SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO How to Cultivate and Harvest the Crops ; How to Build and Fill the Silo ; and How to Use Silage By-.. THOMAS SHAW n Professor of Animal Husbandry at the University of Minnesota Author of "Public School Agriculture" " Weeds and How to Eradicate Them* 1 "The Study of Breeds" "Forage Crops Other Than Grasses'* ILLUSTRATED New York ORANGE JIIDD COMPANY Copyflg'nt 1900 by ORANGE JUDD COMPAWV PRINTED IN U. S. A, TO THE DAIRYMEN AND FARMERS OF THE UNITED STATES THIS WORK IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR 263658 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author desires thankfully to acknowledge the outside sources from which aid was obtained in the preparation of the book. These include sundry bulletins issued by certain of the agricultural experi- ment stations in the United States, also the helpful work, "A Book on Silage," written by Prof. F. W. Woll of the University of Wisconsin. The sketches were nearly all prepared by Mr. Charles P. Taylor of the University of Minnesota. TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE CHAPTER L PAGE. Sotting Crops .....3 CHAPTER II. Indian Cora or Maize ...-19 CHAPTFP III. Sorghum ..------ --34 CHAPTER IV. The Non-Saccharine Sorghums ----51 CHAPTER V. Plants of the Clover Family --------68 CHAPTER VI. Leguminous Plants Other Than Clover ----- IO2 CHAPTER VII. Plants of the Brassica Genus -------- 139 CHAPTER VIII. The Common Cereals l6 8 CHAPTER IX. Millets 183 CHAPTER X. Field Roots 195 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. Miscellaneous Plants 80S CHAPTER XII. Succession in Soiling Crops - 332 PART TWO CHAPTER I. PAGE. The History of Siloing - ---- 245 CHAPTER II. I The Benefits from Siloing Crops -- 258 CHAPTER III. Facts Relating to Silo Construction -- 269 CHAPTER IV. Building the Silo 292 CHAPTER V. Crops Suitable for the Silo .....322 CHAPTER VI. Filling the Silo ---336 CHAPTER VII. Feeding Silage .. 350 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIG. PAGE. 1 The Model Shepherd Frontispiece. 2 Squaw Corn for Fodder --------20 3 Giant Fodder Corn for Soiling ------ 27 4 Early Amber Sorghum --------35 5 Sorghum Grown for Soiling, First Cutting - - 43 6 Red Kafir Corn ----------53 7 Yellow Milo Maize -------- 55 8 Brown Dhoura - .--------57 9 Jerusalem Corn ---------- 59 10 Alfalfa, Single Plant 87 11 Alfalfa, Grown for Soiling ------ 99 12 The Mummy Field Pea --------103 13 Vetches and Oats for Soiling Second Cutting - - 115 14 Sheep Pasturing on Soy Beans ------ 120 15 Soy Beans for Soiling ------- 127 16 Sheep Pasturing on Cowpeas ------ 130 17 Cowpeas Grown for Soiling ------ 137 18 A Dwarf Essex Rape Plant 141 19 Dwarf Essex Rape for Soiling - - - - - - 151 20 Cabbage for Soiling --------- 156 21 Oats and Wheat for Soiling or Fodder - - - - 169 22 Oats and Peas for Soiling ------- 178 23 Oats First Pastured, Then Grown for Soiling - - 180 24 German Millet for Soiling ------- 184 25 Hungarian Millet for Soiling ------ 186 26 Sand Vetch ----------- 219 27 Jerusalem Artichokes -------- 227 28 Sunflowers --------..- 229 29 Sheep Barn with Round Silo ------ 294 30 Section of Stave Silo -------- 296 31 Splice of Stave with Iron Tongue ----- 303 32 Lugs for Hoops ---------- 304 33 Door of Stave Silo --------- 306 34 Sketch Showing Stave Silo with Shute, Ladder and Hand Cart ----- 307 35 Sketch Showing Stave Silo with Roof and Lugs Prop- erly Distributed --------- 309 36 Section of Wall of Rectangular Silo ----- 310 37 Elephant Fodder Corn- -------324 38 Scrghum for Silage ------ 326 ix AUTHOR'S PREFACE This book is one of a series on agriculture which the author hopes to be spared to complete. It is designed more especially to meet the needs of dairymen when providing green food for their stock, summer and winter, but it is also intended to be similarly helpful to all farmers who keep domestic animals on the arable farm, and it is hoped that the student also at the agricultural college may be able to glean from its pages what will be helpful to him when prosecuting his investigations. Excellent information on the subject of soiling and also on that of the silo has been furnished by various authors, but in a form more or less fragmentary, irregular and incomplete. It has been the aim of the author in the present work to cover these subjects with at least a measurable degree of completeness and system. In writing a series of books on agriculture, it Is not easy to avoid some repetition. In fact, it is practically impossible to do so. For example, when one book treats of forage crops other than grasses and is followed by a second on soiling crops and the silo, as in the present instance, it will be found that many of the crops grown for these respective uses are the same. They are grown on the same kinds o I soils, and the methods of growing them are similar xi xii AUTHOR'S PREFACE. If each treatise is to be complete in itself, the methods of growing these respective crops must be given in both, and this necessitates some repetition. It has been, and will be, the constant aim of the author, however, to avoid such repetition to the greatest possible extent. By combining two or more separate treatises in one, repetition could be almost entirely avoided, but the purchaser would then have to pay for matter in which he might not be interested in order to obtain that which was of special interest to him. Of the two plans, the author believes that he has chosen that which will be more advantageous to the general public. University Experiment Farm, St. Anthony Park, Minn., 1900. PART ONE SOILING CROPS CHAPTER I. SOILING CROPS. Soiling crops are those which are sown from time to time to furnish food for domestic animals, and which are to be harvested while yet immature and fed to them in the pasture, the paddock, the feed lot or the stall. Corn cut and thus fed to animals at any stage prior to maturity furnishes an illustration of a soiling food. A soiling food is, therefore, another name for a green food. It is not necessary that it shall be fed as soon as harvested, but it is necessary that it shall be fed in the green form. Corn preserved in the silo is essentially a soiling food, inasmuch as it is cut when immature and in that con- dition is fed to live stock, though it may not be fed for months after it has been cut, as for instance, when it has been preserved in the silo, hence the propriety of combining the subject of soiling crops and the silo in this treatise. Soiling crops differ from forage crops in that the former are harvested and then carried to the animals which consume them, whereas live stock gather the latter for themselves; and soiling differ from fodder crops in their being cut and fed green, whereas fodder crops are frequently harvested when mature or approaching maturity and are always fed to animals in the cured form. People who are disposed to follow rigidly the teachings 3 4 . .SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. " * dictionaries will probably take some ; to\ -tKese definitions, but the time has certainly come when more precision must be given to at least some of the definitions in agriculture, to prevent confusion of ideas. For instance, the defini- tion of forage crops given in our best authorities would make these include soiling crops also. Such a definition is at variance with common usage, and surely the popular idea when consistent and legiti- mate is of higher authority even than that of the recognized standards. Adaptation in Soiling Crops. The growing of soiling crops is chiefly adapted to an intensive cultivation. It may be better associated with the tillage of small rather than of large farms and is better adapted to localities where the population is crowded and markets are near, as, for instance, in the neighborhood of large cities. It was to be expected therefore that the growing of soiling foods would first receive attention in the east, and so it did. But the day is coming, and is near, when in one or the other of its forms it will be most extensively carried on also in the west, and more especially in those sections in which dairying prevails. Soiling is, of course, only necessary on farms on which live stock are kept more or less numerously. And even on these it may not be much needed when pastures are plentiful and succulent during the greater part of the grazing season. It is more needed in dry than in moist climates, on poor than on rich lands, and where milk is sought rather than beef. Partial and Complete Soiling. Partial soiling means supplementing the pastures with green food SOILING CROPS. 5 for a part of the season, as occasion may require. Such food may be given once a day or oftener, according to the needs of the animals. The chief object sought in partial soiling is to keep domestic animals abundantly supplied with palatable and nutritious food, when the food from the pastures is inadequate. And where milk production is involved it aims to furnish succulent food after the grass pas- tures have lost much of their succulence, even though they should still be abundant. Partial soiling is best adapted to a system of cultivation that is intermediate between the extensive and intensive systems ; that is to say, to a system that meets the needs of the average arable farm. In all countries with summer climates deficient in moisture it is an essential appendage and material help to dairying. In no other way can the dairyman keep up a maximum milk flow at so small an outlay. Complete soiling has reference to that system by which domestic animals are sustained on food fed to them in the stall, the feed lot, or the paddock dur- ing all the year. It does not imply that all the food so fed shall be given to the animals in the green form, but that green food will usually form a considerable portion, if not, indeed, the greater part, of the ration. Complete soiling is adapted to an intensive system of cultivation ; that is to say, where cultivable lands are scarce and dear, and from which it is necessary to obtain a maximum yield while they are being tilled. Its general adoption in this country where land is so plentiful, and in which it is relatively so cheap, is probably remote rather than near, notwith- standing that it has been practiced in some sections 6 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. of the thickly populated countries of western Europe for many years. Benefits from Growing Soiling Crops. The following are the more important benefits from growing soiling crops : I, Food supplies are increased in a marked degree; 2, in various ways the waste in feeding is lessened; 3, animals are sustained in better form than where soiling is not practiced; 4, injury to the land through poaching is prevented ; 5, a salutary influence is exercised on weed eradication ; 6, a saving in land is effected ; 7, a saving in fertility is effected ; 8, a saving is also effected in the item of fencing; 9, animal production is greatly increased; and, 10, the cost of keeping the family cow is lessened. Increase in Food Supplies. Soiling enables the farmer to grow more food than he could by any other system, Usually the growth of plants is hin- dered in proportion to the extent to which the plants are pastured down while yet immature. And crops that are pastured are further injured by the tramping of the animals that feed upon them. They are injured directly by the bruising which they receive from the hoofs of the animals which feed upon them, and indirectly by the impaction of the land from pastur- ing it when not dry enough. These facts are simply mentioned without taking space to give the reasons. And since soiling crops are usually cut a little short of maturity it is more practicable to grow two crops from the same land, where soiling is practiced, thar where it is not. The relative increase in food production where soiling is practiced as compared with pasturage can SOILING CROPS. 