14 BULLETIN 1260, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGBICTJLTTJBE. 
The altitude of the station is 2,050 feet, and the soil and climatic 
conditions are fairly representative of the northern part of the 
sorghum belt, particularly of north-central Kansas. The relatively 
short growing season has limited the varieties under test to early 
and midseason sorghums. Commercial strains of Sumac sorgo 
rarely mature seed at Hays, and Kansas Orange, which is so popular 
in the eastern part of the State, does not mature regularly. 
Insect pests have occasionally been destructive at this station. 
Grasshoppers are usually troublesome but have been controlled by 
spreading one or more applications of poisoned bran mash. Chinch 
bugs were quite destructive at Hays in 1910, 1911, and 1913, but 
aside from injury to milo in 1917 have not been especially trouble- 
some during the period covered by this bulletin. Various forms of 
green bug, or plant lice, are sometimes present, but have apparently 
done very little damage to the experimental plats. 
Disease has not been a factor of any considerable importance at 
Hays, though the kernel smut (Sphacelotheca sorghi (Link) Clint.) 
and head smut (Sorosporium reilianum (Kuhn) McAlp.) have both 
been found on the sorghums. The former, however, has been con- 
trolled by treating the seed with formaldehyde, and the latter has 
been kept out of the plats rather effectively, although it was present 
in some of the large fields of Red Amber sorgo. 
In Table 2 are given, by years, the length of the growing season, 
average height of the plants, and the acre yields of air-dry fodder 
and threshed seed for each of the sorghum varieties under test at 
Hays. The average row space per plant and per stalk is given also, 
in order that the yields and stooling habits of the different varieties 
may be appraised more intelligently. 6 
The data from Table 2 are summarized for the most important 
varieties. Only the S-year averages are given, and the relative yields 
are shown by means of percentages of a check variety, Red Amber 
being used as the check for all sorgos and Dawn kafir as the check 
for all grain sorghums. The average growing season is given in the 
summary only when data are available for a reasonable percentage 
of the years during which the variety was under test. Where data 
on this point are missing in the original tables it usually means that 
the variety did not mature that year. 
A summary of results with miscellaneous varieties not included in 
the summary of Table 2 is given in Table 3. The actual and relative 
yields are based on the average for the series of years during which 
each variety was under test. Red Amber was used as a check for 
the sorgos, "feterita (S. P. I. Xo. 22329^ for the milos and feteritas. 
and Dawn kafir for kaflrs and similar grain sorghums. 
Several of these varieties made yields equal or superior to t lit* 
check variety, but it must be considered that the value of a sorghum 
is also affected by characters other than the yield. Three varieties 
in this group, however, seem promising; these are Early Sumac sorgo. 
Dwarf feterita, and Spur feterita. 
•The practice of increasing the last numeral by one where the discarded fraction equaled or exceeded 
one-half nas been uniformly followed throughout this bulletin. 
