The Colfax chronicle., 1900-07-07
FARMER ANDPLANTER.
VALUABLE FORAGE PLANTS.
The MtIlet Family Among the Most
Important and Valuable of
the Forage Plants.

1 the Forage Plants.
| Millets are among the important and
valuable grasses cultivated as forage
| plants, and for food for the human
family. These grasses are prominent
hay and feed products wherever the
soil is. cultivated and, according to Of
fetal reports, furnish one-third of the
food for the people of the entire world.
In China, Japan ard India fully f0,0O0.-
0o0 acres are annually cultivated to the
various kinds of millet, and these
countries alone consume as much as
35.t0o,00o bushels of the seed every
year. Some of the leading varieties are
grown in the United States for forage
ana for fattening hogs and poultry.
The seed makes an excellent substi-
tute for corn, containing as much fat,
more protein and four times as much
crude cellulose.
There are numerous varieties of mil
let, some of them having been in use
for centuries throughout the Asiatic
countries. The emperor of China has
religiously observed the annual cere-
Inony of sowing miliet, as a mark of
respect for the life of his subjects, for
the past several thousand years-ever
since the days of Chinnong, 2.7OO years
before the Christian era. The foxtail
millets. of which there are 2,7O0 kinds,
are generally known as German, Rus
sian, Golden Wonder, Hungarian and
common or hog millcts. The seed may
be purchased for about 81 per bushel.
AS usual thing about ten 10 twenty
two pounds of seed will SOW an acre,
either in drill or broadcast. Numerous
experiments show that the different
varieties will produce from three to
five tons of hay per acre.
"A fertile, mellow soil is preferable
for milet growing. Seed may be
sown from April to July 10 in most To-
caiities. This makes a GOOD catch
crop, and one good for rotating. 1t
may follow al early CROP or be sown
late in bad, weedy fields to assist in
Graduating the pests. Some farmers
report disking as successful method
of sowing, others use the grain drills,
while others SOW broadcast. Millets
draw their nourishments chiefly from
the surface soil, hence plenty of plant
food and moisture are necessary. A
good fertilizer for millets should con-
tain about seven per cent. each of
phcsphoric acid and potash and two
per cent. of nitrogen--50O pounds per
acre is a fair dose. Instead of the
above from 25o to 300 pounds of acid
phosphate, 125 to 200 pounds of muri-
ate of potash and 200 pounds of cotton
seed meal per acre can be used.
The Russian millet resists drought
wonderfully well, and is SUITED to dry.
hot climates where the wind destroys
other crops. 1t is large and leafy, AMI
may be sown after oats or other cereal
has been cut. 1t will ripen in from 60
to 80 days. Farmers in the northwest
report putting 2H pounds per day on
fattening hogs with millet alone. The
Hungarian is an old, choice grass that
produces large crops of feed, which is
relished by horses, cattle and sheen.
and the seed is eaten by poultry and
hogs. All the millets are desirable for
silos, and are worth more than MANY
other crops for dairying purposes.
Compared with timothy, the standard
in dairying, the foxtail millets are
somewhat inferior in fat and crude
protein, but are higher in extract mat
ter and digestibility, so that the feed
ing value is practically the same.
Millets may be- harvested the same
as. other grasses, hy cutting with
moving machine or scythe The grass
should be left in the swath until part
ly dry, then put into cocks and left to
thoroughly cure. Many of the best
farmers cut millets with self-binders
and stack the bundles about the same
as oats. If cut before the seed ripens.
about the time it is in the dough, and
mixed with clover, alfalfa, or some rich
leguminous crop, millet makes an ideal |
quality of ensilage. The longer it
stands after heading the more inferior
will be the forage. When used as a
supplement ta pastures the millets DOS
sess more than ordinary value for |
feeding purposes. Such varieties as the |
Hungarian and common millet may be
sown for pasture with profit. A mix
ture of peas, rape or clover and millet |
makes fine pasture. In sections where
green feed and winter hay is scarce
there is no single crop which can be
made more profitable than some of the |
varieties of millet.-Joel Shoemaker,
in Farmers Home Journal.