4gricuJhl.rr. Vol. 2 (wndon: MacMillan,

:ties and Seed-Bed Preparation: Kan~a,

25-26, p. 197; C. W. Warburtoll. Tile aJ.Itwe. Farmers' Bulletin 288, reprinled luJfter &diflg March, 1912, p. 115.

Ip.I15-16.

bierer, 28 October 1984; wwell Thierer, lretailed interviews with these informants xcultural practices thronghout the kaGr sed upon and departed from material in ,of seven reprinted artide~ from a variety !JOI"/ for Qulllter Ending Ml1rch, 1912, pp.

1.117.

Catalog; J. B. Adams, "Grow KarJr-Corn (Kansas and Oklahoma, reprinted in The ,w. Milo and Kafir; reprinted from Mail aU": The Dry Land Corn" (Our Junior I; 30-31; F. R. Marshall, "Karlr Corn and reus Experiment Station Bulletin 97 in uIlIttr Ending March, 1912, pp. L11-32;

as Department of Agriculture, Bulletin

r-Com Carnival of El Dorado, see loyce 10, K1lIlS35," paper read at a Distric!

Kafir Culture in

Wabaunsee County, .Kansas,

1920-1939

By Joyce Thierer

Kalir was commonly called "kaGr com" by the farmers ofWabaunsee County, Kansas. Farmers up and dOIAlD the Mill Creek valley of Wabaunsee County grew kaGr in the 1920s and 1930s. Pockets of it, found in most farming operations beC3use of its versatility, were scattered Illroughout the Ainl HlIk From the 1890s through the 1930s karlr's crop eyele, planting \Ilrough harvesting, was an integral part of tbe year's planning. During the 1940, it rapidly losl ground to milo, a new alternative feed grain to the lab,)r-intensive karlf.

Kaflr, known scieIltiGcally as Sorghum saceharatum var, belongs to lhe sallle ~pecie,

as bmom corn, dura or 1crusalem corn, and the grain and ensilage sorghums. It is da~~ed

as a Ilonsaeeharine variety of sorghum. Kar.r was introdneed to the United Stales in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial E",position by Natal, a soulh AfriC3n connlf)'. It~ nallle derived rrom the Karrr tribe. A ~tandard source of 1907, Liberly Hyde Bailey's C.\'dopediol ofAmerican Agricu/tllrr, noted, 'The (Ommon word 'corn' has been transferred rrom mJizt: or Indian corn to lhese kafrr5 and dnrra~ in some region~, and confusion has re.~nlll:d. FOI thi~ reason, the compound wr>rd 'katir-corn'" evolved.]

The Georgia State Department of Agriculture obtained a variety of kaGr for trial in the southern states. Later the United States Department of Agri~ulture oblained seed for additional trials. In 1&'39 the Kansas Experiment Station planted test plms of kaGr becanse of its ability to withsland heal and drought conditions. Farmer'~ Bulletio No. 288 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated lhat karlr was "drought resistant. . able praclically !O

suspend growth during very dry periods. Later if rain falls, these varieties will resume groy,th and will produce a crop of seed ... with ten or twelve inches of rain durirlg the grnwing season." Kansas farmers grew katir beC3use it produced high grain yitlds and considerable quantities of excellent Corage. The Farmer's Bulletin further stated, 'The stalk~ and lea..e.~

of Karrr remain green until the head is fully matured, while in the varieties of Ihe dura group they are nearly dead when the seed ripens. For thi~ rea~on kaGr-eorn is usually considered a better forage planl than any of the other sorts.'"

There were three main varieties o[ karU" grol'rn--white, red, and black-hulled. Kalir head.<; were slender, cylindrical, and from ten ID fourteen inches loug. The hulls or glumes ~urroundjng the seeds eonlained the color. The egg-shaped seeds were grown on spikelcts with the larger end outermost. NormaU)' the heaus emerged fully from the boot in the black­hulled variety. Stems were about one 10 two inches in diameter. The stalks were composed oC twelve to fifteen nodes. Stalks allaiued heights of G\'e tl) six feet in dry-land se~tious, while reachiog six to eight fect under welter conditions. The pith wa~ ~emi-juiey. sub-acid, and only slightly sweet. Generally each stalk carried Iwelve to eighteen alternating leaves. Each leaf was two to three feet long and [rum three to five inches wide. Kalir reach~d maturity in J10 to 135 days?

