14 Farmers' Bulletin ÍÍ26.

advantage, as the »terns do not become so woody that thoy aro refused by stock.

RATE OF SEEDING.

Rates of 10 to 40 pounds of seed to the acre have been tested at the different agricultural experiment stations. There was, however, no definite superiority indicated for any one of these rates in drilled seodings. Sudan grass tillers so profusely in thin stands that the final number of stems per square foot of ground is usually very nearly the same, whether the rate is 15 or 40 pounds. Taking all the factors into consideration, 20 to 25 pounds per acre are recommended for drilled or broadcasted seedings in the humid regions and 12 to 15 pounds in the dry sections. Under irrigation, 15 to 20 pounds of seed are sufficient, owing to the more favorable conditions for germination. Tlieso quantjties should be proportionately increased if the seed is of low germination or the soil in poor physical condition. A grain drill set to sow 2 pecks of wheat to the acre will ordinarily sow about 20 to 25 pounds of Sudan grass seed. If it is desired to sow a less quantity, this can be accomplished by stopping alternate holes in the drill or by mixing the Sudan grass seed with bran or some other mill feed in iiny proportion necessary.

For seeding in cultivated rows 36 to 44 inches apart, 2 to 4 pounds of seed per acre will be found sufficient, while in rows 18 to 24 inches apart, 4 to 6 pounds per acre will be required, the smaller quantity being used, as in the broadcast seedings, for regions of light rainfall. If the crop is intended for hay, enough seed should be used in any case to insure a thick stand of plants in the row. When a seed crop is desired, thé rate of seeding should ordinarily be somewhat less than for a I iay crop.

HARVESTING.

The most conunon way of harvesting the grass for hay is with a mower. It cures readily and can be cut in the morning and if the sun is bright raked up that afternoon or the next day. After bunching, it is placed in cocks, just as with millet, and removed from these cocks to the barn or stacks after it has thoroughly cured. Because of the large amount of juice in the stems of Sudan grass, the leaves cure first and the hay often appears ready to stack when it is not; therefore, the only sure way to avoid injury by heating is to allow Sudan grass to remain in cocks long enough for the stems to become dry. The leaves are retained well, and if cut at the right stage of maturity and handled properly it will make a bright, leafy, sweet hay of the very best quality.

Where the crop is desired for seed, it is harvested like the smal 1 grains with an ordinary grain binder and allowed to cure in shocks. This method can also be used in making hay in the semiarid regions where such good drying weather prevails that the grass will cure in