Campbell's 1902 Soil Culture Manual. 



97 



ghum made a very good showing in his experiments, bheep naturally are 

 fond of leguminous plants and will do better when fed on a palatable ra- 

 tion. This might account for some of the loss in gain. 



From time to time complaints have been made that sorguhum hay 

 has a tendency to reduce the milk flow of dairy cows. The author has in- 

 vestigated a few cases of this kind and found, as a rule, the feeder had 

 given his animals a ration of sorghum hay and nothing else, which is not 

 to be advised in dairy cows. 



The sorghum is often poorly cured, being sour, musty, or over 

 dried, in which case much of its value is lost. 



To feed sorghum hay and get the best results it should be balanced 

 with clover, alfalfa, or cowpea hay. A grain ration may be given composed 

 of bran, shorts, oats, or part corn, when fattening stock or feeding milk 

 cows. 



It is a palatable food and cattle will often leave the best tame hay 

 for some well cured sorghum. 



It is safe to say this great drought resisting plant should be grown 

 much more than it is, and especially in the west. 



Alfalfa is a grand feed, but like sorghum, it is better balanced than 

 fed alone. With sorghum we have a forage cheap, drought resisting, 

 nourishing and sure. 



IRRIGATION. 



It would hardly be proper to close our book without a word on irri- 

 gation, especially considering the fact that some have seemed to conceive 

 the idea that our system was antagonistic to irrigation and that the promo- 

 tion of this work generally would retard the development of irrigation enter- 

 prises, but this is far from true. The fundamental principle upon which the 

 success of our system is based is the the economical use of water, it matters 

 not from whence it cometh, whether direct from the clouds or from the flowing 

 streams, ditches, reservoirs, or wells. The first and important thing is to get 

 a supply of water stored in the soil to feed, nourish, and mature the crop in a 

 period of dry weather, and the second, and almost equally important req- 

 uisite, is the thorough preparation of the seed and root bed, so vital in 

 the success of our system, all of which is nearly or quite as necessary in 

 growing crops by the artificial application of water required by irrigation. 

 We do not mean to be understood that a man may not get a better crop 

 with plenty of water to turn loose at will upon a piece of ground poorly 

 fitted than he could with the same reckless fitting and be obliged to de- 



