MILLETS 



MILLETS. Pigs. 693-702. 



By M. A. Carleton. 



_ The millets are cultivated varie- 

 ties of certain small-seeded cereal 

 and forage grasses, which, in a strict 

 sense, belong to the genus Panicum, 

 or to closely allied genera. Because of 

 a resemblance in the seed the name is 

 also applied to other grasses of different 

 genera in this country, while in Europe 

 and Asia even the sorghums are classed as 

 millets. 



The millets are among the most ancient 

 of food grains. There is historical evidence 

 of their cultivation in China since 2800 B.C. 

 They are still of the greatest importance in 

 oriental countries, both as food grains and 

 forage plants. In India the annual acreage 

 for all millets (including sorghums) is com- 

 parable with that of wheat in the United 

 States. The prosos predominate in India, while 

 in Japan the foxtail millets are the most com- 

 mon. In these countries and in China an enor- 

 mous amount of seed is used annually for human 

 food. For many years the proso millets have 

 constituted one of the important crops of Russia, 

 and at present the annual production, over eighty 

 million bushels, is probably greater than in any 

 other country. 



In this country millet is generally grown as a 

 supplementary or catch-crop. It is also found to be 

 valuable in certain kinds of rotations. It is profit- 

 ably employed in the case of a failure of some 

 other crop, such as corn, or may be substituted for 

 corn where the latter crop is not adapted. Millet 

 may often be grown in place of a summer fallow, 

 giving extra returns without materially lessening 

 the chances for the following crop. It is also ex- 

 cellent for restoring to a good condition land that 

 is foul with weeds. 



Groups and varieties of millet. 



Of the millets that are fairly well known in this 

 country there are three principal groups : the fox- 

 tail millets (Chcetochloa Italica and var. Germanica), 

 the barnyard millets {Paniewm Crus-galli), and the 

 prosos {Panicum miliaeeum). 



MILLETS 



469 



Fig. 693. Fig. 694. 



Red Siberian CommDnmiUet. About three- 

 millet, fourths natural size. 



Fig. 695. German 

 millet. About one- 

 half natural size. 



Foxtail millets. (Pigs. 693-698.) 

 The seeds of these millets are closely compacted 

 into a club head, varying much in size, and either 

 cylindrical or tapering at one or both ends. Ac- 

 cording to the most common classification, there 

 are two principal sub-groups of the foxtail millets, 



separated chiefly on the basis of the size of head, 

 and which may be called the large or common 

 millets, and the small or Hungarian millets. To 

 the sub-group having the large heads belong the 

 common (Pig. 694), the German (Pig. 695), the 

 Aino (Pig. 696) and the Golden Wonder millets. 

 The type of the second sub-group is tiie Hungarian 

 millet (Pig. 698). In each of these sub-groups 

 there is great variatien in the length and color of 

 the beards and color of the seed, and on the basis 

 of these variations the further classification into 

 varieties is made. 



The seed of both the German and common millets 

 is yellow, but that of the former is slightly the 

 smaller, while the head of the German is much the 

 larger. Both varieties are bearded, the beards 

 often turning dark brown or purple in color. The 

 Golden Wonder, a variety much advertised, has a 

 head still larger than that of the German -and is 

 almost beardless. The seed is small and yellow, 

 Our common millet is not the common one in 

 Europe, although what is known on that continent 

 as California millet is this variety. 



