The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-08-10
SORGHUM FOR HAY.
When and How to sOw-YfeIda Hno1-
mOusly-DimcuIt to Cure.

.0oen ana How to SOw-YieIdn HnODa
mously-Dimcult to Cure.
Sorghum natures In a much shorter
period than does Indian corn, reouIr.
ing q growing season Of from so to
100 days. l have no doubt that 1t
would make a good crop on any good
farm land in the state Of New York.
have sown it as late as June II, and
u matured before frost. As Il Is
warm weather crop it Is never adyisa-
Bile to SOW 1t until the weather has be-
come warm and settled and the, ground
thoroughly warm, as 1t then will come
up quickly and grow rapidly and en-
able one to keep 1t free from weeds
with much less labor. The record
which l kept Of the crop referred TO,
which was sown June II, shows that
1t was six inches high In 80 days after
sowing, but in go days it was six feet
high.
The quantity Of seed required and
the method Of sowing depend on the
use which is to be made Of the crop.
When grown for summer feeding, to be
cut to feed the cattle on pasture in
case Of drought and especially to feed
to hogs during the late summer and
early fall, l much prefer to drill 1t in
rows wide enough apart to use the
horse and cultivator, from 8 to 31a feet,
30 that there will be from FIVE to eight
stalks to the foot of drill, but as 1t is
rather more convenient both to cult
Vate and to cut the hills may be drop
ped 20 inches apart, with 10 or IL stalks
to the hill. Planted In this way, 1t de-
velops large stalks and a great deal of
Saccharine matter and Is easily and
quickly cut by hand or can be cut with
the moving machine If many animals
are to be fed, and six or eight pounds
Of seed planted to an acre.
When sown for hay, no cultivation is
given, and 1t is either drilled with a
wheat drill. using all the hoes, or sown
broadcast. have now grown the crop
for eight years and at first used one
bushel of seed to the acre when sown
for this purpose, but found in seasons
Of rapid growth that it was too coarse
to be easily handled and now SOW
nearly two bushels to the acre. Sown
In this way, it can be raked with
the horse rake, loaded like hay and I'M
loaded with the horse fork in the barn.
The yield is enormous in favorable sea
sons. often exceeding eight tons to tha
acre, cured.
A friend of mine in 1899 cured a sin.
Uln Nuhip1, bn hod
bushels of seed in a season almost des-
ttute Of rain, which produced between
eight and ten tons of feed. When he
came in February to get seed for this
springs sowing, he told me that 1t fed
40 head of cattle for six weeks, but
added that he should SOW two bushels
Of seed to the acre this year in order to
grow a finer quality Of hay. When
sown in this way, 1t produces stalks
about the size Of a lead pencil, al
though some Of them will be about the
thickness Of ones little finger and on
thin land grows about five feet high
and is not liable to lodge. If it does, it
is necessary to cut but one way, run
ming the sickle under the leaning plants
and driving back with the team with
out cutting.
1t requires very much more curing
than the ordinary grasses, and as 1t is
cut late, when the power of the sun Is
not so great as during the ordinary
haying season, we allow 1t to lie In the
Swath from 10 to 20 days, depending
somewhat upon the state of the wealth
sr. Then it is forked up and put in
large cocks running from 300 to 500
pounds each and allowed to stand out
until November, when 1t is ready for
the barn, says Waldo f. Brown In
Country Gentleman.