The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-10-03

growth OF this crop has been passed.
Its good qualities are known and the
acreage planted to the grain in Shaw
nee county is on the increase. In round
numbers, the Kansas kafir field. in the
aggregate, was 5000 acres in 1912, the
greatest kafir producing year in the
history Of the grain in Kansas. The
unsatisfactory corn yield on the uplands
of Shawnee county the last two sea-
sons will have the tendency to increase
the acreage in kafir next spring.
Several hundred Shawnee county
farmers experimental this season with
feterita, grain sorghum that has come
into remarkable prominence in Kansas
in a short period of time. The recent
report on feterita by ]. C. Mohler.
secretary of the state board of agricul-
ture, indicates that there were 247 acres
planted to this grain. There will I'M
doubtedly be an increase in the feterita
acreage in Shawnee county. but feterita
is essentially a dry weather crop and
conditions are more favorable to its
perfect development in the western
third of the state. where the altitude is
higher and there is comparatively little
moisture.
Difficulties in Harvesting.
The farmers of Shawnee county have
found the difficulties in harvesting fet-
erita a serious drawback. T. A. Bor-
mis- exhaustive book recently published,
on "Sorghums-Sure Money Crops"
has the following to say of feterita:
Each plant of feterita will develop
from four to eight seed heads which
mature at different stages, making
complete harvest Of the grain a rather
protracted job. The grain has great
attraction for birds and owing to it's
softness, they readily damage the heads
during the different stages of growth.
Comparisons Of feterita with other
sorghums, lead to the conclusion that
1t is not as desirable for roughage as
is kaffr or some varieties of saccharine
sorghums. The forage is quite similar
to milo but the stalks are taller than
dwarf milo.
Dry Weather Crops.
"It is the opinion of the experiment
station authorities thus far, that where
kafir can be profitably grown, it is
preferable to feterita. The early ma
turing ability of the latter should
prompt its production in regions
where the high altitude or light rain
fall precludes the possibility of sue
cessful kafir production
There is some milo produced in
Shawnee county. This is another
drouth resisting grain sorghum. In
case of drouth, milo continues to grow.
while kafir lies dormant until mois-
ture is supplied The average acre
yield of milo in respect to both grain
and forage is less than in the case of
forage is lower than that of kafir.
Consequently, it is readily seen that
of the grain. sorghums, kafir, feterita
and milo, the former is easily the most
satisfactory for Shawnee county plant
ing.
Many Shawnee county farmers are'I
now talking kafir. Farmers who have
never grown the crop say that they
will be on the safe side next year and
will plant at least a small amount of
kafir in the highlands. Kafir will pro-
duce a crop in a drouth season when
corn will utterly fail. Mr.. Borman
in Shawnee county in fields where
swine are allowed free range to hog
It,"
Should Select Good Seed.
There has been a deterioration of
the kafir in Kansas, due to the fact
that there has been little or no care
taken in the selection Of seed in the
past. In most instances the grain
has simply been scooped out of bins
with shovels and some of the seed
has been mixed with other grain sor-
ghums Another reason is that a grain
has tendency to take the entire
growing season to mature. That is
the reason given for the fact that re-
cent? y1mported seed from South
Africa matured much earlier than the
Kansas seed. The farmers of Shaw
nee county are urged to procure the
very best seed available.
This Is the seventeenth of a series
OF articles on agriculture in Shawnee
county published in the State Journal
Try State Journal want.