The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-03-21
THS VALUE OF SORGHUM
AS Food for All Kinds OF stock

As Food for All Kinds of stock.
Having raised much and fed sorghum for
many years, says correspondent Of the
Tennessee Farmer, will answer your
Tullahoma subscribers inquiry upon the
raising and feeding Of sorghum, hsvin z
raised the first crop of sorghum ever cav
previous to the late war, and made the first
barrel Of sorghum molasses ever saw, and
made it with mill made by one Of my
neighbors after the fashion OF the old-time
apple mill or wooden cylinders. | became
heartily sick of the business in addition to
being told by my would-be smart ueighbors
that If persisted the stuff would Kill all
my stock. I therefore abandoned the
planting for years until subsequent 20 the
war.
Seeing others raise it and feeding both
themselves .aud stock on it and both appre-
ciating it, concluded l had been hoaxed
out of most valuable crop for both myself
and my stock. l again procured the seed
and again commenced raising the article ex-
clusively for winter and fall feed for my
stock and after many years CT experience
have found the sorghum to be my most val
liable feed for winter for my cattle-mules,
colts, sheep and hogs-and never discovered
the least detriment to any OF my stock by
its use. and never had regret about it, ex-
cept the want of mora.
One year from the almost total failure of
the Indian corn crop, 1 faEtened fine pen
of hogs almost exclusively on sorghum. CUT
ting II green and throwing it over TO them
by the wagonload, they would chew and
suck 1t and devour the grain in a half ripe
| stage. / raise it close to my feeding places,
and when put up my colts to wean feed
them on green sorghum, as much as they
will eat, and / am at great loss not to have
it to wean them on. cut 1t up ike oats oc-
| casionally few shelled oats or bran which
makes a most enjoyable feed for the young
sters after they are weaned and turned out
they will clean up every stalk they can
find.
/ fattened my beef cattle principally upon
| sorghum. One acre of sorghum on fair land
will furnish as much feed and produce es
| much fat as three acres of Indian corn. IL
| is grand feed for out stock such as year
ling cattle and mules; they will keep in
thrifty condition on this feed, fed to them In
the whole stalk and will not leave stalk
| lying about loose on the ground, but viii
take it up clean. increase the crop nearly
every year and never have enough In
short, prefer it almost to anything. 1t af-
| fords full satisfaction in feeding and Is more
| easily handled than anything else.
Now as to planting. | have planted in
drills and in hills and broadcast like oats
| and succeeded well either way. On old or
new land it is easily cultivated: soon after it
gets under the way of growing it will soon
take care of itself. 1t will branch and
| spread so thick that it will choke down the
grass aud weeds. If drilled when it comes
| up scrape IL down like scraping cotton aud
plow 1t out with the bull-tongue or double
shovel, work it once or twice this way and
turn it loose and permit it to take care of
itself. let it stand until the seed are ripe
"a NJ I to- ard Na ~ 80 ,a
very accommodating and will wait on you
until it suits your convenience to cut it.
then go 10 with corn knives and cut and
shock it like Indian corn, tying the shocks
with binders Irvine, grass or stalks, as is most
convenient, in large shocks and let it stand
| in the field until entirely dry, and then if
desired to keepit long, haul it up and pack
IL away in shelters or barns and cast it out
| all winter as needed, the stalks feed the cat
| tie and the grain feeds the hogs and fowls
on the farm and all get fat-this mode is
| applicable TO the drilled or checkered. The
| broadcast is handled like millet, but is not
so valuable, as the drilled or checked. Ii is
well to permit the crop to dry in the shock
in the Geld before removing to shelter. 1t
| will do this, and the reason for it is to keep
it from souring. allow it to dry out
1t was a number of years before / could
get j. M. Graham of Pinewood, to plant this
crop; finally he did so and he regards it a
most valuable factor in feeding mules and
in fattening cattle; he handles it in large
| quantities and would doubtless gives his ex
perience in planting, handling and feeding
this crsp.
The molasses qualities of sorghum has al
most superseded the sale of New Orleans
molasses in the country. Nearly all
of the small farmers produce a
small patch of cane and make up barrel
for home use. and the quality of the mo-
laSses has been SO improved as to have freed
it from the original green or sorghum taste
until it is preferred now to New Orleans and
| it is made almost equal to honey.