The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-06-26
Agriculture.
FORAGE CROPS THAT MAY YET BE
PLANTED WITH PROFIT.


During the next few months stock
cattle, dairy COWS and young calves
are apt to be neglected and allowed
to shift for themselves. Where
either the native or cultivated
grasses and grazing plants are in
Great abundance, the stock will bear
This neglect with but very little in
convenience or check in growth or
sbrinkage of milk flow. But when
+he range is limited and the grasses
are insufficient to meet the demands
made upon them, the stock suffers a
check in growth and milk yield
which requires many months of lib
eral feeding to overcome.
# is also of much Importance that
the cattle have a good supply of
water at all times. Poorly fed and
thirsty animals are especially liable
to fall ready victims to disease.
Guard against losses of this nature
BY making the stock comfortable, by
supplying water, salt, and sufficient
food to meet their requirements.
The careful stockman will make a
special effort to see that the pastures
are not overstocked. 1t is by far
better to keep ten animals on pas
ture able to keep them growing
nicely than fifteen underfed scrubby
ones making no growth and conse-
quently paying nothing for the food
consumed.
1t is not yet too late to make some
provision against the time of short
pastures. Peas sown thick on we'll
nrepared land will be of considerable
value in tiding over a short drought.
This matter should not be neglected
longer though, if the best results are
expected.
MiIlet may be used to advantage
in many sections. 1t will give better
results for grazing when sOwn broad
cast. using rather liberal seeding,
but if it is wanted for sOiling pur-
poses, it had better be planted in
drills about twenty to thirty inches
apart, using pearl or broom corn
millet seed at the rate of from two
to three quarts to the acre. This
will give a good full row, which
should be cultivated two or three
times with a fine-tOOthed cultivatOr
set to run close to the plants and not
more than two or three inches deep.
MilIet is a hot weather plant, start
ing off as it does better when not
planted until the soil is thoroughly
warm and we'll prepared.
The millets are surface feeders
that is, their feeding roots are close
to the surface, and are benefited by
liberal top dressings of complete fer
tilizers. Maximum crops of this
plant are harvested only from soils
containing an abundant supply of
the three chief constituents of COM
plete fertilizers in an available form.
A crop of ten tons to the acre of
millet forage will take fifty pounds
of nitrogen, twenty-five pounds of
phosphoric acid, and one hundred
and ten pounds of potash from the
soil. 1t is folly to plant poor worn
out land in this crop with the expec-
tation of getting a heavy yield.
Sorghum is of much value as a
crop to be cut and fed green. 1t
should be planted within the next
ten days IN drills about thirty inches
apart. There should be one stalk to
every three inches of the row. Cul-
tivation and fertilization should be
the same as for silage or fodder corn.
When the sorghum plants are four
or five feet high it is ready to begin
cutting to feed green. If cut at this
stage new shoots come out from the
stubble, affording two or three cut
tings in the course of the season.
"a Dairy cattle are very fond of this
forage, the feeding of which at this
college nearly always results in in
creasing the milk flow. We have
had no bad results in our feeding
sorghum, but others have lost some
animals. This, however, comes from
feeding the plant while yet quite
small. While less than three feet
nigh sorghum sometimes contains
an unknown matter which poisons
cattle eating it, resulting in speedy
death. We recommend we'll grown
sorghum to be used for soiling pur-