7 not of course be stated otherwise than in the most approximate manner. It will vary greatly with such conditions as soil and season. But it will not be extravagant to say that when animals are soiled all the year in the one instance, and when they are pas- tured during the season of pasturage, and are then wintered on food grown on other land in the other instance, a given area will sustain at least twice the number of animals through the year by the former system than it will by the latter. Less Waste in Feeding. When crops are fed under the soiling system there is less waste than when pastured or fed in the matured form. This saving is effected, first, in the absence of injury through treading as compared with pasture crops ; second, in the absence of loss in harvesting as compared with matured crops ; and, third, in the more complete con- sumption of the food. The injury to pasture crops through treading has already been referred to. Soiling crops when judiciously managed are seldom so injured by the weather as to be rendered unfit for food. Fodder crops when matured are fre- quently damaged by rain when being cured. When thus damaged they lose in palatability, in nutrition, and also through mold induced by storing when not yet fully cured. The more complete consumption of food fed in the green form as compared with food fed when ripe, arises chiefly from the greater palatability of the former. The fodder portion of plants, that is to say, the stems and leaves, is always better relished by animals when fed before they are fully matured. For instance, feed rye to cattle when it has not yet reached 8 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. the earing stage, and it will be eaten with avidity. Feed it when fully out in head and it will be eaten indifferently. Feed it when ripe and little else than the heads will be eaten. Feed the straw after the grain has been threshed, and it will be consumed by the animals only when impelled by hunger. Chemists tell us that fodder plants contain all the food ele- ments that they will possess at the time the ripening process begins, that is to say, by the time they have reached that stage when the stalk begins to assume a yellow tinge at the ground. They should be fed, therefore, as soiling food before they pass this stage, for as soon as they get beyond it there is loss in palatability. And there is loss in digestibility as the ripening stage is neared, that is to say, the propor- tion of the indigestible woody fiber is increased. On the other hand, when plants are cut when considerably short of maturity, there is loss from want of sufficient development. Theoretically, the most food will be got from plants when they are cut as soiling food a little short of maturity. In prac- tice, however, this is impossible, as it would too much curtail the length of the period for feeding each crop. But with crops that grow again and again, as with alfalfa, for instance, there is no loss probably in cut- ting them as soon as they have made sufficient growth to justify the expenditure of the labor involved. Sustains Animals in Better Form. By the aid of soiling food domestic animals can be maintained in better form than without it. With such aid they can be maintained in a more even condition, the ani- mal energy can be more perfectly conserved, and the SOILING CROPS. Q succulence of the foods usually exercises a whole- some influence on the health of the stock. In the absence of soiling foods it is hardly pos- sible for the farmer to keep his animals through all the year in what may be termed a well balanced con- dition. When he depends wholly on pastures during the summer season these may fail. When they do his animals suffer proportionately. On the other hand, if the pastures are superabundant there is waste. When pastures lose their succulence, the milk flow from milk-giving animals is proportion- ately reduced, and no after feeding will wholly restore it, howsoever suitable it may be. As the character of the season cannot be foreseen, farmers are wise who make provision for a possible shortage in pasture by sowing more or less of one or more crops to provide soiling food. If the best possible returns are to be obtained from animals, they must be well supplied with food every day in the year. When animals are fed in whole or in part on soiling foods, they may frequently be kept nearer at hand than when not so fed, hence their needs can be more easily met. When the days are hot they may be more easily housed. In the time of flies they may be more easily protected from the same by keeping them in cool, darkened sheds or stables during the heat of the day. In hot weather they can be left out in paddocks over night, and in cold weather they can be housed. Such attentions have a marked influence in maintaining an equilibrium of condition. The use of soiling foods conserves animal energy by lessening that waste which arises from undue 10 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. exertion on the part of animals when gathering their food. When the dairy cow has to travel far when seeking food in the pastures, she does so at the expense of food required to sustain the prolonged exertion. And when food is thus used to sustain energy it is very evident that it cannot be used to make milk. Likewise, when growing cattle have to travel beyond a certain limit in order to get supplies for the day, they do so at the expense of flesh. And the same is true of the horse, the sheep and the pig. Live stock should, of course, be given sufficient exer- cise to keep them healthy and to give them proper stamina. Beyond this, exercise means waste of food, and this waste can be prevented by growing a suffi- ciency of soiling foods. Soiling foods, judiciously fed, tend to keep the animal system in proper tone, hence thus far they exert a favorable influence on the health of live stock to which they are fed. In the absence of those foods it is difficult, if not impossible, to keep the system in the best of tone during certain periods of the year. Where soiling foods are not grown there can be no assurance of succulence in the pastures beyond the early summer months. Pastures will not sustain an undiminished milk flow in cows, even when consid- erably short of the yellow leaf stage. When dry and crisp they are a less valuable food than well cured hay, notwithstanding that the food may be abundant. On such pastures swine will soon lose flesh unless the pastures are supplemented with other food. By growing succulent foods in due succession and in adequate sufficiency they may be made available for live stock in one form or the other during a large SOILING CROPS. II part of the year, if not, indeed, through the whole year ; hence the beneficial influence which they exert on the health of the animals may be made continually operative. But there are other senses in which the soiling system may become prejudicial to the health of the animals. These are discussed on Page 18. Injury Through Poaching. When the soiling system is practiced, lands are not injured by poach- ing, that is, by the treading of the animals when the hoofs sink below the surface of the land. On all soils poaching is to some extent harmful, and on clays it is quite harmful, since impaction follows on the return of dry weather to the very great injury to the growth of the grasses. As no person can control the weather, the farmer who is dependent on pastures only to provide food for his live stock in the season of growth must needs allow them to feed upon the pastures betimes when they will injure them by treading ; and it may be added that close grazing in very dry weather may seriously injure pastures. Particularly is this true of pastures in some parts of the dry west. The farmer without soiling food may be powerless to prevent such a result. Influence on Weed Eradication. The soiling system may be made to render material aid in eradi- cating weeds. This arises, first, from the thickness with which the food may be grown; second, from the season at which much of it may be sown ; and, third, from the immature period at which it is reaped. Soiling food may be sown more thickly rela- tively than if the same plant or plants were sown to produce a matured crop of seeds. Such sowing secures more of fineness in the food, and in 12 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. consequence more of palatability. The food thus grown crowds weeds because of its thickness, and also hinders their development because of the density of the shade. Soiling food may be sown at different seasons because of the difference in the habits of the plants thus grown. Several varieties may be sown late. When these varieties are thus sown, ample time is given to sprout and in turn to destroy myriads of weed seeds that may be in the upper section of the tillable soil. In fact, where such cultivation is what it ought to be, the grounr will be comparatively clean before the crop is grown or planted. As soiling foods are cut while yet immature, the weeds which grow in them have not the same chance to mature as though the crop had been allowed to stand until fully ripe. Notably is this true of soil- ing crops that are sown reasonably early. And when these are removed early in the season, another soil- ing crop, or a catch crop of some kind may be made to follow the first one. This second crop will also be helpful to the cleaning of the land. Saving in Land. Growing soiling foods effects a great saving in land, as it enables the grower to raise much more food from a given area. The sav- ing thus effected is greater relatively in the west and south than in the east and north. This arises from the greater relative adaptability of the east and north to the growing of grass pastures, and from the greater relative adaptability of the west and south to the growing of soiling foods. The extent of the saving will vary with the conditions. But it would not be extravagant to say that ordinarily where SOILING CROPS. 