1850. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
215 
“ In the department of Manufactures, those 
articles will be rewarded which fulfil in the highest 
degree the conditions specified in the sectional list 
already published, viz.:—Increased usefulness, such 
as permanency in dyes, improved forms and arrange¬ 
ments in articles of utility, &c. Superior quality, 
or superior skill in workmanship. New use of known 
materials. Use of new materials. New combinations 
of materials, as in metals and pottery. Beauty of de¬ 
sign in formor color, or both,with reference to utility. 
Cheapness, relatively to excellence of production. 
“ In the department of Sculpture, Models, and 
the Plastic Art, the rewards wfill have reference 
to the beauty -and originality of the specimens ex¬ 
hibited, to improvements in the processes of pro¬ 
duction, to the application of art to manufactures, 
and, in the case of models, to the interest attaching 
to the subject they represent.” 
All articles of foreign growth or manufacture, it 
is stated, must come under the charge and sanction 
of the “ Central Authority of the country of which 
they are the produce;” and that ‘‘it will rest with 
the Central Authority in each country to decide up¬ 
on the merits of the several articles presented for 
exhibition, and to take care that those which are 
sent are such as will fairly represent the industry 
of their fellow countrymen.” 
The Executive Committee of the N. Y. State Ag. 
Society, have requested the President of the United 
States to designate a Commission to take charge of 
such articles as may be sent from the different states. 
Information has been given that the space on the 
ground of the exhibition, allotted to this country, is 
80,000 square feet, one half of which will be requi¬ 
red for alleys, and the other half will be devoted to 
articles for exhibition. We shall give further par¬ 
ticulars in regard to this exhibition, when we learn 
the action of the Executive of the General Govern¬ 
ment in relation to it. 
Culture of Millet. 
The culture of millet is chiefly recommended in 
this country for making hay. For this purpose, it 
is a good substitute for clover and the ordinary 
grasses. When, therefore, from any cause, a suffi¬ 
ciency of hay is not likely to be obtained from the 
latter sources, millet may be advantageously resort¬ 
ed to. It is a plant which will grow quite well on 
rather thin soils, and it grows so fast, that when 
it is up and well set, it is seldom much affected by 
drouth. In this latitude, it is commonly sown in 
June. Half a bushel of seed to the acre, is the 
usual quantity, sown broadcast and harrowed in. 
For the finest quality of hay, it is thought advisable 
to sow an additional quantity of three or four quarts 
of seed. The ordinary yield of crops may be put at 
from a ton to a ton and a half of hay to the acre. 
It should be cut as soon as it is out of blossom; if 
it stands later, the stems are liable to become too 
hard to make the best of hay. In curing, it is best 
to put it in cocks when fairly wilted, letting it re¬ 
main in this situation for twelve hours, in order that 
it may undergo a sweating , which improves the 
hay, troth by the development of its saccharine 
qualities, and by doing away with its stiffness 
and harshness, making it soft and more agreeable 
to the animals. 
There are several varieties of millet. That 
knovrn as the German, is perhaps most common in 
this country. It grows, ordinarily, to the height of 
about three feet, with compact heads from six to 
nine inches in length, with yellow seed. There are 
some sub-varieties of this, as the white and purple 
seeded. 
The Italian millet is larger than the preceding, 
reaching the height of four feet, in tolerable soil, 
and its leaves are correspondingly larger and thick¬ 
er. The heads are sometimes a foot or more in 
length, are less compact than the German, being 
composed of several spikes, slightly branching from 
the main stem. It is said to derive its name from be¬ 
ing cultivated in Italy, though its native habitat is 
India. It is claimed by some, that this variety will 
yield more seed than any other, and the seed is ra¬ 
ther larger; but the stalk is coarser, and would pro¬ 
bably be less relished by stock. 
The seed or grain of various kinds of millet has 
sometimes been used, when ground into meal, for 
bread. The seed is also used in various European 
countries as a substitute for sago, for wTiich it is 
considered excellent. It is also a valuable food for 
poultry—particularly for young chickens, which, 
from the smallness of the grain, can eat. it readily, 
and it appears to be wholesome for them. 
If the greatest amount of seed is desired from the 
crop, it is best to sow it in drills two to tw 7 o and a- 
half feet apart—using a seed drill for the purpose. 
This admits of the use of a small harrow or cultiva¬ 
tor between the rows, while the plants are small, 
w r hich keeps out the weeds. The crop will ripen 
more uniformly in this way, than broadcast, which 
enables the farmer to cut if when there will be the 
least waste. The seed shatters out very easily when 
it is ripe, and when the crop ripens unequally, it 
cannot be cut without loss; because either a portion 
of it will be immature, or if left till it is all ripe, the 
seed of the earliest falls out. It should be closely 
watched, and cut in just about the same stage that 
it is proper to cut wheat—while the grain may be 
crushed between the fingers. It may be cut with a 
grain cradle, and when dry, bound and shocked like 
grain; but it should be threshed out as soon as prac¬ 
ticable, on account of its being usually much at¬ 
tacked by birds, many kinds of which are very fond 
of the seed. In particular localities, they assail the 
crop in such numbers, from the time it is out of the 
“milk,” till it is harvested and carried off the field, 
that it is no object to attempt to ripen it. 
This crop is sometimes sown in drills when it is 
only intended for fodder, being cut and cured in bun¬ 
dles, as corn-stalks aie cured. It is best to pass it 
through a cutting-machine, before feeding it to 
stock; indeed, all millet hay will be fed with less 
waste in this way, than if fed to animals without 
cutting. 
There is another species of plant, (Sorghum,) of¬ 
ten called millet, several varieties of which have 
been introduced and more or less cultivated in this 
country. It is also popularly called Egyptian corn. 
It is closely allied to the broom corn, the head be¬ 
ing similar in structure, and the seed similar, except 
that in most varieties of the sorghum, the outer co 
vering does not adhere, as in. broom corn. The 
plant bears a strong resemblance while growing, to 
Indian corn. There is also some resemblance in 
the grain, and it is extensively used as food by ma¬ 
ny oriental nations, from which circumstance it is 
supposed to have been confounded by some writers 
with the American maize, or Indian corn. A varie¬ 
ty under the name of “African purple millet,” was 
some years since introduced, and recommended for 
cultivation as a soiling crop. But we believe that 
this, as well as other varieties, have failed to an¬ 
swer the recommendations for this purpose,—at 
least, they possess no advantages over Indian corn, 
and they are now cultivated here merely as a 
curiosity. 
