SUDAN GRASS AND RELATED PLANTS. . 43 
TaBLeE XI.—Comparison of the composition of Sudan grass when grown under different 
climatic conditions. 
Constituents. 
Nim ber| = 
Locality where grown. of | | NT OeeTL: 
samples. Ash. Ether Protein. crude free 
extract. | er extract. 
Humid regions: Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. 
Arlington Farm, V eS Rene tee Oy 1 7.07 1. 47 6. 25 34, 85 50. 36 
C ‘ollege Park, Nid Beiin NR Tieton dite 1 4.74 1. 87 6. 57 34, 83 51.99 
NOM OST O WAR eto e icc eens Soups ae 2 cheats 1 7.35 3. 53 6. 57 32. 36 50. 19 
ee 
Average... a.0.-2 Sey See ener e | 9 6. 85 1.74 6. 32 34. 57 50. 52 
Dry regions: | ii : 
ELSI SHI CamG eat baem er tec ere ee rca 8 9, 85 iM; (53) 10. 65 29. 68 48, 27 
Chillicothe whence ese eee eee Pa 2 20 7.61 1745) 9. 06 27. 93 53. 65 
ey Rien Am A Te ge Ly 8] 825 1.69 9.52| 28.43 52. 11 
1 These averazes are Seighten according to the number of samples. 
Actual feeding tests furnish the best measure of the value of Sudan 
grass hay. The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station (22, pp. 
21-27) in 1914 and 1915 conducted a series of feeding tests which 
furnish a direct comparison between Sudan grass hay, alfalfa hay, 
and kafir stover. One of these tests was made at the Fort Hays 
Ixperiment Station during the winter of 1914-15 to determine the 
value of Sudan grass hay as a roughage for wintering work animals. 
The 12 horses and 6 mules used in this test were taken from a normal 
erain and hay ration when work ceased in the fall and fed a daily 
ration of 20 pounds of roughage alone, with the results outlined in 
Table XII. Each lot consisted of 4 horses and 2 mules. The animals 
had warm stalls at night and ran in an open corral during the day. 
TaBLe XIl.—Comparison of Sudan grass hay with alfalfa hay and kafir stover as a rough- 
age for wintering rdle work stock. 
Test weighings. 
Items of comparison. = 
Jan.11. | Jan. 21. | Jan.31. | Feb. 10. | Feb. 20. | Mar. 3. 
Sudan grass hay: Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds. 
AMOUE UES (ONG ape see Ue eee oe eae 7, 436 7, 270 7, 300 7, 513 7, 419 7, 387 
Loss (—) or gain (+) from initial weight-|........-- — 166 —136 aml —17 —49 
Alfalfa hay: | 
Motaliweilshteerye Mie roaches) kus eo 8 t | 7, 193 7, 630 7, 590 7, 801 7, 817 7, 783 
Loss (—) or gain (+) frominitial weight-|........-. —123 —163 +48 +64 +30 
Kafir stover: | 
AMotalliwiel eters heres Miers oe 8, 241 7, 945 7, 840 8, 022 7,918 7, 941 
Loss (—) from initial weight...........- | BUND a 2 — 296 —401 —219 —323 —300 
As would be expected, all the animals when deprived of the grain 
ration lost weight at first, the loss being greatest in the lot fed upon 
kafir stover. ‘At the cal of the corn on seven weeks the lot fed 
alfalfa had recovered this loss and made a gain of 5 pounds a head 
over the initial weight. The lot fed upon Sudan grass, after recov- 
ering the initial loge) ended the feeding period only 8 pounds per head 
fetter than at the beginning; while “the lot fed kafir stover never 