13 three acres of grass are required to keep a milch cow in good form for six months, it would be possible to grow enough soiling food to keep the same ';ow all the year. In some sections of the prairie ir. the far west, where cultivated grasses have not been grown with marked success, the difference would be even greater. In instances, not a few, it has been found possible to grow ample supplies of food on one acre by the soiling system to feed a cow all year. As the population becomes more dense, and as popu- lous cities multiply, the saving in land effected by soiling in either of its forms will increase in impor- tance, and more in the neighborhood of large cities than elsewhere. Saving in Fences. Growing soiling foods les- sens the necessity for building fences on farms on which live stock are kept. A marked saving is thus effected in labor and money, the extent of the saving being proportional to the number of animals kept, to the cost of labor and materials for fencing. Unless where the materials for fencing are very cheap, it is a costly affair, both to build and to maintain fences. It is seldom that any kind of fence, strong enough to secure cattle, can be built for less than twenty-five to fifty cents per rod, when labor and material are included, and in some instances the outlay would be much greater. This outlay, or much of it, must needs be repeated at least every other decade, to say nothing of the sums paid out from time to time in repairs. There is also the further objection that on the strip of land on which the fence stands, weeds are much prone to grow, unless considerable hand labor is expended in keeping them down. 14 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. On the other hand, we must not assume that the soiling system will entirely obviate the necessity for fences. Theoretically, where complete soiling is carried on no fencing would be required other than that used in enclosing the yards and paddocks in which the animals are to be exercised, or in which they are to be kept over night in warm weather. But this idea must not be pressed too far, for where sufficient stamina in live stock are to be maintained, animals must have exercise beyond what they will voluntarily take in small paddocks. Saving in Fertility. The soiling system effects a great saving in fertility, since it enables the farmer to make more and better manure than can be obtained from live stock kept on the pasturing system, and less of what is thus made is wasted. More manure is made, first, because the animals are at all times on full feed, whereas on pasture they are frequently on short supplies, and, second, because by the soiling system a greater number of animals can be sustained on a given area. The manure made is likely to be more valuable, since along with soiling food greater quantities of meal, rich in the elements of plant growth, are usually fed. And there is less waste in the manure made if properly saved, since its value is not then impaired by insects and other adverse influ- ences, as it is when dropped in the field. In many instances the soiling system will enable the farmer to more than double the value of the manurial prod- uct made, as it enables him to more than double the supplies of food grown. Increase in Animal Production. Such a system cannot fail to increase animal production. The SOILING CROPS. 15 extent of this increase will be in proportion to its completeness. If it increases the food products 100 per cent, it will also increase the milk or meat pro- duction more than 100 per cent, since the animals maintained will be increased proportionately. They will also be maintained on foods at all times ample in quantity and of correct adaptation. These influ- ences will tend to a further increase of production. The greater outlay involved, however, in securing this added increase should never be lost sight of. Sustaining the Family Cow. In villages, in suburbs of towns and cities, quite a number of the inhabitants keep cows. To such people the cow is a source of untold blessing, because of the utility of the product which she gives. Oftentimes those peo- ple are unable to secure adequate pastures. This difficulty may easily be overcome when the owner of a cow possesses a small piece of land. He can then supplement the pastures by growing soiling foods, and with great advantage to both cow and land. Where but one cow is kept, a small area will suffice to supply her needs. Some Objections to the Soiling System. To the soiling system there are some objections. Chief among these are the following: i, It involves increased outlay for labor ; 2, it requires more con- stant attention on the part of the attendants ; 3, it is not always easy to adjust the food supplies to the needs of the animals, and, 4, it may, in some instances, tend to impair the stamina of live stock. Increased Outlay for Labor. The soiling sys- tem cannot be adopted in either of its forms without a considerable increase in the labor of those who care 1 6 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. for the live stock so fed. Even in the partial form, increase in labor is considerable. In the complete form, it is much greater ; and of course increase in labor involves a corresponding increase in outlay. The increase in labor arises, first, from the necessity for cutting the food daily, or at intervals of not more than two or three days; second, from the necessity for handling and conveying it to the animals in the green form; third, from the necessity for feeding and otherwise caring for the animals from day to day in the pasture, paddock, shed or stall; fourth, in caring for the yards or paddocks and in handling the manure. From the sum of this labor, however, in making the comparison, there should be deducted the less amount of the labor necessary in providing fencing. Notwithstanding, the extra labor involved, and the increased expenditure resulting therefrom, is the one great standing hindrance in the way of the more general adoption of the system of complete soiling by the farmers of this country. Nor is the adoption of complete soiling likely to become general until farm labor becomes cheaper and until land becomes scarcer and dearer. But beyond all ques- tion, in the opinion of the writer, the day is not very far distant when complete soiling will be practiced by a considerable number of the farmers in every state of the Union. Partial soiling does not involve nearly so much labor as complete soiling, hence it is practiced by a greater number of farmers. Dairymen, especially, cannot well get along without it. The necessity for thus growing and feeding food to supplement the pastures increases with the dryness of the climate. So SOILING CROPS. I/ essential is it to the highest success in raising and properly maintaining farm stock that it must even- tually be practiced by all or nearly all farmers \vho do not follow the system of complete soiling. Tax on Attendants. Where complete soiling is carried on, the care of the animals must be con- tinuous throughout the season. Every day thereof brings its round of duties, and they cannot be neg- lected except at the expense of the live stock. Food must be secured for the animals with unfailing regu- larity, it must be fed to them every day, and usually two or three times a day. To the average farm laborer this work savors so much of the treadmill order that it is distasteful. He looks upon it in the light of a yoke which he does not care to take upon himself. Hence, until those better days come when such labor will be looked upon through a proper lens, for it has its compensations, the adoption of the soiling system in either form will be relatively slow. Adjusting Food Supplies. Complete soiling calls for the exercise of much thought in securing food supplies and in adjusting them to the needs of the animals. There must needs be succession in foods to keep up a constant supply. No one food is at its best for soiling uses for many weeks in succes- sion. There must also be variety in the foods thus grown in succession. This is essential to the well- being of the animals to which the foods are fed. It is further rendered imperative by the different periods of the year when various plants grow and mature sufficiently for being fed at their best. A supply of these foods must always be on hand through sunshine and storm. In some instances, however, 3 l8 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. showers fall frequently and for days in succession, so that it may not be easy to secure food supplies unless when soaked with rain; and it may be also more or less soiled with earth. To properly adjust these matters in the face of varying- seasons is no easy task. It cannot be done without the exercise of much forethought. Impaired Stamina in the Stock. While, as has been shown, the soiling system tends to promote good health in live stock, it may easily be so con- ducted as to ultimately injure stamina in the animals subjected to its conditions. Up to a certain limit, utility in live stock is improved through artificial conditions. Beyond this limit, stamina are weak- ened. Where the border line runs between the most approved conditions of environment and conditions that lead to deterioration, is not always easily deter- mined. Unnecessary exertion on the part of animals when getting this food lessens production. Insuffi- cient exertion lessens stamina. Under