Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-04-19
FARM AND GARDEN.
GERMAN, HUNGARIAN AND ITAL
Han MTLLET.

Han MTLLET.
The several varieties of Millet which have
been cultivated in southern and central
Europe for several centuries, introduced
from the East, have 80 far succeeded in the
South as TO deserve the attention Of South
ern farmers. The summers Of England
and Scotland are too cool for this cereal
from a warmer latitude to do well; but
wherever our maize or corn ripens its seed,
the temperature is high enough to bring
the seed of the German and Hunga-
rian millets to perfection. We
do not think it necessary TO notice the boz
tarical genera pdnicliHl, SetdriG and sOr-
gh1un, which have been called millets-the
cereal species pGnicum, or common millet,
grown mainly for forage purposes, is the
variety we commend. As between what
are known in the seed stores as German,
Hungarian and Missouri or Italian millet,
nothing but careful experiments in Tennes
see can determine which is best. The
Dutch introduced the cultivation of millet
on Mohawk fats in New York
nearly or quite a century ago. The
seed was fed to hogs and horses in place OF
peas and corn, and we have seen very good
griddle cakes made of its meal. The larger
kinds do best cultivated in drills, working
the crop liks corn. The sesl is small and
comparatively chesp, and will pay hand
somely sown on good land, well plowed and
narrowed before seeding. The seed may
Farmers differ in their views as to the
amount of seed to put to an acre. The
quantity varies from one to three pecks.
We have just seen at the seed store Of
Horton & Co., on Broad street in this city,
three different kinds of mllet called the
German, Hungarian and Missouri varieties,
with mature and whole plants of two sorts
the German and Hungarian, so-cSiled. The
German is the larger plant, and will yield
more and q coarser for age. A farmer who
has raised millet several years in this State,
and who has eaten bread made from it in
Hungary where he was raised, pre-
fers German millet, Of which be
will cultivate ten acres tits year.
Last year he experimental with corn grown
for forage and German millet. The sur
face that produced 400 pounds of what may
be called corn hay was found sufficient to
yield 500 pounds ofmiIlet for forage, or just
twice as much as corn. Millet hay is great
ly injured by letting the seed ripen before
it is cut. Cut the plants as they are going
out of blossom or when the seed is Just be-
ginning to form. A Kentucky correspon-
dent of the Rural World says:
at must be sown very thick. Three
pecks per acre, on good land, will produce
fine crop of excellent feed. The hay is very
fine, when thus sown, ifsown thin it is
coarse and unpalatable to stock. One one
half acre sown last June, L cut two tons of
most excellent hsy, besides getting twelve
bushels Of seed, that will bring in the Louis
vile market S1.50 pei bushel. The hay as
feed was worth at least SIS per ton, two
tons $50, twelve bushels Of seed SIS; total
$4S, from half acre of ground"
Any cereal that has ripened its seed be-
fore it is cut should be called straw, not
hay. Corn blades pulled from ripe corn
make poor fodder; and timothy straw, mis-
called bay, is no better. Every particle Of
tie nutriment in the above writer's Hun
gArian grass seed, depleted and injured bis
"Day" to that extent. In addition to this
OBVIOUS loss, there is another cause Of dete-
Iteration in the leaves and stems of cereal
crosses as they organize seed. In corr
stalks and leaves and other cereals, t0ood
is formed from part of the starch, gum
and sugar in the young plants. Now, wood.
whether in saw dust, straw, or cornstalks,
is not the best food for horses, cattle and
sheep.