SUDAN GRASS AND RELATED PLANTS. 4] 
In 1913 Sudan grass grown at the Arlington Experimental Farm, 
Va., in mixtures with cowpeas, soy beans, and the bonavist bean 
(Dolichos lablab) was analyzed with the results shown in Table VIIT. 
UTILIZATION OF SUDAN GRASS. 
HAY. 
Sudan grass is essentially a hay crop, its slender leafy stems mak- 
ing it easy to handle with the ordinary haying machinery. It yields 
well in most parts of the United States, as shown’by Tables IT to V, 
and the hay is relished by cattle, horses, and sheep. 
The feeding value of Sudan grass hay is practically equal to that 
of millet, Johnson grass, timothy, and other nonlegume roughages. 
This is shown both by chemical analyses and by practical feeding 
tests. A statement of the percentages of the different food elements 
in Sudan grass hay and other common hay and fodder crops is given 
in Table TX. These percentages are given on a water-free basis, 
because there seems no other way at the present time to make them 
comparable for the different feeds. It is realized that hay and fodder 
when fed to live stock contain an appreciable quantity of water and 
that this necessarily means a lower percentage of the other nutrients 
such as protein, carbohydrates, and fat. In order to be ready for 
use in computing balanced rations, the composition of feeds should be 
stated on the basis of their average moisture content at the time 
they are being fed. The data now available, however, on the moist- 
ure content of hays and fodders at the time they are removed from 
the stacks and barns are very limited (1, 25, 26). It is impossible, 
therefore, to estimate accurately the average percentage of moisture 
in the erent kinds of roughage as they are fed. 
TaBLE I1X.—Average Crecetton of hay made from Sudan and other grasses and legumes | 
and of corn and sorghum fodder. 
Average constituents. 
a Number | 
eed. of F 
lanalyses.| cy rate Crude ieee Ether 
fiber extract, | ©xtract. 
Hay: Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent.| Percent. 
DUG AT OTASS Barataria ete yeas a 71 8.6 10. 2 29.5 49.9 1.8 
Johnson TASS en a se Ae nena ee eae Sk Ue a7) 9.0 32.6 47.7 3.0 
Tein O Gniyee os en ee eee eee eee 226 6.2 7.8 32.3 50. 6 3.1 
IMAL CTA Sees Rey Ree ee Ta. BUT yee 40 8.8 9.8 30. 1 48.3 3.0 
PAST lifes eee es ates as em IN Enea ek ae 247 9.7 17.4 29.6 40.5 2.8 
FUCGUCIOMEI eat see ese te ees 99 7.9 15.6 27.7 44.9 3.9 
COWID CAS Bee eee ee, ste Wome RIL cil) 78 14.3 19.4 226 40.5 Sel! 
Fodder: 
(Olay sais Se 0a bb eee ea ie Mee a ee eu 45 6.6 &.4 26.1 56. 2 2.7 
Songs: she eee eye eee he Be Ey 18 10.1 LOI 28. 4 49.4 2.0 
1 These analvses were supplied by the Cattle Food and Grain Investigation Laboratory, Bureau of Chem- 
istry, United States Department of Agriculture. 