the complete soiling system the individual must guard against undue confinement of the animals, or their natural vigor will wane. All history and experience point to increased mortality among animals and also among men in proportion as they are aggregated under conditions of much restraint. The dangers of undue restraint, however, do not apply to animals subjected only to the conditions which partial soiling imposes. And with complete soiling, it is probable that they may, in a great measure, be avoided by giving due attention to the conditions which are necessary to the maintenance of improved vigor in domestic animals. CHAPTER II. INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. It would probably be correct to say that Indian corn (Zea Mays) furnishes more food for live stock than any other plant now grown in the United States, and that it will continue to do so through all the years that are yet to come. Taking everything into consideration it will probably produce more food per acre for domestic animals than any other plant, and there are but few foods which can be fed in a greater variety of ways. In furnishing soiling food on unirrigated land, it is in some respects without a rival on the American continent. So great is its value for this use that in the near future very few sections will be found in all the United States in which it will not be grown on a large majority of the farms by those who keep live stock. Green corn is pre-eminently a food for dairy cows when in milk, owing in part to the close relation between succulence in food and free milk production. But it may also be fed with much advantage to other classes of cattle when pastures are scant, and also to horses of all ages, although to horses at work it should not be given in large quantities, lest a too lax condition of the bowels be induced. It furnishes excellent green food for sheep, when of fine growth. It also furnishes food for swine that is much relished by them, especially when the corn is of the sweet 19 INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 21 varieties. They will virtually consume the entire product when it is fed to them prior to the maturing of the crop. Corn grown as soiling food will yield from ten to thirty tons per acre, according as the land is poor or rich and the season is dry or moist. A good average crop may be placed at fifteen to twenty tons per acre. Distribution. Corn can be grown as soiling food in nearly all the tillable portions of the United States, since, with a mean temperature of about 60 degrees, it will become sufficiently advanced for being cut as soiling food in from fifty to seventy days from the time of planting. But where it can be allowed to grow for a longer period, the crop is relatively more valuable. Nearly all the tillable portions of the United States have marked adaptation for grow- ing corn to be fed in the green form. The sections least well adapted to its growth are those probably which border on the Pacific ocean, between Alaska and California, because of the low mean tempera- tures that prevail there. In nearly all the tillable areas of Canada, also, corn can be grown in the finest form for summer feeding and in sections too far north to mature the grain. Soil. Corn is specially adapted to warm, deep loam soils rich in humus, and that lie upon subsoils of what may be termed porous clay. It is a most voracious feeder on decaying organic matter, hence when it is to be grown, care should be taken to keep the soil well supplied with such food. But it may be grown with more or less success on almost any kind of land not too low in available plant food, not too 22 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. strongly impregnated with alkali, and not overmoist or overdry. It may be made to flourish on the stiffest clays when they are sufficiently pulverized, and on the poorest sands when they have been sufficiently enriched. Place in the Rotation. As a fodder or grain crop, that is, as a crop for being fed in the cured form, corn should be grown whenever practicable as a cleaning crop. More, commonly it should be planted after one or more grain crops have been taken from the land, and it should be followed by a grain crop in which grass seeds have been sown. Frequently it should be sown on an overturned grass or clover sod. But when sown to provide soiling food it can with much advantage be grown as a "catch" crop, that is to say, as a crop preceded or followed by another crop grown on the land the same season, and in some instances both preceded and followed by another crop. Where the seasons are sufficiently long it may thus be grown with peculiar fitness after a crop of winter rye is pastured, plowed under green, or reaped when mature ; after clover is pastured, buried or reaped ; after grain crops are pas- tured off, and in some instances after grain crops are harvested; after a crop of early sown rape is grazed down, and after certain other soiling crops have been removed from the land, as, for instance, peas and oats. It may also be grown after any kind of a fall or spring sown crop that has failed from any cause. But in areas in which the seasons are quite short, it may not be possible to grow another crop on the land the same season. The crops that may with much INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 2J propriety be sown after soiling corn include winter wheat, winter rye, winter oats, the winter vetch, the sand vetch, rape and crimson clover. Corn may. thus frequently be sown as soiling food without interfering with the growth of the crop that would ordinarily be taken from the land. Preparing the Soil. When preparing the soil, the aim should be to secure a seed bed moist, clean and fine. When winter rye is plowed under, it should not be later than the earing stage, and in regions deficient in moisture earlier than that, lest through its bulkiness it should cause the land to lie too loosely upon itself and so lose too much of its moisture, or through its woodiness it should fail to decay soon enough to feed the corn crop. If the buried rye is rolled and harrowed soon after it has been buried, the moisture in the soil will be better conserved and the more quickly will the rye decay. These remarks will apply equally to the burial of fresh farmyard manure with much litter in it. But in time of wet weather, it would not be necessary thus to roll and harrow the land so soon after it had been plowed. As the preparation of the soil for this crop cannot usually begin long before the plant- ing of the crop, special pains should be taken to pulverize the soil and to make it firm, that the germi- nation of the young plants may begin at once after planting, and that the subsequent growth may be rapid. It should always be the aim in growing a soiling crop of corn to produce a large quantity. It is usu- ally fed in the immature form, hence quality in the food cannot be so much influenced by close or wide 24 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. planting as it is when the corn crop is allowed to mature. Land, therefore, not sufficiently fertile to produce a maximum crop should be fertilized accord- ing to its needs. Where it can be obtained, farm- yard manure is one of the cheapest and most effective of fertilizers. It may be applied most freely in climates not deficient, or not much deficient, in mois- ture. It feeds the corn crop better when it has been reduced, or fermented, more or less, before it is applied. On lands lacking in moisture the applica- tion of large quantities of farmyard manure in the unreduced form should be avoided, unless it can be applied some considerable time before the planting of the corn, otherwise its bulkiness and slowness of decay may harm the crop more than it will help it. Commercial fertilizers may also be applied in addition to farmyard manure where the supply of the latter is limited, or alone in its absence. The composition of these fertilizers and the quantity to apply will depend upon the needs of the land. But more commonly complete fertilizers will be prefer- able, that is to say, fertilizers which contain a certain per cent, of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. Sowing. Corn for soiling uses may be sown broadcast by hand and covered with the harrow; with the grain drill, all the tubes or with only part of them in use ; or it may be strewn by hand in shal- low furrows made by the plow. Which of these methods ought to be adopted will depend chiefly upon such conditions as the conveniences at hand for planting the crop and upon the area to be grown. Much has been written against the plan of sow- ing the corn broadcast by hand, also against the plan INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 2$ of sowing it with the grain drill when all the tubes are in use. Yet it may be true that a large majority of the farmers who grow corn for soiling persist in growing it thus. And there is probably some reason for such persistence. It is very convenient to sow corn in this way. The stalks, because of their fineness, are more palatable than when of stronger growth, and on good soil much bulk of food is obtained. The objections to this method of planting the crop are : The lack of growth in the corn in severely dry weather, the encouragement given to the growth of weeds, the larger amount of seed required for plant- ing, and the less nutritious character of the food. There is some force in all these objections. Notwith- standing, in the judgment of the author they do not prove conclusively that on well prepared soils corn for soiling should not sometimes be grown thus. But it should not be so grown on land that is frequently lacking in moisture, on land that is low in fertility or on land on which weed seeds lying on or near the surface have not been well sprouted and destroyed before the planting of the corn. When corn for soiling is planted with the grain drill, some of the tubes only being in use, there is much latitude in the precise methods practiced Sometimes every second tube is used. When planted thus, the crop will make more growth on soils only moderately supplied with plant food, and it will also make a better growth in dry weather. When thus planted, of course, the rows are too near to admit of horse cultivation. Such cultivation may be given with the rows even nearer to each other than thirty inches, but when less distant than thirty inches it 26 