64 BULLETIN 1260, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
falls and to kill weeds and volunteer sorghum. From the standpoint 
of both forage and grain an optimum seeding period of June 1 to 15 
is suggested by the average yields obtained; but under more favorable 
conditions of rotation seeding during the last half of May is considered 
more satisfactory for grain production, also for forage when a long- 
season variety, such as Sumac, is used. 
The data show the average height of plants to be rather low. 
indicating in a general way the stunted growth that was often made. 
The average lengths of the growing season indicate by their abnormal 
duration the effect of frequent periods in which germination was 
delayed or growth was retarded by lack of soil moisture. 
Feterita was the only variety included in the date-of-seeding 
experiments at Amarillo, Tex., of both the Offices of Forage- Crop 
Investigations and of Cereal Investigations. The results with this 
variety, as indicated in Table 16, agree almost perfectly with the 
results obtained by the Office of Cereal Investigations (10. p. 16). 
June 1 to 15, therefore, is apparently the best period for seeding 
feterita in the Texas Panhandle. 
EXPERIMENTS AT LAWTON, OKLA. 
The date-of-seeding experiments at Lawton, Okla., which were in 
progress from 1917 to 1921, included only Sumac and Red Amber 
sorgos. At this station, as at Amarillo, Tex., the sorghums encoun- 
tered an unusual variety of climatic and other factors, mostly ad- 
verse, which must be explained in some detail before the results can 
be properly interpreted. 
The experiments were conducted on duplicate 0.06-acre plats 
in 1917, single tenth-acre plats from 1918 to 1920, and single 0.06- 
acre plats in 1921. Records of row space were not obtained except 
in 1921, but it is known that most of the stands were fairly regular 
and sometimes too thick for droughty conditions. 
The season of 1917 contained intervals in midsummer and in the 
fall when crops suffered from intense drought. In 1918 drought be- 
came very severe in midsummer, causing the seedings of Sumac 
made on the first three dates to dry up when only 18 inches tall, 
and the first four seedings of Red Amber also discontinued growth 
when 33 to 45 inches tall. These plats were cut on August 20, after 
which rains caused a somewhat better second growth, which was 
cut on November 5. A rainfall of 8.68 inches in October stimulated 
this second growth, but caused all previously harvested fodder to 
become moldy in the shock and very damp when weighed. The 
season of 1919 was a favorable one for crop growth, but again ex- 
cessive rainfall in October, 13.78 inches, made proper curing of 
fodder and seed impossible. In 1920 the April 15 and May 1 seedings 
were also hurt by drought and damaged in the shock by 8.7S inches 
of rain in October. The Mav 15 seeding could not be made on 
account of excessive rainfall, out seedings on June 3 and 15 came 
through to normal maturity distinctly superior to the crop from 
earlier or later seedings. Moisture was ample in 1921 to produce 
good crops from all the seedings up to and including that of May 15. 
but drought greatly reduced the yields of plats seeded after that date. 
Chinch bugs were always a factor, sometimes preventing a full 
stand in the late seedings and often causing more or less lodging in 
those plats. 
