Millet

a general name for several annual grasses of quick summer growth. All are related more or less closely to the foxtail and the barnyard grass. In the United States millet is sowed for hay usually when some other crop has failed to grow or has been destroyed by an early hailstorm. On strong land a crop of two or three tons to the acre, or even double that amount, can be raised in eight weeks' growth. Millet hay is not a favorite forage with live stock, but, when cut green and well cured, it makes a tolerable substitute for better hay, ranking fairly well with coarse corn fodder. It is a tolerable food for sheep and young stock. Millet seed is excellent for the poultry yard and is credited with increasing the supply of eggs. In Asia the millets are of much greater importance. From 35,000,000 to 40,000,000 acres a year are grown in India. Japan uses millet flour from 35,000,000 bushels of seed annually. Corea, China, Manchuria, and other Asiatic regions use enormous quantities of millet bread. The cultivation of millet is believed to have preceded that of all other cereals.