Black-hulled karlr was chosen by Wabaunsee County farmers beea\.l£c oC the full protrusion of the head from the boot, its short growing period, and its IlveralJ atlaptation to

11

12

Flinl Hills farming. Later in the 19305 Sunrise, an impro~ed variety of kafir, w;c; also grown. Bolh Florence Simon and Lowell Thiercr, life-long fanners ak'ng (he wcst fork of Mill Creek, told me why they grew kafir on their farms. They slated that it was drought-resistant, did well when other crops failed, and mel a variety of needs within their farming operations. In the 1925 cenSllS they rC(Xlrled len and six acres grown respectively on their farms.'

Kafir grew well on a wide variety of soils, including good, tillable land snilable to com and newly broken wd. Variou.~ agricUltural bullelilL~ concur with the statement, appearing in Farmer's Bulletin No, 288, thal "sorghums are generally considered exhausting in their demandS on the soil and injurious in their cfrect 00 succeeding crops. They are vigorou~­gruwing, comparatively shallow-rooting plants, which draw quite heavily on the fcnility of the surface soil." Farmers were aw~re of this early; they used m~nure 1l.I1d barn cleanings us fertilizer, rot~[ed crops, ~nd plowed deep in the fall to remedy the pmhlems:'

"Field selection was determined by thc other crops we were going to plant: aeeurding to Thierer. ",,"'10 li\;ed to plant kafir along the creek limber to pruteet the corn front ratC(lons aud squirrels." K"fir thus acted as an insulating crop 10 protect the higher-vulued CfllP,;, Alfalfa, corn, whcat, lInd oal fields wcre determined lirs!. Kafir was always plantcd in the left-over parts of fields. Farmers could not plant kafir near barley because of the chinch b\lg problem. Al(lng Mill Creek kaIi, was planted either ({) fmish rows lInd fill corners of larger field;; or ill smaller, upland ficlds. Ideally, it was planted iu several pluces to achieve tolal acrea~e.

Seed-bed preparation hegan by deep plowing to break OUI kafir's roOI system Fall plowing was preferred by Simon and Thierer, bUI Ihey also did some spring plov.ing. Depending on soil eondilions, spring plowing sometime, followed fall plowing. Thiern 9id he used "a riding, three-wheeled, two-bottom plow pulled by four horses walking abreast" to do his plowing. Siml)n nsed a "one- or two-bOllom plow, followed by a disc and then a harrow to pulveri7c the elods" to complete seed-bed prepar"tion. The disc used was from seven to eight feet wide and was pullcd by (our horses walking "breast. "If thl,: field had been broken up enough "".ith the plow and disc, I preferred listing instead of harn,wing, lherehy eliminating one trip through the lields," commented Thicrcr.

Seed was kept b"ek (((1m year to year. Farmer;; never obtained initial supplies of seeu from [I dealer, but got their ~tarts from a neighbor's seed. To obtain the next year's seed. farmers walked their fields, ~rcrully sdecting for desirable head and ,tal\.: characteristics. They thcn stored the seed on the held under dry conditions for the ....inla. "We kept our s~~u in thc honse for proper storage CllnJitiull' and protection {film mire," Slated SimDn. Farmcrs "Iso stored the heads iu the raften of shcds or outbuildings. The men l<ller would hand-thresh these eardlll1y kept heads by beating them against Ihe side of a large iwn keu\..:. To remove the hulls, th~}' ran it miUened hanu through the seeds, rubbing the seeds t\'ge.ther and against the .,iut:: of lhe kellle. Winnowing foUowed. a~ the) poufed seed from buckcl tl~

bucket, allowing the wind to blow aw",y undesirable particles, and poor-quality, deformed, wrinkleJ, or incomplete sced~. "About 6-8 pounds of seed was needed per acre," according to Thierer. Bec[luse farmers ne>er kn{;w how much reseeding they would hJ\'e to do or ho.... man)' cnd ww~ they might have to plant, they always kept back three times the amount oj' seed th~)' thought they wonlJ usc. Ldtovcr seed became chicken feed.

