Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-09-02


ing moist and favorable. as II was last
wear 10 force rapid growth. II thought
desirable to plant the planting or sow
ing should be much thinner than early
I'm the season so that there may be run
nourishment for the plants.
''But IL is harvesting the crop that ~
Of general interest at this season of
the year. II Will seem strange TO many
Of your readers to think OF cutting up
corn I'm July or to make A business OF IL
every day in August. but when one of
those years come that II rlpened pre-
maturely It has to be done or the brittle
leaves would be blown off and the fod-
der be wasted.
.'The various kinds Of sorghums will
be effected somewhat by the heat and
winds that Will kill the tassels of the
corn, but generally they VIII with
stand and grow to maturity,
your readers may not all know yet
that we seldom write anything but our
own experience. We have raised sor-
ghum for many years, and we have
noticed other farmers methods. We
believe there are more diverse methods
OF planting or seeding sorghum and in
caring for II and harvesting than any
other crop we are acquainted with; SO
others will have to tell their own
story. Then the seasons vary so much
so we can lay down no rule even for
our own guidance, uniformly, and so
are governed largely by circumstances
Heretofore we have raised II much as
we would corn, though having three or
four times as many stalks. We cut and
shock In the field In much the same
manner. As II IL more OF a fodder than
grain crop-that is, the sweet sorghums
we cut where the fodder Is best, and
that is Just when the seed Is in the
dough stage As any kind Of grain
ripens 1t takes substance from the
stalk. II It has been planted thick
enough so that the growth of stalk II
not more than one-third natural size,
and cut while they have fun strength
before becoming woody-then cattle.
horses and sheep Will eat almost every
particle OF the stalk, and will eat all
Of II II cut or shredded.
The mistake OF many ls to leave un-
I'll after the seeds are fully rlpened,
There is just AS much sugar. in tie
stalk, but the outside has become hand
and indigestible and many OF the
leaves blown of; so there is much loss
with only little gain In the seed. The
seed fed whole Is largely wasted. as II
Is very hard and is not digested. So
we should advise early cutting. In
the non-saccharlne sorghums like the
Kothrs, the stalk never gets woody
and the seed not so hard, and as the
grain is an i'm portant part OF the crop
we should let the seed get ripe before
cutting. with Milo maize in IA favor
able season. the stalk grows SO large.
and It takes such a long season for the
yellow variety that good fodder and
grain cannot be had at the same time,
so each farmer will decide which he
needs the most, as one cannot be had
at its best stage only at the expense Of
the other. The white variety requires
a short season, and the stalk does not
grow so large and woody but does not
make good fodder when seed Is fully
ripe.
I'VE stack or rick all our fodder as
soon as cured in the field, but OF this
we will write again. Last season was
our first experience in sowing sorghum
to be cut with the moving machine.
with az favorable season as then It
Will readily make two crops II began
to head in July at about five feet and
was cut, II laid two days in the sun,
as then shocked, stood two days and
was stacked rs lay, You doubtless
have correspondents who have tested II
largely and we leave 1t to them. Au-
gust and September being favorable il
made another crop to be cut before
frost. Mary do not SOW until after
harvest, cut but once, put up in large
shocks in the field or even leave in the
winrow until they feed 1t out during
the winter Harvest commences here
June ! to 10, and where headers are
used the field is cleared at once and
the pillow can start same day. We have
seen corn six inches high thus planted
before harvest was over We have had
no need yet to plant any kind OF for
age this way as we have plenty OF good
sod ground for. al paaAa1 form
Since early harvest this year the
weather generally has been very dry,
through special sections have had an
abundance OF rain, so while We ex-
pected to cut over fifteen acres OF
sowed sorghum as soon as wheat har-
vest would be over, we have not cut 1t
yet (July 3l) though some of our
neighbors have. We had sowed one
and a quarter bushels seed per acre,
and that proved to be too thick this
year so the growth Is slow, requiring
more moisture than we had recently.
Unlike corn. all the sorghum crops will
take on new life when the long de-
ferred rains come, and make vigorous
growth, so We wait n little. While we
do not want dead ripe forage, we would
not go to the other extreme and cut
when green, except for necessity.
Sorghum fodder as grown in the
West is much better than that from
corn. We are not now comparing the
relative value of a sorghum and corn
crop as u whole. but refer to the fod-
der. We believe there is a waste. a
leak on all our farms as TO the fodder
OF various kinds as now generally
raised; but We also believe that in the
future much more attention will be
given to the raising OF fodder crops,
and those interested should at this
season investigate the merits of tho
many varieties OF sorghum, many of
them known under such misleading
names as Kafflr corn. Milo maize, and
Pearl and African millet."