6o SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



latitude, that is to say, north of the parallel which 

 runs through Springfield, 111. ; and even in the Mis- 

 sissippi basin they can be grown with greater 

 success south of that line rather than north of 

 the same. In the trials made with the non- 

 saccharine sorghums at the Minnesota university 

 experiment farm, all the varieties tested pro- 

 duced an abundant growth of green food, as will 

 be evident from what has previously been said in 

 regard to them, but only in a few instances did any 

 of the varieties mature seed. These plants are also 

 more tender than corn and sorghum in the early 

 stages of their growth, and with the exception of 

 Milo maize they would seem to be less palatable than 

 corn and sorghum. In view of these facts, it is only 

 in localities not well adapted to the growth of corn 

 and sorghum that the non-saccharine sorghums are 

 likely to supersede them. It is not probable, there- 

 fore, that they will supersede corn and sorghum 

 north from the fortieth parallel of latitude, at least 

 not in the near future. Of course it is impossible 

 to say how much further to the north the line of suc- 

 cessful growth may be pushed when these plants 

 become better acclimatized. 



The greater power which the non-saccharine 

 sorghums have to grow under conditions too dry for 

 the successful growth of corn, furnishes a sufficient 

 reason for growing them under such conditions. A 

 second reason is found in the greater yields of grain 

 which they furnish in many localities in the south. 

 , A third reason arises from the power which they 

 have to grow again when cut. This property, in 

 conjunction with the abundance of the food which 

 Digitized by Microsoft® 