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. cannot be done with so much freedom or ease. The larger the variety of the corn, the more distant should be the rows, to avoid too much shading from the sunlight ; hence there may be instances when corn grown for soiling should be planted more than thirty inches distant. Sometimes such corn is planted with the drill in what may be termed double rows, that is to say, in rows not more than from six to nine inches apart. But the distance between the pairs of double rows should be at least thirty inches. In planting corn thus, with some grain drills at least, it may be neces- sary to duplicate the amount of driving that would be sufficient to plant the corn in single rows. Other drills, however, may be made to plant at least t\vo double rows at one and the same time. This is done by leaving open the avenues that lead to the tubes which do the planting and closing all the others. Corn planted thus will produce a greater bulk than if planted in single rows, yet this method of planting admits practically the same kind of cultivation that would be suitable for corn grown in single rows. When the corn is sown by hand, shallow fur- rows are made with the plow, the seed is strewn thickly in these, according to the desires of the grower, and it may be covered by hand or by draw- ing a heavy harrow crosswise over the ground. The object sought in planting the corn thus is to secure a thick stand of plants that may, also, be cultivated, when a drill with which to sow the plants is not obtainable. But this method of planting corn for soiling should not be attempted when a large area is to be planted. Fig. 3. Giant Fodder Corn for Soiling Minnesota University Experiment Farm, 28 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. The variety, or varieties, of corn to sow or plant will depend on conditions such as relate to climate and soil. In northerly latitudes it may be wise to plant only the quick growing flint varieties. In more southerly latitudes, it may be necessary to grow only the slow growing dent varieties. When the corn is to be allowed to pass the earing stage, before being fed, it may be proper to choose some of the varieties of sweet corn for planting. But since soil- ing corn is usually fed before the corn on the ear is of any considerable food value, it is well to select varieties with a leafy tendency of growth, since these varieties will be more relished by the animals to which the crop is fed. The quantity of seed required will vary with the size of the seed kernels, or, in other words, with the variety of the corn, and with the method adopted in sowing the seed. Probably no method of sowing calls for the use of more than three bushels of seed per acre, or less than one bushel per acre. There would seem to be no advantage derived from grow- ing corn for soiling purposes with the plants less dis- tant than from three to four inches in the line of the row, whatsoever the kind of cultivation adopted, and there may often be good reasons for growing the plants much further apart. The time for planting corn for soiling will largely depend upon such conditions as climate, soil, and the prospective needs of the animals to which the crop is to be fed. Although in southern lati- tudes, this crop may be sown for soiling uses far on into midsummer, it 'should never be planted in the spring before the soil has become sufficiently warmed INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 2$ to germinate the seed quickly. Slowness of germi- nation is more or less injurious to the crop, and prolonged slowness of germination may be even, fatal to it. It is probably safe to conclude that the season is sufficiently advanced for corn planting to begin when apple blossoms are unfolding their beautiful tints. It may be desirable to have the season for feeding green corn as long as possible. This may be brought about in one of two ways : First, several varieties, which call for varying periods in which to grow, may be planted at the same time ; second, but one variety may be sown at inter- vals not closer to each other than two or three weeks. The second of these methods is preferable, since the one variety selected may be the most suitable to grow in that particular locality. When corn is grown as soiling food for pigs, the aim should be to secure much grain rather than abundant growth of stem and leaves. It should therefore be planted in hills or rows, as corn is usually grown, to provide ears. From eight to twelve quarts of seed will suffice to plant an acre, and, as previously intimated, the sweet varieties are to be given the preference. Cultivation. The harrow and the cultivator are the instruments chiefly used in cultivating corn for soiling. Owing to the short period required by corn to grow, it is seldom necessary to use the hand hoe, when a sufficient use has been made of the har- row. The corn ground should be harrowed a few days subsequently to the planting of the seed. It may be necessary to harrow twice before the plants appear when the germination is tardy, but once is usually sufficient. The crop should be harrowed at intervals 3O SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. of only a few days, especially when the weather is dry, even though the land is not foul with weed? that it may the more perfectly retain its moisture. The harrowing should cease when the plants are sev- eral inches high. For reasons that will be manifest, the harrow should be light, should have a bro^,d sweep, and when in use the teeth should usually be set to slant backward. It should also be driven across rather than along the drills, that fewer plants may be covered by the harrow. When the crop must be planted on foul land, more seed should be used than would otherwise be necessary, to allow for the freer use of the harrow, and consequently for the loss of a larger percentage of the plants. When the cultivator can be used, its use ought to begin soon after the harrowing has ceased, and it should continue at intervals until the feeding of the crop has virtually begun. These intervals should usually be not more distant than, say, seven to ten days. The cultivation should be shallow, that the corn roots may not be broken, and that the moisture may be better conserved than it would be by deep cultivation. It should come close up to the line of the rows, that weed growth may be checked to the greatest possible extent. Feeding. The feeding of the corn may begin as soon as it is fully in tassel, or even sooner but for the loss in maximum development that would ensue, and this feeding may be continued until the crop is matured. But when fed to swine it may be well to defer the feeding until the corn in the ear is nearly ready for table use. The residue of the green corn, if the crop is not all consumed, may be cut at INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 3! the stage of early maturity, cured in the shock and fed with much advantage to live stock subsequently through the entire fall and winter. The farmer who has a sufficient area of corn grown and properly har- vested on the plan above outlined may sustain his horses, cattle and sheep in excellent form, howsoever dry the autumn may be, or howsoever scarce the pasture. But it is very important that the crop shall be harvested at the stage of early maturity, that is to say, when a little under-ripe, and that it be nicely cured. Vastly increased attention is likely to be given to this feature of corn production in the near future, more particularly in the northwestern states, so much characterized by bright autumn sunshine. When only a small quantity of soiling food is to be fed daily, it may be cut with a scythe and carted to the animals, or thrown to them over the fence which may separate the corn crop from an adjoining pasture. It may be well in some instances to so plan for feeding the corn when choosing the land on which it is to be grown, that is to say, it may be well to sow a strip of corn not too wide beside the pasture and along its entire length. The saving in horse labor that would thus be effected when feeding the crop would be material, but to the plan there is the objection that corn or other green crop fed thus leads to the dropping of an undue proportion of the manure in that part of the pasture on which the green food has been fed. When green corn is cut for pigs, the corn hook will probably be the best implement to use. When fed on a large scale, the crop must needs be cut with the mower, according to the needs of the $2 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. live stock. Or, as much may be cut at one time as will suffice for two or three days' feeding, especially when the crop is well advanced in growth, as then it does not quickly wilt overmuch, as it would at an earlier period. A moderate amount of wilting rather adds to the relish of the food, and it also les- sens the danger from abundant feeding when the green corn is first given to the animals. The portion fed once or twice a day, as the case may be, will have to be drawn as frequently by horse labor, except when it is fed in racks in a yard, or in the stable mangers. In such instances enough may be drawn at one time to suffice for two or even for three days. But too much wilting must be guarded against, else it will lessen the palatability of the corn. Some form of truck with a platform not far from the ground should be used in carting all kinds of green food, in order to lessen muscular expenditure in handling food with so much water in it. Where the facilities are suitable, there is no way by which corn thus carted can be fed to live stock with a less expenditure of labor than by feeding it in a pasture. It is then thrown from the dray or wagon and is consumed without any further labor in handling the residue, or in carting the drop- pings. But of course there is oftentimes con- siderable loss in the manure. When corn or other green food is thus fed, it should be dumped off in small bunches not too near one another, so the animals may consume it without being molested by one another ; and it should be strewn on a different portion of the pasture every time it is fed, to insure greater cleanliness in the feeding, also to secure a INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. 