Page 158

 
Thirty-second Anerm   Report of ihe 
the rows. Before the corn is up, they go over it with a drag, 
cultivating it again. Then, as it is coming up, they drag it 
again, and pretty soOn it gets so high they don't need to do 
anything more with it, they just let it grow, and it is thick, 
and it makes a very fine quality of corn forage. It does not 
ear very much. Theiy cut it and curm it as we would ordinary 
grain corn, putting it up in shocks in the field to dry it out 
thoroughly. It is substantially corn hay. 
The Chairman: What do you say to amber sugar cane, 
sorghum I 
Seely. Burchard: I don't say anything about it, simply 
I don't know anything about it, and I never had an oppor- 
tunity to talk with any one who could satisfy me entirely in 
regard to it. I was talking with Dr. Peters about the poison 
that comes from sorghum. le was the first man to ascertain 
just what that poison was; it is nrussic acid. and he says it 
develops, not because it is second growth, but it may develop 
in the first growth, and it is developed by the plant being 
stunted by drought or otherwise, and then a little something 
exudes right on the stalk where the leaf comes out, but he says 
furthermore, that if you take that sorghum and cut it and let 
it mature in the windrow, or otherwise, there is really no 
danger from it. Perhaps sorghum would take the place of 
corn, but I have some doubt about it. Corn is king with me, 
and I don't like to yield allegiance to too many sovereigns. 
I want to ask Mr. Hill why he has not been able to succeed 
with alfalfa. 
Mr. Hill: We haven't tried it but once, and I did not lay 
it then to the alfalfa, I laid it to my-self largely; although I 
followed out the best advice I could get at the time. I made 
the mistake of endeavoring to cut. a mrop of oat hay to keep 
the weeds down, and I did get a partial stand of alfalfa. I 
think I had the land thoroughly prepared, but I found when 
the next season camne on, that not only was the alfalfa winter- 
killed, but the piece was covered with June grass, so there 
is more June grass than alfalfa, even where the alfalfa lived. 
158