The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-11-18
SORGHUM AS A so1LING CROP.

I think 1 wrote something last year
about my experience with sorghum; an
other years experience with it proves
! that ] did not oyerestimate its value.
have. in addition to my own experience
this year. that of the three dairymen who
have milk routes in my village; for at my
solicitation each of them sowed more Oh
less OF it. l nave seen all OF them within
a week or two past, and asked them il
They found the crop as valuable as l had
represent ed it, ana they were all hearty
lin their praise OF it and said they did not
see how they could have gone through
the season without it. 1t not only pro-
iduceS very large amount of food to the
acre, but when mature 1t is one of the
best milk-producing foods l have any ex-
iperience with.
/ In 1898 / drilled in a quarter OF an acre
on June II, putting it in with the wheat
idrill and using all the hoes. sowing a the
irate of one bushel of seed TO the acre.
| We had timely rains for one month, but
latter the nth day of July we had fifty
lseVea days without rain. At the time the
last shower fell the plants were six in
ches high, and one month later on the
/ best land it stood six feet high. We be-
and fed three cows from it for two
months. and we found that a square rod
of it yielded 80 pounds. This fed three
COWS two days, giving each OF them forty
pounds q day. Early in October we had
ia half acre of sweet corn fodder to feed
(which lasted cur cows about three weeks,
land by this time the frost had killed the
blades on the sorghum. We cut it with
la moving machine and left it on the
Eround, drawing it in as wanted, enough
fer two days feed at once. The last OF it
was not fed until late in November, by
which time it had aired out. so that I
think it could have been kept for winter
feed. From first to last the cows ate it
iclean and 1 do not think ten pounds 10
This year I tried the plan of sowing
with every alternate Grill hoe stopped,
making the rows sixteen inches apart.
but [ did not like it as well as last years
ipan, as it grew too course: in fact on the
hest land we cut a two-horse load of cane
land took it to the mill and had sugar
made from II. / believe that ! shall try
two bushels of seed to the acre next year
ION q part OIL my plot, "a ! do not want
the canes 10 grow more than a half-inch
in diameter My nearest neighbor this
rows, SO far apart that he can use a
narrow cultivator between them-some-
thing over two feet-and he thinks this
the Better way When sown very thick
over all the land there is danger OF it
lodging If heavy wind and rain comes to-
gether, and if it lodges easily it does not
develop the sacharine element and IS not
rain did not iniure it at all while curing,
for. being coarse the rain runs through
lit and it dries out quickly
Every man who Keeps cows should put
in trial plot of this next year. as I am
satisfied that no other plant l have any
knowledge of will endure drouth as we'll
or yield as much feed to a square acre.
The ,blacs-seeded cane and the amber are
more likely to fall down than the orange
and Liberian varieties; and would adj
wise that these strong growing kinds be
soWn for this purpose. ] would recon-
mend sowing about June l.. ON q clean
melon-seed bed As seed usually costs
nearly 81 per bushel. every farmer who
expects to grow it IN the future should
plant plot thin enough to mature seed
end grow his own seed supply each year
/ would plan for growing seed in rows
three feet apart. with hills two feet apart
and leave six or eight stalks to the hill
Waldo T. Brown.