112 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 
foxtail makes a fine and very nutritious hay that compares favorably in 
feeding value with a good quality of oat hay. The following table shows the 
digestible components of these two kinds of hay: 
Digestible Components of Foxtail and Oat Hays 
Protein | C2rbo- | pat | NUR, 
hydrates 9 
Foxtail........ 4.3 41.4 9 10.1 
Oat hay....... 4.5 43.7 1.5 10.5 
Teosinte is an annual forage plant, closely related to Indian corn. 
It is believed to be the ancestor of our corn, and has similar habits of growth. 
It is not grown as a forage plant outside of the southern States, as it needs a 
long season of hot weather, abundant moisture, and a rich soil in order to do 
well; under such conditions it is a remarkably vigorous grower, the stalks 
reaching 10 to 12 feet in height, with an abundant supply of leaves and slen- 
der stems, which continue to grow until killed by frost. The Louisiana station 
reports a yield of over 50 tons of green forage per acre of this crop on rich 
alluvial soils. Harvests of 18 to 30 tons per acre are not uncommon, accord- 
ing to Spillman. Teosinte makes one of the best soiling plants in the South 
on account of the immense yields of green forage which it produces. It stools 
freely and sometimes grows as many as 50 stalks from a single seed. Its 
leaves are similar to those of sweet sorghum. but much larger, and the stalks 
contain 8 to 10 per cent of sugar.* If cut when from four to five feet high, it 
makes an excellent fodder and will produce a second cutting fully as large as 
the first. If left until September or October, it furnishes good material for 
silage and yields more heavily than either Indian corn or sorghum. 
These remarks apply to conditions in the Gulf States only; the value of 
teosinte outside of this region is rather doubtful. In green condition it is 
very watery, containing only about 10 per cent of dry matter, with a similar 
percentage of digestible protein as green corn (0.9 per cent), and less than 
one-half as much digestible carbohydrates and fat as corn. 
Japanese cane is another Southern forage plant that has come into some 
prominence of late years. It is a variety of sugar cane, well adapted to the 
climate and soil of the Gulf States. It will do well in any section in which 
the velvet bean will mature seed, i.e, a territory within 200 to 250 miles 
north of the Gulf of Mexico. It is used as a silage crop, for winter pasture. 
or stored as dry forage. The Florida station found it one of the cheapest and 
most economical forage crops that a farmer in that State can grow for silage. 
The chief value of the plant lies in its high content of carbohydrates, particu- 
larly sugar. Like sorghum, it should be left to mature before cutting, 
whether intended for silage or for dry forage. 
QUESTIONS 
1. State the relation of grain to fodder secured by different methods of 
planting Indian corn. 
2. What proportion of nutrients is found in the ear corn and the corn 
stover in the ordinary method of growing Indian corn? 
3. Describe the value of Indian corn, grain hay, sotghum, and millets for 
feeding farm animals. 
* Farmers’ Bulletin 509. 
5 Bulletin 105. 
