CULTURAL METHODS FOB SORGHUMS 323 



are securely tied near the top and left in the field to be 

 hauled as used. A better method is to stack in large 

 stacks, but care must be observed that the fodder is well 

 cured before stacking. 



When sown broadcast the crop is usually cut with a 

 mower and handled as coarse hay, or cut with the grain- 

 binder. 



When cut with a mower a stubble of 6 inches should be 

 left. This tall stubble facilitates drying, and also gath- 

 ering the heavy fodder with a hayrake. Heavy sorghum 

 hay dries very slowly and should be left for one to two 

 weeks in the swath before raking and cocking. It should 

 be thoroughly cured in the cocks before stacking. 



258. An average yield of cured fodder varies from 3 to 

 6 tons per acre. Very heavy yields of 10 tons per acre 

 have been reported from one cutting. Where sorghum 

 is cut two or three times a season, as in the South, the 

 relative yield of the different cuttings depends on the 

 method of handling. If the first cutting is allowed to 

 become quite ripe, the following cutting will be light; 

 but if the first crop is cut quite green, the second cutting 

 may be as heavy as, or heavier than, the first. 



259. Seed crop. — Twenty-five to thirty bushels of 

 seed per acre is considered an average yield. All sorghum 

 sown in rows for fodder or planted thin for sirup-making 

 produces a good crop of seed. Most of the commercial 

 seed of sweet sorghums comes from this source. 



