134 Richard Frotschefs Almanac and Garden Manual 



DHOURO, OR EGYPTIAN CORN. 



{Sorghum Vulgar e.) 

 By E. M. Hudson. 



This cereal is ordinarily supposed to be a native of Asia, but 

 it is cultivHted largely as well in Africa, some portions of the West 

 Indies and South America. In the United States it was formerly 

 planted quite extensively in tlie Southern States 5 but at present, 

 many more times as much of it is grown in Kansas as in all the 

 rest of this country. Its name vari- s almost with the locality in 

 which it is' raised ; and the varieties — the results of sports or 

 crossings — are almost ^^s numerous as its designations. In Kan- 

 sas, which must be legarded as the leading locality of its present 

 ])roduction in this country, two varieties mainly are cultivated, 

 the Eed and the White. Both of these ar.^ good, equally so, per- 

 haps, unless as to productiveness, for it is geuer-illy believed that 

 tlie Ee(^ produces much more grain than tbe White. Also it is 

 said that the Red will ripen seed far' her North than the ^Vh^te ; 

 but in the Southern States this is of no consideration, in as much 

 as hoth, in one season, have produced seed from which a second 

 seed-bearing crop has been produced without difficulty. Nor does 

 it ai)iiear, as far as acturil experiment has g"ne, that the Utd is 

 much, if any, more productive than the White in the ttouihtrn 

 beb, at least near the Gulf coast. 



Innutrition the grain is but liitle behind wheat; while its 

 yie'd per acre is greaterthan any cereal in the known world. From 

 lUO to 150 b shels of grain on rich lands is but anordina-y yie d 5 

 and it is claimed that in Kansas this year near 200 bashe s per 

 act e have been produced. This is quite pos-^ible of l)elief to those 

 who saw the ma^niticent panicles on exhii ition at Atlanta, at 'he 

 International C«>tton Exposition this auiumn. In certa n portions 

 of Kansas, where prolonged droughts are usual, its cultivation 

 has recently been successfully introduced as a substitute for 

 wheat; for drought seems to have but liit'e intiueuce t » retard its 

 growth. Indeed, when planted side by ^ide with Indian C(»rn, the 

 latter from drought has been curled and twisteil almost beyond 

 hope, the former exhibited no external effects of the dr}^ season. 



Of course the \ield varies with the soil on which it grows, 

 the richer the soil the greater the :^ieli ; but it will grow well on 

 soil however p or; in this respect taking precedence even of the 

 cow pea. It grows from six to twelve feet high, and maj' be le- 

 peateiily cut for green soiliuir. For. not only as a cereal, making 

 a meal far better ihan thar of Indian Corn, but also as a forage 

 pi nt tli^^ Dhouro is invaluable. Not onls does it spring up from 

 the stubble, wnen cut at from 3 to 5 feet iiigh, but also after ma- 

 turing the seed-heads it sends forth shoots or suckers from lower 

 joints, which in turn x)ruduce smal er heads. It is rich in saccha- 

 rine matter aiid affbids a good, tiiough tou^^h hay or fodder when 

 cured. Cut when very younjj: and suecuUn; it is not easy to cure 

 unless the weather be fine; but, as it continues to grow till frost, 

 making new suckers from the joints all the lime, it may be allowed 