Planting time arrived in May, afler the corn was planted but bero,e the first cuHing of alfalfa. Kafir W[lS planted in rows spaced 42 tll 44 inches apart and ..bout 3/4 to onr. iudl deep in packed soil. "We uscd a horse-drawn, one-row liste, til build up ridges of soil. Therl we would go back through the lield using a one-row aJap!~d corn planter," slated Simon. "A three-horse tricycle Jister was used til plant kalir," said Thier~r. "When my JaJ bought

lprovcd v;lriety of kalir, Wa'; also grown. rmcrs along the west fork of Mill Creek.. atedl that it was drought-resistaJJt, did 'eds within their farming operations. In wn respectively on their farms:

~ding good, tWablc land suitable 10 corn IS concur with the statement, appearing eneraJ'ly considered exhausting in their I succeeding crops. Tbey arc vigorous­draw quile heavily on the fcrtility of the cy used ffiaIlUIe and barn c1ea nings as 10 remedy the problems.~

:rops wc, were going to plant; according mbcr to proleclthe corn froIU raccoons 'op to prolect tbe higher-valued crops. I first. Kafir was always planted in Ihe r ncar barky because of the ehinch bug to finisfu rows and fill corners of large r

anted in several places 10 achieve 101 al

~ to breal out kalir's root system. Fall t Ihey also did some spring plowing. n~s followed fall plowing. Thierer said ~Iled by four horses walking abreas(" 10

I plow, fo.1lowed by a disc and then a i preparation. The disc used was from ; walking abreast. "If lhe field had been ~d listing inslead of barrowing, Ihereby Thierer.

's never obtained ioilial supplies of seed seed. To obl.aln tht; next year's seed,

~sitllblc !:read and slalk characterist ics. ,ndil.ions for the '""ilH<;r. "We kept our I protection ffOm mice: Slated Simon. or outb~uildings. Thc men later would

1\ againsl thc .<id(; of a large iron keltk. .h'the seeds, rubf)ing the seeds together ~d. a, they poured seed from bucket to particles, and poor-quality, deformed, rseed \\'1l~ needed per acre: accord ing leseed,inp; Ihey would have to do or ho\>,f kept back three times [he amount of ;amc chicken feed.

1m, planted but before Ihe first CUll ing ,inches apart and about 3/4 to one inch '''' lister 110 Imild up ridges of soil. Then !' adapted com planter," staled Simon. I" saidl Thiercr. 'When my dad boughl

a used lister in 1919, it came with tbe plates aheady made for kaflr." A child old enough to drive a team but too small for other work did the planting, usually witb a1I old team who knew more than the kid driving. "One horse walked down the last planted row as a guide to plaJJl.ing the row you were on," Thierer said. "The lister teoded to sway and lip as the horses walked through the field puJling the tricycle lister. Children were used for balancing the machine, which would bave tipped over with the weight of an adult."

These WeJ'c the standard kafLI-planting techniques along Mill Creek. The hand­broadcast method was employed only to fmish out a field point where kafir would be grown for hay fodder. In the Flint Hills kafLI was Dot ordinarily used for hay or pasture as it was in other parts of the slate. Nor was it produced with Iraditional wheat equipmenl a.<; in western Kansas.

Straight, even rows of uoiform heighl made a good stand, after which the kafir required cultivation. Weeds were a problem for the slow-growing kalir unlil it grew tall enough to overpower the weeds. The Iirst cultivation, with a curler, both killed weeds and knocked down the lister ridges, lhrowing Ihe dirt down around the two-to-three-inch-tall plants. A harrow might have served Ihis purpose, but IVa'; not considered as effective as the curler. Two 10 four more trips across the field with a standard cultivalOr ensued. These generally came when lhe plants werc six to eight incbes high, again at eighteen inches. and then jusl before the plants reached forty inches. Forty inches was the maximum height tht cullivalor could handle. Approximately two weeks passed belween each cultivation. and women and children hoed by hand any weed patches that were missed by the cultivalQf.

Harvesting commenced in Septcmber after the Iirst light frost. "The kafir stalk was aboui five and a half feet 10 six feet in height, and according 10 Lowell Thierer, "You would walk through the field testing different kcrneLs by pushing on them with your thumb nail. If they couldn't be dented, il was lime 10 harvcs\. You still wanted tbe stalk green and full of juice for fodder."

