The Arizona sentinel., 1886-05-22
VALUE OF MlLLET.
Profitable Crop Which Can Be Culti-
 vated Wherever Corn Will Grow.

yated wherever torn VIII Uro"'
 Millet is not specially adapted to very wide latitude, though it may be raised wherever the corn plant will grow. 1t will not endure frost, nor make much growth except in good corn weather. The fact that all the millets are annual, each crop requiring the blowing, narrowing and sowing of the land, is doubtless one of the reasons why the crop is not grown more exten- s;vely. In the more northern portions If the Union, especially where soil and climate favor perennial grasses, millet can not be raised with the same relative profit as further south, where summers are hotter and longer and grasses in the moving fields are frequently burned out by drouth. In the latitude of South ern New England and westward to the Mississippi river 1 should as soon think of working dairy farm without grass as without one or more of the millets as & regular farm crop. Properly grown, millet hay is equal in value to the best upland hay.
 If farmer finds his meadows are coming in light he can cut a few acres in June and then after blowing the land and working in a good dressing of ma- nure or fertilizer get large crop of millet with which to fill his mows. Millet delights in warm, mellow, and somewhat sandy soil, and with our im- proved blows and disk harrows, light grass sod can be put into excellent con- dition for the crop with a very few days notice Here, in Southern Massa- chusetts, repeatedly raised full crops from seed sown early in July. In favorable weather the seed germinates in three days and the crop will be in bloom and ready to cut in from sixty to seventy days from sowing. It may be sown any time in June on land that was too wet for barley or oats earlier in spring, but in my practice it was al- ways put in as a second crop after bar ley, oats, rye or grass. l believe in keeping land at work the whole season, and millet is an aid to such a practice.
 Three varieties of millet are sold by our seedmen, all bearing considerable resemblance to each other That com monly called Hungarian grass is the smallest and bears chiefly dark brown heads. The seeds are mostly dust-col- ored. A much larger and later variety is called Golden or German millet, with laroe heavy heads not so smooth as Hun garian; seed quite yellow or amber col ored and more nearly round than Hun garian. This variety requires from two to three weeks more time to grow and lo oft m June to ensure full crop. l have grown four tons of cured hay per acre of this variety and although very coarse it was eaten with great relish by the stock. The other variety has been longest known in the country and IS usually designated as ''common" mlllet. l It is. in size. between the others named, though more nearly resembling the Col den in color, shape of head and in gen. eral appearance. It is nearly as early as Hungarian grass.
 A bushel of seed is not too much fol a crop of hay to be cut when in bloom, but if the seed is an object, from one to two pecks will be enough for an acre. | The manure should be cultivated in quite shallow and the seed is best worked in with fine-tooth harrow to be followed by heavy roller. The surface should be made as smooth as for permanent moving, for the crop may be expected to grow so thick that small stones and clods will be entirely hidden from view. It requires sharp tools and strong arms or machines to cut heavy crops of millet, the Golden being par ticularly difficult to cut when the crop is very heavy. Also a heavy crop IS slow to cure, especially if cut late in the season, after the days begin to shorten and the nights are dewy. prefer cutting in the afternoon when free from dew and let it lay one day to wilt without much stirring, then keep the teddar going day or two in good it as hard as possible in the mows.-A.
 ". Cheever, 70 Nes0 York Tribune,