224 



FIELD CROP PRODUCTION 



soils. It yields more per acre than the common or Hun- 

 garian, but the hay is coarser and is of not quite so good 

 quality, although when it is properly made, live stock 

 eat it quite readily. 



220. The broom-corn millets. — Broom-corn millet, 

 Panicum miUaceum, is so named because of the similarity 

 of the head, which is in the form of a panicle, to that of 



broom-corn. The broom- 

 corn millets are grown ex- 

 tensively in southern Eu- 

 rope and in many parts of 

 Asia, but they have never 

 been extensively grown in 

 the United States, and are 

 not nearly so important 

 here as the fox-tail varieties. 

 Some varieties, however, are 

 grown rather extensively in 

 the Northwest, where, on 

 account of the short season 

 and dry climate, they pro- 

 vide a good substitute for 

 corn. The varieties of 

 broom-corn millets vary 

 more or less in their habits 

 of growth, but the group as 

 a whole, when compared with fox-tails, do not produce as 

 much forage as the latter, but produce more seed. The 

 stems are large and often hollow, and the leaves are covered 

 with hair, giving a coarse, rather unpalatable forage. 

 The seeds are large and variously colored, the colors of 

 red, white, and yellow being especially prominent. They 

 are valuable plants for many sections of the Northwest, 



Fig. 79. — Broom-corn millet. 



