EXPERIENCE DEPARTMENT.
Growing Millet, Sowing, Etc.
cut
lst Premium.—Growing millet has be-
I come   a very important item   in  this
county, the last few  years, as   the
fforms have taken all our clover.
To grow a good crop millet requires a
I rich moist loam, and should be sowed*
some time in June. In preparing ground
for millet I do not wait until I am ready
I to sow, but prepare the ground when it is
I m the right fix, as it will hold moisture'
I better than if it is prepared when so dry.
I plow my ground, follow with a roller,
I then hanow with a good harrow and roll
|a»aln. I harrow occasionally till I am
I ready to sow. When I am ready to sow I
1 harrow both ways and.drill*seed broad-
least with 100 pounds of phosphate per
licre; after which I roll again. It Is best
I to sow early in June if possible, as millet
lis hard to cure for it has to be cut green.
|lt should be cut when it is in full bloom
1 or in fall head, but not allowed to stand
I longer, as the stalks get woody and are
I not relished as well :by the stock. Millet
lis one of strongest, foods'we have, and
1 therefore I think it is rather hard on the
I ground. It should not bo allowed to get
11103ted as the stock do not like it so well.
I It should be sowed tolerably thick, if left
I thin the stalks get very large and woody.
Harrison Op. .., ,    Ben*. Williams.
■.'■ST;.'*-    '     -■ ^   ^ .-_ ^ v i_..,, ,e_-.
2d _^rtounm<^li^-^r5n__r^4hs5uld ■ be
IprepareOor sowing millet in the spring
■ hold a great deal more moisture than if
I It not prepared until time to sow, as that
snot till about the first week in June,
|i>r till the ground is thoroughly warm.
If ground is thoroughly prepared as if
Ifor spring crops and harrowed occasionally a good stand of millet will be sure,
lit it is a dry season. And when hay is a
lihort crop, aB it was last year, millet fur-
1 nishes a large amount of winter feed per
here and is much easier handled than so
Imuch corn fodder. Millett requires a
Inch moist soil for a good crop; it also does
Iwell on low marshy soil; but I think on
l&tt-ount of the rapid growth it makes
I that it would be very exhaustive on the
Isoil, and for that reason should not be
Imade a yearly crop.
Millet is difficult"" to cure, both because
■growth is rank and because it must be
ltut before very ripe, or the hay will be
Itoo woody. But if cut when just fairly
■out of bloom, and cured well in the sun-
l-l-ine, and put in barn before it gets
lramed on, I think it will be relished both
Iby cows and horses as well as any other
|~**d hay. James D. Lemay.
Harrison Co.
sowing of one-fourth bushel per acre.
I once fattened 18 head of steers (that
were thin to start with), with.German
millet, cut from four acres, and sold them
on the market* for 5*4 cents per pound.
Have not found millet so hard on ground
as corn or wheat. It keeps the ground
well shaded, and wheat may be sownupon
the stubble without rebreaking ~ the
ground.' My experience is that a German
millet crop properly managed is one of
the most profitable crops we can raise
upon the farm.      '' O. F. Lane.
Putnam Co.     -
, 3d Premium.—In the first place the
pound must be well broken, then thor-
Nghly pulverized and made smooth be-
P»- sowing seed. Then sow pure German millet seed, I have found no other
pays me. I generally sow one peck to
*" acre if the ground is likely to remain
Mst enough to germinate all the seed
f-d start it well in growth. Never sow
per one-half bushel per acre. Generally
low first half of June. After seed is sown
TM"o*vitinwelland you can nearly be
!-"«of a crop. Don't cut until the heads
fr8 "ipe, then it is easily cured. Bick
r«l or mow, salt lightly, but carefully,
■ i!rt WiU have oneo1 tn« best stock
f Ms that can be raised upon the farm. A
|«t all kinds of stock will eat and relish
H nP°*i which they will thrive. The
f r"ge farmer sows one bushel or more
LA    acre> thls is too much.   It is a
tm °*!.seed and tbe Ieed w11- not be so
I0 " The average farmer cuts millet belt matures, hence it is very hard to
I-allt ~Jr0pei~y CT~red and the feeding
lUnri. -"--"---"-factory. Following my
Im if? never faUed t0 h*™ a crop,
Ib-n, hat Btoct would rather have
tut-*Ta and hay- ~* have had a yield of
and one-half tons per acre, from the
;      BEVIEW.
