Campbell's 1902 Soll Cultuee Ma>'ual. 



95 



The best sorghum crops grown in western Nebraska during the past 

 few years were listed or planted in drills far enough apart to allow culti- 

 ratiog. 



Where the crop is to be used for pasture or hay. sowing broadcast 

 or drilling in thick is the best method and especially so in sections where 

 rainfaU is plentiful. 



WHEN TO PLANT. 



Sorghum seed like corn germinates best in warm earth not too wet 

 and will do better planted after the corn rather than before. 



It makes a good catch crop and under ordinary conditions will give 

 a fair amount of forage on land which has grown a crop of rye or winter 

 wheat. 



The land in all cases should be well prepared and free from lumps 

 and growing weeds. 



The weeder should be used freely in early cultivation, as weeds should 

 never be allowed to get the start of a sorghum field. 



When once the sorghum gets a start no weed can ever get the upper 

 hand, but on the contrary the sorghum will choke down everything. 



HARVESTING. 



When pastured it should not be turned on to until it reaches at least 

 a two foot growth as the young plants wiU have then formed deep roots 

 and will produce second growth. 



Sorghum poisoning is still a mystery to science and is therefore 

 difficult to cope with. However, we find it limited as a rule to certain dis- 

 tricts which happily are few. 



In sections where it is dangerous to pasture the sorghum, the wilted 

 or cured forage has never been known to cause death, so the best preven- 

 tive in this case is to soil or feed the cured fodder. 



Where the crop is sown thickly in drills or broadcast it may be har- 

 Tested as you would hay, cutting with a mower when the seed is in the 

 early dough state. It should be left on the ground only long enough to 

 wilt and partly change color when it can be raked up in bunches of half a 

 ton each and then piled in cock to cure. Another method is to harvest 

 with a reaper, allow to cure well in bundle, and then stack or put in barn. 



When listed or drilled in rows, double or single, the best method is 

 to cut with a corn harvester, the bundles are most convenient to handle 

 and u'ill cure icell. 



It may also be cut with a reaper, or corn cutter, when it should be 

 shocked, as is common with Indian corn. A self rake reaper is sometimes 

 used to good advantage. When in the loose bundle it will cure and may 

 then be placed in shocks or long narrow rooks. 



