Arizona republican., 1901-07-05
ABOUT MILLETS
An Able Paper on Subject Interest
 ing to Farmers.

| The following bulletin on the sub 1 ject of mil!ets, prepared by Prof. A. J. McClatchie, has just been issued by the experiment station of the Univer- sity of Arizona:
 The number of inquiries received COT erning the culture of mil!et indi- cates considerable interest in this for | age crop. While there is probably ID scctien of the territory where 1t should l be made a primary crop, yet as catch crop or a supplementary crop it has a place in Arizona agriculture. A crop may be secured in a short time after seeding, that farmer may often utilize piece of land that night otherwise grow up 70 w,eds, and sup pement his supply of forage without interfering much with the growing of the regular staple crCps.
 "There are "a great many varieties of millet grown in the United States, Each posssssing certain merits. Scme are better adapted to dry regions than others, and some will make a crop on land too poor for other val ieties These varieties may be arranged into three groups: Foxtail ml.llets. Barn yard milsts and Broomcorn militIs | The most of those grown in the United States belong to he first group, char acterized by having compact, bristiy foX;ail-like heads. To this group be- long Common millet, German mi,iet, | Gold-n Wonder mill-t and Hungarian miilet. The Barnyard millets have branched heads, and are closely related to the grasses that grow in summer along irrlgating ditches and in other moist places. and known in southern Arizona as water grasses" To this group belongs the "Ankee" grass of the r1uthwest, ShaIh milet or Jungle Rise. and Sanwa millet. The second variety is simply cultivated form of the grass with leaves banded with pur- pie stripes that grows SO luxurlantly along Arizona ditch banks during warm weather. The Broomcorn mill lets hay bushy heads resembling mors or less those of brcom-orn. The seeds of this group are white, yellow or red The varieties are numerous, the best known in the southwest being the Manitoba. California B auty. French Turkish and Hog ml,let.
 "Millets are grown for two purposes: for forage and for the seed. The for aga is fed to both cattle and horses but principally t,, the former. The se. l Is used for both human food and fc0j for stock. The use of the seed for huran food Is confined to the old Word, almost exclusively. For seed for stock feed the Broomcorn mi,,ets are the principal on:s grown in this country.
 The Foxtail millets are the ones grown m SC ext nsively In .hs coun- try. and of this group the one mos! generally grown Is Arizona is German mlllct Tn SC mil'ets not only endure excessive heat and bright sunshine but will mak' a crcp with l-ss water than others. Ths, Common millet is the hardest of the group and endures drouth the best. Ge:nan millet gives d heavy yield under favorable condi- tions. but requlr, more water Ths hay is coarser than that of Common miliet. Thc Hungarian mllet do,s not endure drouth as we'll as Common mil let. but under favorable conditions us- ual'y gives heavier yield. For a .rcp of sere tho GClien Wonder mil llet is the best of the Foxtsil mil e IS the forage being coarse. This variety
 ndures less drouth than any of the Foxtail varieties mentioned.
 "Millots prl fer I rich, mellow, loamy soil, thriving in neither heavy clay oi adobe soil, nor in a light, sandy soil While it Is better to prepare the soil well, ni..et may be sown on quite rough land. Where the soil is not toe compact or the surface covered with tol rank a growth of weeds, it may b. simply "disked" in This method is especially applicable to stubble land after the grain is off
 "Mi,lee Is a warm weather plant thriving in heat and sensitive to cold In southern Arizona it may be sown any time from the first os May to tn end of September. While 1t may b. sown early in the summer, it is not usually advisable to do so, as the month of June is apt to be very trying on it. irrigating water commonly being short as well as the air dry. The mcst favorable time Is during July and August, the exact date advisable de- pending on the weather, the water sup ply and local conditions. The time that the forage Is desired may also be a factor in ds ciding upon the time to SOW. The varieties vary considerably y as to the length of time required fJr growth, but tho average time Is abc u. two months. As it is quite sensitive to frost, 1t must be sown early enough tc reach the stage desired before there is danger of freezing. Tnirty to forty pounds of seed of the Foxtail or BroomcoTn millsts, is the usual amount sown per acre. and fifteen to thirty pounds per acre of the Barnyard va rieties. Rich, wei prepared land re- quires less seed than pcor or rough land. Sowing too litt.e seed is likeiy to result in coarse e-stalked hay. Most varieties of nilet enjoy plenty of water <saAHaAa