The reader will notice three conditions
named in these articles and I think that
failures usually occur as a result of violating some one of them. Men often
"conclude" to sow millet after other
crops have failed and break dry, cloddy
ground. One may ''conclude" late in
May, but ground for all spring crops
should be broken in dry years before
getting hard. Then if you don't finally
want millet plant something else.
The second point made is to so mr first of
June in • southern Indiana. Many sow.
abont harvest and cure the hay when a
foot deep in the swath in September.
The dew don't leave lt till 10 a. in. and
falls again at 2 p. ' m. and you
can't cure it unless you Violate the
third point, to cut early, and cut it brown.
Then is nearly worthless,except forseed.
Last season J" had^Jield, -iosl like'thost?
that these ihen "describe—a fine dust
mulch on top of a damp, firm seed bed in
low ground. I drilled three pecks of millet per acre * in a McSherry.wheat drill,
putting it in the wheat boxes instead of
the grass seed box. The shoe is like a
corn planter and parted the dust allowing the seed to fall on firm, damp ground.
It made fine hay. If I had sowed broad
cast and harrowed in the dirt.stirred by
the harrow would have dried. out and
much seed would have perished.
Three pecks per acre is enough if the
conditions are just right. After this millet was np two inches I hoed some of it
with Breeds weeder, and It was quite
helpful, breaking all crust. You can't do
that if broad casted.
Don't throw away money by breaking
a dry, cloddy field and botching in millet
among dry clods.
I once sowed a small lot in fine condition and not one seed grew in foursquare
feet. I suppose it had been heated in the
stack before threshing. It is easy to test
a spoonful. My neighborhood despises
millet for hay; but last year my millet
was so green after curing and so fine
strawed that it was much liked.' As our
writers this week say "cut early, or it
will be woody." * ■ " '
. My own thought would be that one
cannot afford to follow Mr. Lemay's sug'
gestion to grow millet because it is more
easily handled than fodder. Possibly
this thought might apply with equal
force to other hay crops, except clover,
which is grown for its fertility and the
hay and seed are by-products. But millet and timothy are grown for hay in
spite of their exhaustive nature, and
should never take the place of fodder,
but only supplement it when short, or
possibly be fed to horses in hard labor.
Then I use clover instead of timothy or
millet.
Some Iowa farmers once wrote a certain agricultural paper that millet was so
handy they wouldn't bother with fodder.
The editor answered that possibly when
his Iowa friends had exhausted some of
the virgin fertility, and were face to face
with a fertilizer till they would use the
wasted fodder instead ot growing millet.
Our improved machin3ry is fast making
it practical to handle fodder, and I think
we shall then depend on it arid' clover
hay almost wholly for rough feed.
Millet is hard on soil like-timothy. One
thousand pounds of grain contains: -
Nitrogen   Potash   Phos Acid
Oats  19.2 4.4 e.2
Millet 20.3 3.4 5.9
Corn 11.0 3.7 5.9
The seed of millet is much like that of
oats, and liko corn, except that it is much
richer in nitrogen, which is the costliest
of fertilizer elements.
Millet should be cured in the shock,
especially if rank and coarse.'
I confess my own judgment would not
agree with friend Lane in seeding only
one peck per acre. It makes coarse hay,
also in cutting ripe. I know it cures very
easily, but the sugar and starch have
passed from the straw into seed.
Many farmers about Carmel sowed millet last year. The drouth and chinch got
all of it that was not drilled in, and bur
fodder was so nice and machinery so improved that scarcely any millet will be
sowed this year. Great care should be
used not to buy weed seed with millet
and clover seed.       ~*      E. H. Collins.
No. 15, June 6.   Cutting and curing hay.
No. 16, June 13.   Name a few bad weeds
and tell how you fig-it them.
No. 17, June 20.   Experience with crimson clover and alfalfa.
No. 18, June 27.   The value of rye  and
how it is grown.
No. 19, July 4.  How.do  you save  and
use manure, .   ,        *
1   '   *
THE LAW   OF
Physical
MOISTUBE  IN   PLANT
'WIH/Av^.t-t ••_.,-_
Mechanical   Protection
-GRQ-*.
<rr -*_..;* f .*
and
Against Drouth,
Editobs Indiana Tabmbb:
No single factor in the production of
crops are of greater importance than the
moisture indispensable to the growth of
plants; and none is so entirely beyond
the control of the average cultivator. So
conscious is the farmer of his dependence
in this respect that it is probable that he
would willingly, take the risks of all other
obstacles and enemies surrounding his
vocation, could he be assured independence in the single matter of water supply,
protection alike against dirth and excess
of moisture for the requirements of his
crop.
