Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-10
ABOUT MILO MAIZE.
a Forage that Failed to Come up fully to
Expectations.
Communication in the Macon Telegraph.

ton held at Brunswick, Ga, February,
1885, met with the Commissioner Of
Agriculture at Covington Ga. He was
speaking in very high praise of milo
maize as forage crop, and, also, as
grain crop. He thought it would sur.
pass anything that had ever been in
troduced into the country as food
crop for man or beast He promised
TO send our club seed, as he was
anxious for the farmers to commence
raising 1t. He raised highly my eXpecta-
tiOns.
Upon reaching Brunswick, found our
worthy president, l.. +. Livingston, had
Col q. w. Benson, of Cobb county. to
read an essay on milo maize, giving In de-
tail his experiments for four years. How
appropriate, thought in the president. to
have the virtues of the plant set before 800
farmers, collected from the different
| parts OF the State, by one who had eX-
perimented with milo maize for four
years. was delighted-the convention
was delighted. Facts. experiments; no
more Northern hay, nor Tennessee corn,
nor Kentucky mules nor Kansas -four! 1t
would revoutioniZe the farming interest
of Georgia.
Col. Benson's first crop was planted in
1881, 1t failed to mature seed. He gath
cred 1880 bundles OF fodder to the acre,
or 10000 pounds of cured fodder. This
beats corn. l thought, in the proportion
OF one to forty. Tue stalks, or canes, as
Col. Benson called them. were fed to
his stock, and they ate every "vestige" of
them.
The crops OF 1892 and 1888 matured seed.
The crop of 1884 was marvellous in its
yield from one quarter nf an acre, the his
tory of which the Colonel gave in detail.
The canes and fodder from one quarter of
an acres fed three horses and seven COWS
from Nov. 1, to April l, for long forage.
Now five months contain $50 days, and ten
head of cattle would require 1900 days
ratiOns for the time. Ii we put one ration
at 2 lbs, it would take $1,000 lbs, for five
months. Now this being product OF
one quarter of an acre, the yield
per acre would be $4,000 his. or
80 tons. The seed matured in 1894 and
made at the rate OF 60 bushe per acre.
The seed are equal in value 10 red May
wheat-bushel for bushel. What Col.
Benson read to the convention, he affirmed
was not theory or speculation, but practi-
cal experiment.
The CROP of 1884 was marvellous in
other respects; it matured seed in Sep
TENDER. Col Benson ordered his man TO
gather the seed by cutting the head as we
do sorghum, and cut the stalks TO cover
his potato patch. "Elis man." however,
did not cut down Immediately. In few
| days Col. Benson found the whole field
| Cone quarter Of an acre dressing" itself
| in green--some of the shoots growing a
| foot long and putting out new heads.
| Upon examination he found tie canes
full of sucrose or nutritious matter
| equal in virtue to eugar-cane. Col.
| RQnQnn Z n a NhnnNigf kuf think a
the sugar in the cane preserves il from
decay.
Col. Benson's manner of saving the cane
after seed natures: Cut of the seed head,
strip off the fodder, iaa few days the canes
win show natures desire to DO il again.
{ / suppose he means to put on new foliage
ard seed heads, then cut and place under
shelter without curing. 1t Will keep green
during the whole winter.
Coz. Benson, at this point of his essay,
exhibited to the convention seventy.fiVs
canes---a half days rations for bis ten
head of stock. The canes were about {
feet long and the thickness of the little
finger OF country farmer. The eager
crowd pressed around Col. Benson tC
examine the canes. | secured one after
it had been examined by three or four
1t was not very sugary then. no more SC
than a corn stalk in November. ltmay
have lost its sugar 10 the first hands
| Now. if seventy-ive canes make half a
| days ration for ten head Of stock, one
| hundred and fifty will make days ration
| Of fifteen cares per day to each animal
| Now one corn stalk is as large as five oil
| Col. Bcnson's canes that i saw; con.
| sequently fifteen canes equal three
corn sralks ar a days ration. Col
Bsnson's stock keeps fat on such ra'
! lions,
Col. Benson had on hand several
varieties of bread from the grain. TIE
pressure TO get a sight and taste was &c
| great, being large man, ! could not gel
| any. He bad of the seed to sell at soc
| per pound.
In due time the commissioner sent our
club twelve papers of seed. Every mem.
! Der wanted package. They were
divided out as far as they would go.
| drew one and one Of the members gave
| me his package, and II IL should do well
! | should furnish him seed for another
crop.
prepared eight square rods carefully,
| putting ten seed to the hill, and got a poor
/ stand. In July | cut the ratiOns for one
milch COW from the plot OF ground. The
stubble put out new shoots and the last OF
september / cut il off again, getting pro-
! baby 70 per cent. more that the first cut
ting.
l also planted two square rods in rich
branch bottom for raising seed. A few OF
the seeds matured. 1 feared that won ID
lose seed, and some OF my neighbOrs
though. it would be fortunate II we
should lose seed. Indian corn will make
more forage and grain than any other
plant for man or beast. Wheat, oats. rye
and corn will long be our staple food
crops il not supplanted by something
better than milo maize.