, TEE SACCHARINE SOBGHUMS 297 



Empty glumes black, hairy. I. Amber. 



Empty glumes black, smooth. II. Minn. Amber. 



Empty glumes red. III. Red Amber. 



Empty glumes light brown. IV. Honey. 



Rachis less than one-half the length of the panicle : — 

 Panicle Mght, drooping branches, seeds orange to red. 



V. Collier. 

 Panicle heavy, seeds orange. VI. Planter's Friend. 

 2. Panicle close, compact. 



Empty glumes equal to seeds, seed red. VII. Orange. 



Empty glumes half as long as the small seeds, seeds 



dark red. VIII. Sumac. 



Empty glumes narrow. IX. Sapling. 



B. Peduncle recurved (goosenecked) or sometimes erect. 



Panicle black, glumes awned. X. 'Gooseneck. 



The three varieties that have had most extensive cul- 

 tivation are Amber, Orange, and Sumac. 



227. Amber, being the earhest of the three (90 to 

 100 days), has been practically the only variety grown 

 in the northern limits of sorghum culture — that is, 

 north of Kansas and the Ohio River — and has been 

 most popular in Kansas, the leading sorghum-growing 

 State. 



Amber grows about 5 to 7 feet tall, with 8 to 10 leaves, 

 being neither so tall nor so leafy as the other two varieties. 

 The seed head is usually black and is loose or spreading, 

 though it is somewhat variable in this respect. A number 

 of selections have been made, the best known of which 

 are : Minnesota Amber, which differs only in minor 

 details ; Red Amher, the heads of which are red instead of 

 black but which is otherwise similar ; and Folger's Early, a 

 strain said to be especially desirable for sirup production. 

 The various strains of Amber sorghum have been popular 

 for forage because of the rather slender stems and early 