Harvesters opened a field by cutting a row through the field with a corD knife so that the team would have a place to walk. They tben walked through the field cutting patches of "down" (or lodged) kafir with the corn knife, hand-tying it into bundles, and setting il aside for later shocking. ~

Harvesting was accomplished with either a com-sled cutter or a corn binder, depending on which machine the; farmer had. The corn-sled cutter, pulled by a team, might be a one- or tWO-TOW model, that was operaled by one or lwo people. If two-rowed, lhen one person :<l'j,' rode on the sled collecting a1I armload ­

Jo:1sjiT ~~ Ci)' !"ok'd} ~I". Wcitlrl:::ll."l.~i:' COIoi.nl)' NJns41. n~

of stalks, I hen Slopped the team 10 add IOrnII)-mod< Ia>ift """ hung on u..,u1d of G ""'C"" [or ,"'.

them 10 the shock; meanwhile the other hOI., by J",,,, The,n

person, having added an armload of stalks to tbe existing shock, walked up \0 where the partner had stopped, stepped onto the sled, started the team, aDd began collecting the next armload. The la~t person to add an armload to Ihe shock lied it loosely with a single piece of lwine.

13

14

Using the binder required that o~ly one per~on drive fotH head of horses, one tt;am hooked to tbe tongue and the other (,-,am out as lead. The binder cut and tied the stalks togclher to form a bundle, approximately une fOOl in diameter where the twine was tied. Ooce tluee to four bundles were gathered, the driver tripped the carrier to dump them onto the ground, where they lay to await shocking at a later time. "With a good frc:;h tcam you could cut one-half to three-fourths of an acre an hour ",ith a binder. The cutter was f:l:;ter than the binder as the CUlling and shocking occurred simultaneously. Dad said several times bow farmers field-tested the two techniques," Thierer said. "The cutter w", faster as one trip tbrough tbe field took care of :;talks to shock, but with the binder it took two trips tbrough the field." The binder, however, produced bundles whicb lasted beller in the shock, because the bundle's time 00 the ground allowed the butl of the stalk's joint to "heal over." Thi~ kepi the juice in the stalk once it was shocked. Tbe juice enhanced lhe palatability of the stalk for callie fodder.

After the binder cut the crop, twO or mare people went out to shock. A shocker first set (wo bundles upright like the leller "x," intertwining the heads of lhe two bundles for stability, and selling the bUllS securely on the ground. NClc1 two more bundles were placed wilh lhe "x" going in the opposite two directions, the head.<- again interlocked. The trick to shockir'lg was gelling these [<lur key bundles secured. Up to teu bundles were leaned I1rrnly around the kev bundles in a circular manner. "If j

yo~ didn', work carefully the shock got I'

off, or !loaned. This (mahicd the wind to blow you r shock over easier and ruin the .. grain," Simon said. Thierer claimed, "[t took two to three limes as long to shod "'""''''t'''P" cf '''''fir. '" vo"," '" """,,,,' I"' 19Q7} Ir "'1"= """'kt of

a field as it did to cut it Wilh a binder." "'""" ""'11, "'.,." "",,,,,,," '" w""'U""" c""N)'

Simon and Thicrer both agreed that shocking was dirty, exhuU>ting work. The leaves cuI workers' skin, the heads swalled them in their faces, and the field seemed to go on forever. "Your sweatlllrued the katir field dust to mud," Thierer remembered. "When it was dry it was hot, itchy, difficult work, bUI when a little shower or a hca\')' dew settled on the dusty stalks lhey became muddy knife blades that slipped through your hands making shocking even marc difficult" "It wasn't just mcn who worked with kafir," said Florence Simon. "I've done my share of euning and deheading. I slarted most of our shocks because mine stayed; and [ "'ere women's clothes in the field."

The next phase of hJ rvest iog was rem oving the heads from tli e stalks, a process th31

used a kafir knife mounted on the side of a wagon. Heading machines, as described in agricultural bulletins for use in western Kansas, saw little usc i.n the FElli Hills, where kafi( was raised primarily for on-farm use, not a:; a ca:;h crop. Two adults worked on the ground. while one adult and one or more children worked in the wagon. When the wagon came alongside a shock, the Iwo people on lhe ground look turns lifting bundles up and into lhe knife so thaI all of the head.'> protruded through the blade and over the wagon box. The children wrapped their arms around the heads, whereupon the adult ill the wagon pulled the

I drive four head of horses, ooe learn , The binder cut and Lied lhe slalks diameter where lhe lwine was lied.

ripped the carrier Lo dump [hem Onlo r lime, 'With a good fresh team you with a binder, The emLer was [aSler muhaneously. Dad said severalliulc;; IIld. "The cUlter was fasler as one lrip t the binder il took two lrips throngh eh lasLed betler in the shock, because :stalk's joinLlO "heal over." This kepI ~nh3..llced lhe pala[abilily of lhe slalk

