Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-10-05
sorghum as Food for Cattle.

Thirty years ago green sorghum was
extensively tested in Southern Georgia as
eood for hogs, COWS ard horses; for the
Inst two, cut young, like millet, and for
the first later, as it approached and after
maturity. It was found to be valuable
addition to the supply Of stock food until
.be hogs fed upon it began to die 80 rap
dly that sorghum feeders became
alarmed and abandoned its cultivation for
that purpose. A few continued to plant
n for the manufacture Of syrup, which
vas also found to be very good where
carefully made; but it found little sale in
the markets where cane syrup held sway,
and so gradually ceased to attract gen.
eral attention.
The lost interest in the plant, however,
nav be said to be slowly reviving under
the vigorous advocacy Of it's merits
through the agricultural press, and oe-
casional new trials OF its cultivation
seem to give greater satisfaction than
formerly. The old prejudice growing out
Of its supposed deleterious effect upon
stock is dlssipating before careful expert
ment in feeding it properly; and while the
syrup made from it cannot become a sue
cessul competitor of the good old cane
syrup in this section, farmers are, never
theless, beginning to acknowledge its
real merits as valuable supplement to
our long list OF paying productions.
The fact that it VIII yield good crops
with very little fertilizing on all our com
mon pine lands, and mature in July and
August when farmers are resting from
the summer cultivation, thus affording
opportunity for working it up; and that
as d food for hogs 1t can be made ready by
the middle of June, when most needed to
keep them up through summer, estab-
fishes beyond cavil the economy of its
cultivation and assigns it a place among
our products that will only be strength
ened by time and experiment. OF the
abundance and value of it's grain it is
hardly necessary for us to speak, as most
farmers have cultivated it more or less
under the names of guinea corn, chicken
corn, Egyptian corn, Milo maize, etc.,
and found the grain of all the varieties
abundant and valuable for stock and poul- |
Try.
Some varieties, Of course, are more val !
liable than others; some for superior
grain, some for superior juices, and 9th
srs as forage, both for green food and the
sllo. Intelligent farmers will make |
choice of the variety best suited to their
purpose.
We are not a chemist or an animal doc
tor, but we suppose that If sorghum kills |
hogs that it kills from improper use, as,
Tor instance, fed to half-starved animals,
while 1t is green and sappy, before the de-
of its rich saccharine matter.
| n this condition we should think that an
oyercharge would sour on the stomach A.
and produce diarrhea, or some other
kindred chelora disease likely to prove
quickly fatal.
Or if mature, thatlean, hungry animals
might swallow too much Of its strong.
.ough fibre, and the stomach thus become
which would be equally fatal.
BUT sorghum IS not alone in presenting
.hese dangers. Green corn stalks, pearl
niiet and most other green foods will do
he same if improperly fed. To use sor-
gaum, therefore, we need only to OBJ
ierye the same precautions usual in other
green forage.