THE MILLETS 107 
well supplied with stable manure cow-peas should un- 
doubtedly be grown in preference to millet—at least, in 
the East, where drouth is not likely to interfere with 
their growth. It is possible that the cow-pea may, in 
time, displace millet as a catch crop in the Eastern 
States, but we do not yet know enough about this crop 
in the North to state what its possibilities are in that 
section. 
Millet has the reputation of being hard on the soil. 
Like sorghum, it is a heavy yielder, and makes large 
drafts on soil moisture and available plant food. It is 
also a coarse feeder, and for this reason it is particu- 
larly adapted to new land. In the West it isa favor-’ 
ite crop on newly broken prairie sod. It is also par- 
ticularly adapted to newly cleared land in timbered 
sections. It likes a loose, porous soil, such as is found 
in new fields; on old land it prefers sandy soil to clay, 
because of its greater porosity. Yet it is not partial 
to poor land. A rich, porous soil, when put into fine 
tilth, is the ideal seed-bed for this crop. To get the 
best results the land should be thoroughly fined and 
not too much compacted before sowing millet-seed. 
Many farmers rebreak the land just before sowing this 
crop. Unlike wheat or alfalfa, it does not like a solid 
seed-bed. On a soil inclined to be heavy, after a~mil- 
let crop is harvested care should be used not to plow 
the land when too dry, or it will break upcloddy. Mil- 
let is one of the best crops for taking the ‘‘new’’ out 
of the soil. If old soil is not well handled millet will 
take the life out of it. If the soil is abundantly sup- 
plied with barn-yard manure millet will not hurt it, 
and few crops will give a larger yield of good hay in 
