -163 



7,840 

 -401 



Pounds. 

 7,513 



+77 



7,801 



+48 



8,022 

 -219 



Pounds. 



7,419 



-17 



7,817 

 +64 



7,918 

 -323 



Pounds. 



7,387 



-49 



7,783 

 +30 



7,941 

 -300 



As would be expected, all the animals when deprived of the grain 

 ration lost weight at first, the loss being greatest in the lot fed upon 

 kafir stover. At the end of the period of seven weeks the lot fed 

 alfalfa had recovered this loss and made a gain of 5 pounds a head 

 over the initial weight. The lot fed upon Sudan grass, after recov- 

 ering the initial loss, ended the feeding period only 8 pounds per head 

 lighter than at the beginning; while the lot fed kafir stover never 