33 more even distribution of the droppings. The whole pasture may be gone over in this way. The plan of manuring a field thus is certainly very cheap and efficacious. The loss in fertility is not great if the pasture is to be plowed the same autumn. If it can be arranged to have the food thus spread on the ground in the absence of the live stock, they will not tread on it so much when turned in to feed upon it. The ideal plan, when it can be carried out, is to have two pastures and to spread the food in each alter- nately when the live stock are in the other pasture. When the green corn is fed to horses or cattle in manger or racks, for manifest reasons, it is well to have it placed in these when the animals are absent, unless when they are tied in stalls. It may be most conveniently fed to sheep or swine in the pastures, but there may be occasions when it will be found advantageous to feed it in paddocks, feed lots or sheds. The feeding of sweet corn to swine may be continued after the crop has matured, but there will be loss in feeding the stalks unless the ears only are fed to the swine. The stalks may of course be cured and fed to horses or cattle. 3 CHAPTER III. SORGHUM. Sorghum (Sorghum vulgare var. sac char atum) has not been very extensively grown as a food for live stock on any part of the continent, but for sev- eral years past its great value for such a use has been known to a limited number of farmers in various centers, and in many instances it has been fed by those farmers with very satisfactory results. It is probably true that in Kansas more sorghum has been grown to provide food for live stock than in any other state in the Union, but in some of the states which border upon Kansas, and in others farther south, more or less sorghum has been grown for stock within the past few years. The idea has gone abroad, and rightly, too, that sorghum is more deli- cate and slower in growth than corn. But the gen- erally accepted view based on this idea, viz., that to grow sorghum and to keep it clean involves great labor is only partially correct. When sown on ground well prepared and clean on and near the surface, it requires no more labor subsequent to the sowing of the seed to grow sorghum than to grow corn. But it is frequently necessary to expend more labor in cleaning and mellowing the seed bed for this crop than in preparing the same for corn. If sown on land foul with weed seeds within the surface strata of the soil, the weeds will start in advance 34 (30 Fig. 4. Early Amber Sorghum Minnesota University Experiment Farm. 36 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. of the sorghum and will greatly hinder its growth unless much labor is expended in fighting them. Sorghum stools much when it is growing, hence the growth is finer in character than the growth of corn. This of course adds to its palata- bility as a food for stock. But its greatest value as a soiling food lies, first, in its power to pro- duce more than one cutting per year when grown under favorable conditions of soil and climate; second, in its ability to grow in climates with a limited rainfall. The plants grow slowly for a time, and the development of root growth is limited ; later they take a firm hold upon the soil, and if the weather is warm they rush forward with much quickness and vigor. Sorghum furnishes excellent soiling food for horses, cattle, sheep and swine. Like nearly all green foods it must be fed with some caution to horses when working. It is becoming more com- mon to pasture sheep and swine upon sorghum than to feed it to them as a soiling food, owing to the marked adaptability of this plant in providing pas- ture for these animals. But when fed as soiling food to sheep and swine it is much relished, more especially when of tender and succulent growth. Its highest use as a soiling food, however, is in pro- viding supplies for milch cows. They are fond of sorghum and it is good for milk production, and a given area furnishes relatively a large quantity of food. This plant has been known to produce thirty tons of green food per acre, but the average is under rather than over fifteen tons. In many instances the SORGHUM. 37 yield would be even under ten tons per acre. Whether the largest yield will be obtained from one or two cuttings per acre will be largely dependent on the character of the season, but with sufficient rainfall larger yields will be obtained from two cuttings, and the sorghum from the second cutting is of increased fineness because of the more abundant stooling of the plants caused by the first cutting. Distribution. Sorghum can be grown for soil- ing food in all the tillable portions of the United States that will produce Indian corn. This means that it can be grown successfully in every state in the Union. It can also be grown in Canada over simi- lar areas, but in those sections of Canada that mark the northerly limit of corn production, it cannot be grown as successfully as corn, because of insuffi- ciently high temperatures in the growing season. As this plant is possessed of greater power to withstand drouth than corn, it has a higher adapta- tion for much of the area lying west of the tier of states which border on the Mississippi river and east of the Rocky Mountains. The extent to which sor- ghum will yet be grown for pasture, soiling food and fodder within the area named, can only be sur- mised. The conditions for its abundant growth in much of the said area are not at all unfavorable. The tillable areas on the continent which are least adapted to the growth of sorghum are those which border on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and north from Portland in Maine on the one hand and from San Francisco on the other. Soil. The soils that possess highest adaptation for corn also possess highest adaptation for sorghum. 38 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. The latter will grow best, therefore, on loam soils which are well supplied with humus, and which rest on a subsoil of readily permeable clay. All, or nearly all, prairie soils are well suited to the growth of sorghum. But the most suitable soils for this plant have more of the sand element in them than those which possess highest adaptation for growing corn. Sorghum may also be grown with success in sandy soils underlaid with sand or gravel and so lacking in moisture that corn could not be success- fully grown upon them. On the other hand, in the dry belt there are vast stretches of just such land which are so lacking in moisture that sorghum even cannot be grown on them in the absence of irrigation. On certain other soils, as, for instance, clays of more or less fineness of texture, corn may be grown to bet- ter advantage than sorghum. The former will suc- ceed measurably well on clays so stiff as to be quite unsuited to the growth of sorghum. Place in the Rotation. When sorghum for soiling is the only crop grown on the land during the season of growth, it may be placed anywhere in the rotation, but preferably between two grain crops, as then it can be grown as a cleaning crop. Its effi- cacy for such a use will depend much upon whether it is or is not cultivated while growing. In either case, when the land is properly handled weed growth will be diminished. Sorghum may also be grown as a catch crop, but not to the same extent as corn, since some varieties of corn may be grown in a shorter period than any of the varieties of sorghum. When thus grown, however, it may frequently be made to follow such crops as winter rye, whether SORGHUM. 39 pastured, used for green food, plowed under, or har- vested. Sometimes it comes after clover is plowed under or made into hay ; or early sown rape that has been eaten down. It may also be made to follow certain early garden crops, and crops intended for producing hay or grain, but which, through lack of promise, have been pastured off. The chief objec- tion to growing sorghum as a catch crop arises from the want of sufficient time, between the plowing of the land and the sowing of the seed, to give ample opportunity for sprouting the weed seeds that lie on or near the surface of the soil. Since corn may be harrowed to a much greater extent than sorghum without injury to the plants, it has higher adaptation than sorghum for being grown as a catch crop ; on the other hand, sorghum will grow under conditions so dry as to bring distress upon the corn crop. Preparing the Soil. Land in the best condition for being planted with sorghum is clean on and near the surface, is possessed of a fine tilth and is firm and moist. When sorghum is the only crop that is to be grown on the land for the season, it is usually not difficult to so cultivate the soil that it will be in the condition above described when the crop is to be sown. Usually it is preferable to plow the land in the autumn. There will then be time to sprout the weed seeds on and near the surface, and in turn to destroy them before the seed is planted. This can be accomplished by the occasional use of the harrow, and in some instances it may be necessary also to use some form of cultivation. The precise nature of the implement to be used will be measurably dependent upon the character of the soil. While the 4O SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. surface soil is thus being stirred, its power to hold moisture is also being increased. And even though it be necessary to defer sowing the seed for a time, in order to secure the requisites necessary to insure a good seed bed, it is better to adopt such a course than to sow the seed on ill-prepared land. As previously intimated, there is usually not time to prepare the land thus, when sorghum is grown as a catch crop, but some things can be done that will tend to enhance the growth of the crop when it is planted. As soon as the land is plowed it should be rolled and harrowed to prevent the escape of moisture. But if there is already sufficient moisture in the land, it is not necessary to use the roller; and if the sowing of the seed can be deferred for a time, without too much hazard, something can be accomplished by way of cleaning the land on or near the surface. But more commonly it is necessary to sow the seed as soon as the ground can be made ready for it. While sorghum grows fairly well on land of but medium fertility, since the roots gather much food in the subsoil, the yields are usually propor- tionate to the fertility in the land. Farmyard manure, when it can be obtained, is one of the best and cheapest fertilizers for sorghum. Commonly it would be applied before the land is plowed, whether used in the fresh or in the reduced form. In the fresh form it may, with much propriety, be buried in the autumn, thus giving it ample time to measurably decay before the crop begins to feed upon it. But on leachy soils and in climates with much rainfall, the aim should be to apply the manure only a short SORGHUM. 