36 BULLETIN 981, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
coming until the seed ripens. The stems, however, become woody 
after seed has set: therefore the hay from cuttings made about the 
time the grass heads is somewhat more palatable than later cuttings. 
TaBLe VI.—Composition and yield per acre of the principal food elements in Sudan grass 
when cut at different stages of maturity. 
| Number Total | Ether Crude Nitrogen- 
Stage of maturity of dry Ash Protein. _. free 
samples. | matter PRUE EE | fiber. extract. 
Computed on the basis of actual | 
dry matter: 
Very young, 18 to 24 inches Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent.| Per cent. | Per cent. 
ee dan ee eee! 24 100 10.77 1.52 13. 58 25.54 48.59 
Test before heading.....---- 19 100 9. 26 1.98 12. 89 27.05 48. 82 
First heads appearing. ..---. 12 100 8.74 1.72 11.54) 28. 38 | 49.62 
Beginning to bloom........- 10 100 8.19 1.68 9.82 31.15 49.16 
Seed in milk or soft-dough 
Stave soe ei eso Sse 8 100 7.20 1.64 8.73 | 29.26 53.17 
Seed fully mature... Flees: 2 100 7.35 1.38 6.03 | 36.71 | 48.53 
bs ields per acre at Hays, Kans., ; | 
1915 to 1918: | 
Just before heading, two Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds. 
CU Lan Ss Se = Se saa oe eee 3, 235 355 62 471 | 923 | 1,424 
Cut as first heads appeared 
and again at frost........- \ecweer ls 3, 952 422 65 506 | 1,173 | 1, 786 
Cut when beginning to 
bloom and again at frost, 
an 4915 and 1916)=—. 9252 22h Seee2 3, 802 373 60 421 | 1,196 | 1, 752 
Seed in soft-dough stage: 
only one cutting.--.-..---. ips Sede ae 4, 093 361 62 352 1, 336 -! 1, 982 
| | , 
Local conditions should largely govern the time of cutting. When 
insect pests threaten or drought or frost checks growth, it frequently 
pays to mow Sudan grass if it is 2 or 3 feet high whether it is headed 
or not. Scarcity of hay or the approach of a very busy season may 
also justify such early cutting. Rush of work and the desire to harvest 
seed are valid reasons for late cutting, for even thrashed Sudan grass 
is a fairly good roughage. 
MACHINERY. 
The mowing machine is usually employed in harvesting Sudan 
grass hay, especially that less than 4 to 5 feet high. If the crop is 
fed green, a little at a time, an ordinary scythe may weli be used. 
Grain binders work well on both rows and broadcast Sudan grass 
3 to 6 feet high. Cultivated rows more than 5 feet high are best 
handled with a corn binder. (Fig. 20.) In 1915 some Kansas 
growers cut very tall broadcasted Sudan grass and sweet sorghums 
with a corn binder by attaching an extension arm on one side to make 
it gather in and cut a swath 2 to 3 feet wide. Though loose Sudan 
grass hay is much easier to pitch than the coarser sorghums, many 
farmers consider that the added cost in binding tall grass is more than 
offset by the convenience of handling. In humid regions the hay 
may spoil in the bundle if bound green. 
CURING AND STORING. 
In dry windy regions the crop, if bound, may be set up at once in 
substantial shocks. If mowed, the hay usually should be raked within 
