British Dairy Farming. 
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of two years can determine. Sorghum saccharatum is the plant 
which is sometimes called Chinese sugar-cane, and very much 
resembles the maize plant. It grows almost as tall, but is much 
finer in the stem. From its first appearance above ground, how- 
ever, until the flowering stage, it would be difficult for an inex- 
perienced person to tell that it was not maize. I was induced to 
try a crop by the representations of Messrs. Carter and Co., and, 
as a matter of fact, the plant did a great deal more than they said 
of it. The first crop grown was drilled 6 inches apart upon a 
piece of medium loam, which had previously been occupied by 
an oat crop. The land was fairly well manured, and a good tilth 
was obtained — the seed being put in at the rate of 10 lbs. per acre 
on the 6th of June. The seed is not unlike enlarged buckwheat 
in shape, but it is a very bright black, and is liable to adhere 
together in small bunches, making it somewhat difficult to drill 
evenly. For this reason, perhaps, the French plan of broad- 
casting is adopted ; but the French sow as much as 26 lbs. to 
the acre, and their plan prevents what I believe to be very 
necessary for sorghum as well as for succeeding crops, i.e., 
at least two hoeings. The plant appears above the surface 
in a fortnight, but makes little progress during the following 
month, when it seems rather to harden than to grow. At the 
end of six weeks it commences to run up, until by the middle 
of September it has reached a height of from 6 to 7 feet. 
The 1885 crop, although a most valuable one, was inferior to 
that of 1886, which was drilled in the same manner on the 
31st of May, upon similar land, which had yielded a large crop 
of potatoes in the previous year, and which had not been 
manured. The plant came up in a most irregular manner, and 
there were blanks throughout the entire extent of the plot, 
which were owing to the difficulty already referred to. For the 
first six weeks there was every appearance of a failure, but by 
the end of July the plants showed so much vitality, that it was 
evident they would yield heavily, and, as a matter of fact, the 
crop reached 12^^ tons per acre, although at least one-third of 
the ground was unoccupied. The plant should be cut while 
the lower portion of the stem is tender and succulent, and while 
It IS still growing, otherwise it becomes tough and fibrous, and 
loses much of its feeding property, and the lower portion is left 
by the cattle. The 1886 crop having been left standing for the 
inspection of a party of agriculturists on September 23rd, had 
passed the stage when it should have been consumed, the seed 
being partially formed. Nevertheless, the entire crop was con- 
sumed by chaffing, and as in the previous year, when it was 
eaten green, was so much relished by the cattle, that they would 
