SORGHUM EXPERIMENTS ON THE GREAT PLAINS. 
41 
Table 9. — Comparative yields of the different sorghum varieties grown at Lawton, 
Okla., for the 5-year period from 1917 to 1921, inclusive. 
Variety. 
1917 
1918 
1919 
1920 
1921 
Aver- 
age. 
Check. 
Rela- 
tive; 
per- 
centage 
of 
check. 
Field-cured forage per acre (tons) : 
Sorgos— 
Sumac. _• 
2.13 
2.52 
1.57 
.97 
1.09 
2.77 
2.52 
• 1.99 
.89 
1.53 
7.53 
7.93 
7.93 
3.85 
3.85 
9.03 
8.66 
12.13 
3.28 
3.58 
7.25 
3.15 
4.28 
3.43 
3.30 
, 2.66 
2.90 
2.65 
2.85 
2.75 
3.43 
1.60 
4.42 
3.78 
2.23 
5.44 
30.7 
24.0 

25.6 
29.6 
38.8 
33.0 
29.5 
36.1 
33.2 
50.0 
29.6 
20.4 
17.0 
29.6 
29.7 
6.8 
49.6 
22.4 
24.0 
50.0 
5.73 
6.66 
7.35 
2.81 
4.22 
4.95 
2.53 
3.47 
2.72 
2.66 
3.06 




1.47 
3.19 
3.85 
2.63 
.50 
3.91 
37.5 
25.0 

25.7 
38.6 
33.0 
28.1 
19.6 
31.5 
28.8 
45.1 




8.3 
16.7 
42.1 
13.4 
4.9 
29.9 
5.44 
5.66 
6.19 
2.36 
2.85 
6.10 
2.94 
3.28 
3.09 
2.90 
2.86 
1.95 
2.27 
2.04 
1.80 
2.45 
1.88 
3.08 
2.93 
1.46 
4.68 
19.5 
15.6 
5.8 
17.8 
21.4 
35.9 
24.9 
21.2 
29.9 
25.1 
47.6 
17.2 
14.0 
12.7 
18.1 
19.0 
12.4 
32.3 
20.8 
15.8 
40.0 
5.44 
5.44 
5.44 
5.44 
5.44 
7.38 
2.94 
2.94 
2.94 
2.94 
2.84 
2.94 
2.94 
2.94 
2.94 
2.84 
2.94 
2.94 
2.94 
2.94 
2.84 
19.5 
19.5 
19.5 
19.5 
19.5 
34.1 
24.9 
24.9 
24.9 
24.9 
30.6 
24.9 
24.9 
24.9 
24.9 
30.6 
24.9 
24.9 
24.9 
24.9 
30.6 
100 
Orange. .. 
104 
Honey .... 
114 
Red Amber 
43 
Black Amber.. . . 
52 
83 
Grain sorghums- 
Dawn kafir 
2.73 
2.49 
2.98 
2.54 
1.50 
1.30 
1.25 
1.54 
4.78 
4.88 
5.05 
4.44 
100 
Sunrise kafir . . 
112 
Blackhull kafir 
105 
Red kafir 
99 
Bishop kafir . 
101 
Dwarf Yellow milo 
1.22 
1.24 
1.06 
1.43 
.59 
1.37 
1.20 
.94 
5.05 
6.10 
5.10 
3.90 
66 
Yellow milo 
77 
White milo 
69 
Feterita .. 
61 
Spur feterita 
86 
Freed sorghum. . . . 
.68 
1.53 
2.95 
.83 
.73 
1.13 
1.12 
.80 
3.20 
4.48 
4.18 
2.95 
64 
Darso sorghum 
105 
Shallu 
100 
Manchu kaoliang ... 
50 
Husser sorghum . 
165 
Threshed grain per acre (56-pound 
bushels) : 
Sorgos— 
Sumac 
Orange 
Honey .: 
Red amber 



5.4 
5. 7 





29.5 
29.1 
29.1 
32.1 
33.0 
100 
80 
30 
91 
Black amber 
African millet... 
110 
105 
Grain sorghums- 
15.4 
17.2 
26.3 
19.6 




48.0 
39.6 
55.4 
44.1 
100 
Sunrise kafir. . 
85 
Blackhull kafir . 
120 
Red kafir 
101 
Bishop kafir . 
156 
Dwarf Yellow milo 
11.4 
8.8 
8.7 
12.1 



4.5 
45.0 
40.9 
38.0 
44.3 
69 
Yello milo . 
56 
White milo 
51 
Feterita 
Spur feterita 
73 
62 
Freed sorghum 
7.3 
7.5 
22.2 
7.9 



1.8 
31.3 
62.1 
46.1 
40.2 
50 
Darso sorghum 
130 
Shallu 
84 
Manchu kaoliang . 
63 
Husser sorghum 
131 
Among the generally recognized grain sorghums, Blackhull kafir 
and a local variety known as Bishop kafir (a selected strain of Black- 
hull) made the best record if both forage and grain are considered. 
Bishop kafir gave such good results for the two years 1920 and 1921 
that it has been included in the record of these experiments. Milo 
made a poor showing at Lawton on account of its susceptibility to 
injury from chinch bugs. The milo crop was completely destroyed 
by these insects in 1921. 
Husser sorghum, a hybrid, did well in 1920 and 1921, making 7 
bushels less grain per acre than Bishop kafir, but nearly 2 tons more 
fodder. 
DALHART, TEX. 
Weather records covering the period from 1908 to 1921 (see fig. 3 
and Table 1) indicate an unusually favorable distribution for the 
production of sorghums; 78 per cent of the yearly rainfall occurs 
during the growing season. The rainfall during the period covered 