41 time before the crop is to be planted, lest its more valuable ingredients should filter into the drainage water and pass away before they can be appropriated by the plants of the crop which is to follow. It is not a good plan to top-dress the seed bed which is to receive sorghum seed with any kind of farmyard manure, because of the prevalence of weed seeds in the same. But it may in some instances serve an excellent purpose, to top-dress sandy soils with farmyard manure in the autumn, and then to bury the manure that has been so applied in the early spring. The surface soil will thus be so far enriched as to promote a rapid growth. Commercial fertilizers may be applied alone, or in conjunction with farmyard manure. Complete fertilizers are more commonly used, but the exact nature of the product to be applied will depend upon the extent to which the soil is wanting in the various leading elements of fertility. The aim should be to apply these fertilizers so that they will stimulate vig- orous growth in the plants when they are young, since, if they have thus been made strong while yet young, their power to extract plant food from the soil at a later period of development will be greatly enhanced. The fertilizer should therefore be sown when practicable at the same time the seed is sown, and in near proximity to the same, but not too close to it when the fertilizer is possessed of any ingre- dients of a caustic nature. For several years the question of fertilizers for sorghum is not likely to give much concern to the growers of the same in the upper basin of the Mis- sissippi river. It is very different, however, with the 42 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. farmers living on the more hungry soils of the lower Atlantic and Gulf states. Sowing. One of the following methods of sowing sorghum is usually adopted : First, it is sown broadcast by hand and covered with the harrow; second, by the grain drill, all the tubes or only every alternate tube being used ; third, by hand in shallow furrows marked out by the plow ; or, fourth, by the grain drill in single or double rows with a space of thirty to forty-two inches between them. The first method is usually practiced by those who have no grain drill, since it is convenient to sow the seed thus. The chief objections to sowing sorghum by this plan are, first, the seed is imperfectly covered and at vary- ing depths, hence it grows up more or less unevenly ; second, some of the seed in dry weather fails to germinate ; third, when sown thus it cannot be culti- vated, which, under very dry conditions, may lead to failure in the crop. The second method buries the seed at a uniform depth, hence the germination of the seed may be expected to be more uniform, but the objections from smothering through the presence of weeds and through injury from dry weather are much the same as when the seed is sown by hand, though less in degree. The use of only every other drill tube when sow- ing the seed insures a more bulky growth of the crop, but at the expense of the fine character of the growth. The third method is only resorted to when a small quantity is to be sown in the absence of a grain drill, and when at the same time it is desirable to cultivate the young crop. The fourth method is followed when a large area is to be grown, and when it is 44 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. desirable to cultivate the crop. In sowing the seed almost any make of drill may be used. In sowing double rows two adjoining tubes are active, while the tubes that occupy the space between the double rows are inactive, that is to say, not in use. The space between the rows that form the double row is thus from six to eight or nine inches wide, according to the make or pattern of the drill, and the distance between the double rows will be determined by the nature of the soil, the variety of the sorghum to be grown and the character of growth expected from it. The richer the soil, the more distant the rows from one another ; the larger the variety of the sor- ghum the coarser will be the character of the growth produced. The chief objects sought in planting the double in preference to the single row are : To secure an increased yield in weight of fodder, and to secure a crop fine in character. One objection to the sys- tem is found in the shelter that is thus provided for weeds between the two lines of the double row. Prominent among the varieties of sorghum that are more commonly grown are the Early Amber, sometimes called the Minnesota Amber, the Early Orange, Folger's Early and Link's Hybrid. The first named has marked adaptation for northern lati- tudes. The second and third are much grown in the states of the middle west, and the fourth is one among several varieties grown in the south. The quantity of seed to be sown will depend upon climatic conditions and upon the mode of plant- ing. It is manifest the system, of sowing broadcast will call for much more seed than the system of planting sorghum in single or double rows. When SORGHUM. 45 the seed is broadcasted by hand or when it is sown with the grain drill, all the tubes in use, one bushel of seed per acre will usually be sufficient, although some growers advocate sowing as much as two bushels per acre. Where the moisture is likely to prove inadequate to the needs of the growing crop, results more satisfactory will be obtained by reducing the quantity of the seed to be sown. When grown in single rows with a wide space between them, a few quarts of seed will suffice per acre, but in growing this crop for soiling uses it will, usually, be found advantageous to sow not less than a peck of seed per acre, whatsoever the method of growing the crop that may be adopted. The time for sowing the seed will, of course, vary with such conditions as relate to climate and rotation. It is a mistake to plant before warm and settled weather has set in. When sown too early the germination of the seed will be imperfect, the early growth will be sickly in character, and the weeds will push on ahead of the sorghum, so when the crop starts to grow no conditions, howsoever favorable, can make it a success. A crop grown under similar conditions, except that it is not sown until the weather is sufficiently warm, will prove much more satisfactory than the former. The best rule to follow, perhaps, is that which defers sowing the sorghum seed until the corn crop has been planted. Of course sorghum may be sown for soiling at any subsequent time, so long as there is time enough to secure sufficient growth to pay for the young crop. It must, of course, be harvested before the autumn 46 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. frosts arrive. While green and succulent it is easily injured by frost. Cultivation. Harrowing sorghum is the only mode of cultivation that may be resorted to when it is sown on the broadcast plan, either by hand or with the grain drill. It cannot be harrowed nearly so much as corn, owing to the much greater delicacy of the young plants, and when planted with the grain drill the harrow may be more effectively used than when the seed has been broadcasted, for then the plants do not uproot so easily. Sorghum sown with the grain drill may, usually, be harrowed with benefit to the crop just when the first blades are pushing through the soil. The harrow used should be light, of a broad sweep and the teeth of the same should be slanted backward to the greatest possible extent when the work is being done. No little dif- ference of opinion prevails as to the degree of the benefit arising from harrowing the crop after it has got well through the soil. It is at least question- able if sorghum should be harrowed after the plants appear until they get up several inches above the surface. Before that period of advancement they are easily uprooted and also easily buried in the process of harrowing. The quick growth of sor- ghum will certainly be promoted by harrowing, but the crop should not be harrowed to the extent of making the plants too few to produce a maximum of forage. Where it is intended to use the harrow freely on the young plants, enough additional seed should be sown to allow for the expected loss. In sections deficient in moisture, it is more nec- essary to use the harrow freely than in those opposite SORGHUM. 47 in character. When the crop is threatened with serious injury from the presence of young weeds, it ought to be harrowed. More sorghum will be secured, and that of a superior quality, from a piece of land in which the plants have been thinned over- much by harrowing than from a similar piece of equal area in which the weeds have obtained the ascendency over the sorghum. When practicable, the cultivation of sorghum sown in rows sufficiently distant should be early begun, it should be frequent, and may be continued almost up to the time of the last cutting of the crop for the season, and it ought to be shallow rather than deep. After the first cutting of the crop, the benefit from prompt subsequent cultivation will be abundantly apparant. Some hand hoeing may be given betimes with profit in the line of the row, but when the land has been well prepared such work is seldom necessary. Feeding. There is no cast-iron rule as to when the cutting of the crop should begin. It should not be delayed, however, until the seed heads are formed when a second cutting is intended. If the sorghum is cut after that period the yield from the second growth will be much reduced. When cut too early the yield from the first cutting is unduly small. Usually the cutting of the first growth does not begin until the crop is from two to three feet high, but it may begin earlier if necessary, and the cutting of the second growth may begin as soon as the seed heads appear, or even earlier. Since, under normal conditions, the crop is cut and fed from day to day according to the needs of the live 48 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. stock, the second growth will frequently be ready to cut by the time the first growth is all consumed, providing the consumption of the first growth has covered a period sufficiently long. This period will vary, but it should not be less than three to four weeks. Sorghum, therefore, from a single sowing, may be made to provide soiling food in the green form for live stock from six to eight weeks. But during periods of severe drouth, the second cutting may not materialize, or it may, at least, be disap- pointing in its growth. When but one cutting is made the harvesting may begin as soon as the seed heads are fully formed, and may be continued until the crop is fully matured. But when the sorghum is to be fed to sheep or swine in the green form, they will consume it with greater relish when cut at an early stage of growth. The food is then fine in character, juicy, tender and contains but little fiber. When thus fed one or two more cuttings can be obtained in one season because of the earlier stage of development at which the sorghum is cut. But it is more common to pasture sheep and swine on young sorghum than to feed it to them as soil- ing food. When but a small quantity is wanted per day, the scythe is commonly used in cutting the sorghum. When grown along and beside a pasture fence, of necessity the scythe must be used in cutting the food for convenience in feeding the same. When a large amount is required the mower must be used. As the plants do not shrivel readily, enough may be mown at one time to last for two or three days, more especially when the green food is SORGHUM. 