SORGHUM 



SORGHUM 



577 



AA. Peduncle strongly declined or 

 recurved (goosenecked), or 

 sometimes erect; hence, 

 panicle horizontal or pen- 

 dent, or erect : 

 Panicle black, ovate or tri- 

 angular, awned ; stems tall 

 and stout, reddened below 9. Gooseneck 



Descriptions of varieties of sweet sorghum. 



1. Amber. (Fig. 810.) This is the earliest vari- 

 ety, maturing in about 90-100 days; stems slender, 

 5-7 feet tall, averaging 8-10 nodes, branching 



t freely late in 



Mb«- the season ; 



leaves rather 

 slender. Pani- 

 cles black, 

 loose and very 

 open, 8-12 

 inches long,ob- 

 long or ovate- 

 pyramidal in 

 outline, fre- 

 quently one- 

 sided (secund) 

 and triangular 

 through the 

 leaning of the 

 stalks, the 

 lowerbranches 

 usually droop- 

 ing. Typically 

 awned, but 

 awns decidu- 

 ous at matur- 

 ity, and some- 

 times entirely 

 Glumes broad, jet black, more or less 

 silky-hairy, exceeding and enclosing the orange or 

 reddish, oval seeds. Exceeding variable. Forms 

 with contracted panicles are common, especially in 

 the Plains region and the extreme North, where 

 lack of moisture and short season prevent luxuriant 

 growth. It is known commercially under many 

 names, as Early Amber, Minnesota Amber, Im- 

 proved Amber, Wisconsin Amber, Black Dwarf, and 

 others. Is found in cultivation on every continent. 

 Amber is very subject to blight and smut. 



Minnesota Amber was originated through selec- 

 tion more than forty years ago by Mr. Seth H. 

 Kenney, of Waterville, Minn. It is distinguished 

 by more slender panicles with longer branches and 

 larger spikelets, by glabrous and usually glaucous 

 or bluish-white glumes which are less rigid in 

 texture, and by absence of awns. 



Folgers Early was developed as a specially pro- 

 ductive syrup strain, and when true to name is said 

 to be somewhat later. 



2. Bed Amber. This differs from Amber mainly 

 in the red empty glumes, but is also 5-10 days 

 later. It is now cultivated in this country only spar- 

 ingly if at all, but was probably in more general 

 use at one time. The seed has recently been re- 

 ceived from Australia under the name Orange. 

 The value is the same as for Amber. 



B37 



Fig. 810. Amber sorghum. 



wanting. 



3. Honey. This is a very distinct variety re- 

 cently discovered in the Southwest. Stalks 7-10 

 feet high, averaging 13-18 nodes in different 

 localities, stout, 1-lJ inches in diameter at the 

 base, very sweet. The stems are markedly tender 

 in comparison with other stout varieties. It is, 

 however, the latest variety known, requiring 130- 

 140 days to mature. For the southern states it is 

 likely to prove one of the best syrup varieties. 



4. Collier. This is a tall slender variety, 7-10 

 feet high, less than an inch in diameter, averaging 

 12 or 13 nodes, medium late, requiring 110-130 

 days to ripen. True Collier may be recognized by 

 the resemblance of its panicle to a small broom- 

 corn panicle, 6-10 inches long, the rachis much 

 shortened or occasionally half or more than half 

 as long as the panicle; branches long and slender, 

 drooping on all sides or, when the slender stalks 

 are leaning, drooping on one side only; seeds deep 

 orange or red, slightly exserted from the dark 

 glumes with pale margins. 



5. Planter's Friend. This is a fairly tall and 

 stout variety, erect, 7-9 feet high, averaging 13 

 or 14 nodes, |-li inches in diameter at the base, 

 yellowish green in color ; leaves large ; panicle 

 usually compact but not heavy, 5-8 inches long, 

 lighter in color than that of Orange, the glumes a 

 light straw-color and the seeds very pale orange 

 in dry regions, glumes and seeds both strongly 

 reddened in more humid climates. The top of the 

 panicle is often flaring through the spreading of 

 the longer upper branches; the rachis is normally 

 more than two-thirds as long as the panicle but 

 occasionally much shortened, and the long branches 

 are then more or less drooping. 



The origin of this variety has not been ascer- 

 tained, but it is probably one of the original Natal 

 varieties, grown in Kansas as early as 1889, in 

 India in 1875, and now in common cultivation in 

 Australia. It is found in local cultivation in many 

 of the southern and southwestern 

 states under such names as Improved 

 Orange, McLean, Silver, Silver-drip, 

 Silver-rind, Simmon's Cane, Sourless 

 and " Straightnecked Ribbon Cane." 

 The seed is not obtainable commerci- 

 ally. A variety known as Sugar-drip, 

 locally cultivated in North rarolina 

 and Texas, is a probable hybrid of tliis 

 variety with BlackhuU kafir. Plant- 

 er's Friend ripens at about the same 

 time as Orange, to which it is most 

 closely related, and is likely to have 

 about the same value as a syrup and 

 forage plant. 



6. Orange. (Fig. 811.) The Orange 

 is a rather stout, erect variety, 6-8 

 feet tall, f-lj inches in diameter, yel- 

 lowish green, with an average of 12- 

 14 nodes and rather large leaves. sorghum. 

 Panicles compact and heavy, oblong- 



or cylindrical, 6-9 inches long, in color a mixture 

 of the red or black glumes and the slightly ex- 

 serted, orange or reddish seeds. The top is occa 

 sionally open or flaring by the spreading of the 



