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British Dairy Farming. 
South of England, and in the past year a friend, who had 
brought a number of varieties of maize from America, grew and 
ripened the seed of a number of them with ease. Mr. Frederick 
Fajne, of Moyles Court, Ringwood, however, in a statement 
made some time ago, entirely sets the matter at rest by what 
he has accomplished. He says : — 
" It may interest readers to know at a time when attention is being attracted 
to maize as a material in a green state with which to fill silos, that I have this 
year ripened the above corn on a measured piece of groimd at the rate of 
thirteen sacks to the acre, the grain being much finer than any in the market. 
I make no deductions from this fact, but may add that I have never failed to 
ripen this corn in the West of England for forty years." 
As a silage crop, maize is of great value, although its dis- 
agreeable condition when taken out of the silo makes it most 
objectionable, and it seems to me moreover an improper food 
to be used within the range of milk. I have seen it prepared 
for the silo in a very large way by the best French siloists already 
named, and I had the advantage of seeing it in several silos in 
England during my tour of inspection as one of the Judges 
appointed by the Royal Agricultural Society to award the 
prize given by Sir Massey Lopes for the best silo. Its value as 
a food has been discussed by M. Lecouteux in Le Mais,* and by 
M. Goffart whose cattle are a fairly conclusive proof of the cor- 
rectness of his opinion and the soundness of his practice. The 
silo will perhaps eventually be the medium of still further 
encouraging the growth of maize in this country. 
Sorghum. 
Like maize, sorghum is a tender plantj flourishing only 
during the warm season, and demanding a summer of sufficient 
length to enable it to develope. How far north it will grow I 
have no means of ascertaining, but easy tests have frequently 
been made in the south by sowing a handful of seed in an open 
garden. That it will grow where maize will grow, and as far 
north as the Trent, I believe there is no doubt ; but whatever 
may be the capacity of the plant, there can be no question that 
in the colder climate of the northern counties a test experiment 
should be made before land is seeded down. 
The general use of this giant forage plant for dairy cows is 
only a question of time, for it is not only one of the heaviest 
croppers, but in a suitable district it is one of the easiest to grow, 
and there is no succulent food which is more relished by cattle, 
or upon which they thrive better, so far as a limited experience 
♦ ' Le Mais et les autres fourrafjcs verts, culture et ensilage.' Paris, 1883. 