49 to be fed to the cattle and horses. As in feeding corn, it may be fed within a pasture, in racks, feed lots, or mangers in the stables. Some care is necessary, especially when the feeding begins to limit the amount fed, or to feed it in a somewhat wilted condition, lest it should cause hoven or bloat. Inattention at this point may lead to serious loss, but green sorghum is less liable to produce hoven than clover or alfalfa. The amount that may be given daily need not be limited except by the needs of the live stock, unless for a few days at the first. How r ever, more satisfactory results will follow when some other food less succulent is given. Sorghum may also be fed to live stock with great advantage in the matured form, on what may be termed the soiling plan of feeding. When thus fed it is common to cut the crop with the binder or mower, but more commonly with the latter. The sorghum is then allowed to lie on the ground for sev- eral days before being gathered together, especially when it is not well matured, or when the weather is damp. It does not take injury from rain as corn would when thus exposed. The outside of the stem is hard, hence the rain does not penetrate it. But some injury is done through the soil that adheres to it. It is true, nevertheless, that sorghum exposed thus and lying on the ground for a period of two or three weeks in rainy weather has been eaten subse- quently and with a relish by live stock. It is drawn into windrows, by using a strong rake, and is then put into large "cocks" or heaps by hand. When the crop is very heavy, it may be bunched without first having been raked. In such cocks 4 5O SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. sorghum will not ferment or mold as corn hence as much as 500 pounds, or more than that, may be put in one heap without any danger of loss from heating. From these the sorghum may be drawn and fed to live stock in the pastures, in the sheds or stables, as desired. This food is greatly relished by the animals at that season of the year, and since it is fed with but little handling it is con- sidered an economical food. Feeding from such a source may be continued until the closing in of the winter. When sorghum is to be fed thus, it is com- monly grown like grain, that it may be fine enough to be handled with the fork without difficulty. No other kind of food that can be grown comes in more opportunely for feeding at that season than sorghum. In the states of the middle west and in those of the south, where winter delays its coming, this method of feeding sorghum is peculiarly advantageous. CHAPTER IV. THE NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. The chief of the non-saccharine sorghums are Kaffir corn, Milo maize, dhourra and Jerusalem corn. Teosinte, properly speaking, is not a sorghum, but it will be included in the discussion of the non- saccharine sorghums because of the similarity in the methods of cultivation and in the uses for which it is grown. Of these plants, Kaffir corn is the best known and the most extensively cultivated, but it would be premature to reach the conclusion that because of this it is the most valuable. It has been cultivated apparently in the United States for a longer period than the other non-saccharine sor- ghums. Milo maize in some of its varieties is likely to make a strong competitor to Kaffir corn. These plants are all of comparatively recent introduction into the United States. At least no one of them has been extensively grown in the same until within a comparatively recent period. They are but little known,, therefore, to any considerable number of the agriculturists of the country. It will be in order, therefore, to give a short description of each and also to make some reference to the distinc- tive peculiarities of growth. Kaffir corn (Sorghum vulgare) is a sturdy growing plant. The stem is thick at the base, taper- ing toward the top and usually grows to the hight of 5' 52 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. about five to six feet. Since it does not grow so tall as many of the varieties of corn, nor so tall as sorghum, or Milo maize, it is more easily handled than these in the sheaf when fully grown. The leaves are long and large and fairly numerous, but not markedly abundant. It throws up a single spike which bears a head in which the seeds are closely packed. The head is fully six inches long and three inches broad and stands erect, or nearly so. Large yields of seed are obtained, and when ground its feeding value for the various classes of farm stock is nearly equal to that of corn. The plants are but little liable to break down with the wind. They have extraordinary power to grow under dry condi- tions and to retain succulence in the leaves and stems even after the seed has matured. The leading varieties of Kaffir corn are the red and the white. The red matures earlier than the white, but the latter would seem to produce more seed. The red variety is better adapted than the white to states north from where the most suitable conditions exist for growing Kaffir corn. Milo maize (Sorghum vulgare or Andropogon sorghum, var. ) is a vigorous growing plant. In the tests made at the Minnesota university experiment station in 1897-98, the plants attained an average night of about eight feet. The leaves are large, and from the center of the stalk upward they are quite numerous. Each stalk when matured is surmounted by a large head which bears seed profusely. This head has an average length of about six inches and an average diameter of about four inches. When the head first appears it is erect, but when matured 54 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. it hangs downward. It is somewhat more open than the seed head which is produced in Kaffir corn. There are two leading varieties of Milo maize, named respectively the yellow and the white. The former is the earlier of the two. In 1897 some of the seed of the yellow variety matured at the Minne- sota university experiment station, but not all of it. In 1898, one plat of the same variety was pastured with sheep. About the same results were obtained as from pasturing early amber sorghum. Another plat was grown in rows three feet distant from one another and harvested like corn. It was found that the numerous leaves around the top of the plants added to the difficulty in shocking and in preserving the fodder from injury by rain. When fed to cattle and sheep they ate it with more relish than they mani- fested for any of the other non-saccharine sorghums. Dhourra (Andropogon sorghum, Brot.) is of at least four varieties, the brown, the black, the red and the white. Of these, the brown is more commonly grown. It is so named, doubtless, from the color of the seeds when ripe. It grows less rapidly than Milo maize. At the Minnesota university experi- ment station in 1897, tne plants grew from six to eight feet in hight. The large and long leaves are not numerous. The seed heads are thick and heavy and oval shaped. They hang on a stem, which, though erect at first, assumes a shape resembling the neck of a goose as the maturing process goes on. It is a rather slow grower and matures seed about the same time as Kaffir corn. Jerusalem corn (Andropogon sorghum, Brot.") bears some resemblance to dhourra in appearance (55) Pig. 7. Yellow flllo Haize Minnesota University Experiment Farm. 56 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. and also in its habits of growth. It is even stronger in the stem than dhourra and has still less of forage. The seed heads are large, and like those of dhourra, hang on hook-shaped stems. At the Minnesota university experiment station in 1897 the plants grew to the hight of about five feet. Like those of dhourra they grew more slowly than Milo maize or Early Amber sorghum. Jerusalem corn should be grown rather for the seed than for the fodder. It is not probable that either dhourra or Jerusalem corn will be extensively grown for soiling food where Milo maize and sorghum can be grown. Teosinte (Reana luxurians) is distinguished from the non-saccharine sorghums in the less erect character of the growth, in the extent to which the plants sucker, in the greater fineness and abundance of the long and slender leaves, and in the manner in which the seed is produced. The seed grows on small ears and the ears grow numerously around every top joint of the seed stem. They are enclosed in a husk. There is probably no fodder plant that tillers so much as teosinte. As many as sixty suckers have been produced by a single plant. In the experiments conducted at the Minnesota univer- sity experiment station in 1898, it was found that when planted in rows three feet apart and thinned to fifteen inches in the row, each plant produced from five to twenty-five stalks. Those thinned to from two to three inches in the row produced from two to twelve stalks. The latter were also much more upright in their growth. Seed heads were not even formed on any of the plants. Teosinte would make an excellent pasture and soiling plant for the south