130 FORAGE CROPS 
young plant is slower than corn to start, and thus 
difficult to keep clean, especially in moist warm 
weather, it grows quite as rapidly, if not more so, 
when well established, and later cultivation is not 
so important. 
Sorghum is usually grown for the making of 
hay, and therefore a much thicker stand is wanted 
and broadcast seeding is practiced. The best 
method of seeding is to use a press drill, sowing 
from one and one-half to two bushels per acre, 
sufficient to have the stand thick, like wheat or 
rye, if the best hay is to be obtained. 
Harvesting and curing sorghum 
The crop may be cut for forage when two or 
three feet high, in which case it is possible to get 
a second crop quite as large as the first. For hay, 
however, it is better to let the plant reach a more 
mature stage, so the seeds begin to harden and 
the plants to turn yellow. At this stage, it will 
make more and better feed than if cut earlier or 
later. If the stalks are not more than six feet tall, 
the method commonly used for hay is to cut with 
a mower, allow it to wilt, and then, with self- 
dumping rakes, carry enough together to make 
small stacks of 800 to 1,200 pounds. By this 
method, experienced growers find that the least 
labor is involved, and that the product keeps green 