Permanent systems of drainage and
irrigation combined, furnish this immunity from loss, since they give absolute
control over conditions. Such protection
is, however; at best only available on a
comparatively small part of our farms,
and then only as the result of heavy
financial outlay. There are laws controlling the supply and movements of
soil waterB, which If thoroughly understood and intelligently utilized in practice, would render the farmer comparatively free from the evils now so disastrous. The accomplishment of the end so
desirable moreover, involved no expense
not immediately repaid independently of
the matter of increased control over available moisture.
Two methods exist by which the object
is attainable; a physical and a chemical,
and both act by conserving the water of
the soil. The former by the treatment of
the soil itself, and the latter by additions
to the soil.
No season passes without serious damage to crops in some portion of the country which might have been either prevented or materially diminished in degree
by the mere following of simple rules of
practice, and this irrespective of the nature of the crop so long as it be one grown
on plowed land.
The first method consists of nothing
more than a simple mulch on the surface
of the soil through which the water, absorbed in the soil and naturally rising to
the surface for evaporation into the dry
air cannot pass; not being able to escape
and become wasted, it is retained and remains available to the crop. The mulch
of straw, leaves or litter, so commonly applied around young trees * and over  the
ground of berry patches, is a well-known
and effective application of the principle, but impractical on the large scale of
field culture. The same results are, however, even more simply accomplished.
Before proceeding to the application .of
a brief review of the laws and conditions'
involved is essential.
The entire supply of water, on which
the crop must depend for life and growth
Is the absorbed moisture of the soil, constantly In motion. ' During times of -
drouth this movement is always upwards
to the surface where evaporation and loss
is inevitable unless artificial intervention
is interposed. The cause of the'upward
movement is the exertion of capillary
force, the same cause raising the soil in a
lampwick. This force manifests itself
through capillary tubes through which
the water is conducted,surface attraction,
or pulling up power, like the rising of
water around the edge or sides of a glass
being the actual impelling force.   "
The smaller the tubes, or the more perfect their condition,  the  greater is the
action and  the  larger  the  quantity of
water passing through.   The more compact the soil,  the  more perfect are the
tubes, and also the more water they are
capable of carrying up to the surface and '!
into the air beyond the immediate reach   '-
of the plant.   It therefore naturally foi-' j
lows that any means for destroying the " V-_
compactness of the soil, \>iea.U_srifpJ^'"^-^
capillary tubes^; interferes -r*   '     ' ~~— "*"
action and diminishes  the amount'* oi •*"'
water escaping through them.
Cultivation accomplishes this, and any
implement by which thorough surface
pulverization is effected is adapted to the
the purpose. The smoothing.harrow, or
a fine-toothed cultivator are most effective tools for the purpose. When the
crop is suffering from want of water, the
oftener the surface soil is thoroughly
stirred the better protection is secured to
the crop by the check placed on evaporation; the operation should be repeated at
least as often as the surface becomes at
all impacted or hardened. The depth to
which the cultivation should be practiced
has been found by repeated experiment
for many years to be approximately four
inches, to attain maximum results.
The thoroughly pulverized and dried
layer of soil thus lying on the surface becomes a veritable mulch of dry earth, a
dust blanket, acting exactly like the
mulch of litter mentioned, through which
water is unable to rise, and the moisture
is therefore retained in the moist layer
underneath where it is accessable to the
growing crop.
Protection from drouth by chemical
means is based on the fact that certain
substances of important fertilizing value
also possess the property of increasing
capillary action and therefore the amount
of water brought to the surface In a given
time of drouth and thus made available
to the crop, otherwise a sufferer, is increased.
The salts of potash, when incorporated
with the soil, perform this office to a
marked degree; a fact wholly distinct
from their value as furnishers of plant
food, and justify their being classed as
important aids to freedom from the ravages of drouth. p, a. D.
Correction.
Editobs Indiana Faemeb:
My arltcle in last week's Farmer should
have read the acreage of corn had never
increased more than 7,000,000 in any one
year until this lastyear, when It increased
20,000,000 acres. Wm. Adams.
Jeffersonville.
There never was a day when what
horses a farmer can use to advantage-
were worth as much to him as they are
to-day. This is the era of improved farm
implements of all kinds, and the best can
be made out of them only with the best of
horsepower.   - ,       *