~,ID _ .. ,""""""{,,, l<t!lj /' ",poc" ' ...·b '. ._", ...at»._c",,"'J­

'US dirty, exhausling work. The jeav~s

aces, and the field seemed 10 go on " Thierer remembered< "When il was hower or a heavy dew ~etlled on lhe slipped through your hands mnking ho worked wiLh kafir," ~aid Flon:n<.:c I starled musl \If our .'ih(l(ks bee:Ju,c

hea~ from Ihe ~IJ[b, a process Ihal Heading machine.'i, as described in

IIle use in Ihe Flint Hill~, wh<.:r<: k,\fir p. Two adults ....orkeu ,)n the ground, the wagun. When lh~ wagon <.:am\::

,turns lifting bundle:; up and inlO lhe blade and o~er Ihe wagon box. The tpoD [he adull in Ihc wagon pulled lhe

knife, guillp(ining lhe heads, The worken carefully placed Ihe heads in row, for ea;;e in empt)ing lhe wagon box.

People on lhe gronnd rebuill the shock wilh [he de-headed buudle.'. Thrt:e hUlldlc;, were thrown on Ihe ground, stacked one-on-top-of-another, and the olhn t-undk~ \lone arranged around Ihe key hundles in a circular manner. The wagon then moved on 10 lh<.: nen shock, and the process conlinued umillhe wagon was filled. The headle~;; .,hocks would slay in the field until [hey were needed as fodder. The heads were hauled 10 wher.: lh~ lhreshlng was to be done, pirched inlo a pile, and covered.

Threshing., which comple[ed Lhe process of ha["\!esling, usually was doue awuud Christmas, but earlier if the threshing omfi[ was available. The lhresherman made his sel nt~ar lhe slack of heads. During the 1920s the thresher tha[ worked Mill Creek was powcred by a Rumely lraclor. The Lhresher, owned by Adolf Maas of Spring Creek. was sel fpr blir by adjUSling the concave [eelh and slowing Ihe cylinder, The owner operaled the machiue~.

Two people rhythmically and evenly pilched heads from lhe kalir slack inlo lhe feeder ;lllhe front end of the lhresher, The heads had lo fall from Ihe pilchfork or bundle fork ewnh' and (;~'nlinuously to prevenl mechanical problems. As the stack d\Vindlcd, another pClSpn kepI the heilds pilt:hed wilhin reach of the lirsllwo people. One or Iwo men worked JI the back of lhe thresher, measuring grain one·half bushel al a lime. The grain was either SJl"kcu in ninely- Lo one-hnndred-pouud burlap bags aud placed in the wagon or dumped s\rai!ihl into lhe wagon, Bagged grain was hauled lo a slOrage bin and dumpeu. The ha!C-, wcrt rdnrneu Iv the lhresher lo be relilled. However, jf the grain had been dnmped I(),,~t iulU the wagon box, one or two people would nse scoop shovels Lo throw the grain imo the bin,

"(n the 192Os, the owner of Ihe lhresher was paid an average of 5 lO 6.5 cenl, per bushel, wilh as much as 8 cenls heing paid at limes, The lhresher's eounler detamiued Ihe number of bushels yon paid for," slated Thierer, "The Olher lhreshcrs, if lhc~' were hired hllnds, were pllid $2.00 lo $3.00 per day in lhe 1920s, and dml,TL 10 $l,50 per dav in (he 19305, bUI neighbors Irllded labor." Six 10 eighl people served a, a Ihre~hing crew.

The firSl year a comt-ine wa~ II'ed for bur on Lowell Thierer':< farm wa.'i 1<)35. He descrihed il as an Allis-Chalmers combine \Vith <I <.:utLcr bar of liv", kel auu a bin capaCil} of fifteen bushels. Thierer said, 'The CUlling bar wa, adju~ted more n[1righl for ense of handling heads. f pulled up 10 shod;, guL (Iff the lraclor and held each bundle 10 be;j

gleaned, reshoeked the bundles, gPt bad on Ihe tractor and moved 10 tile nel(( shock 10 repeal the procedure." This methoLi wa~ fairly t~'Pical.

The primary usc of kalir in Wilt>;lun~ee COUnty W~5 for grain ralher than hay, pa~lurc, silage, or a soiling crop. Kansas Ci[_~' roulincly m~de m~rk<:1 qumaeions (lU bur, but very liltle was sold. The kalir produced in Ihi.'> wunly was u~ed on Ihe la,m in a varicty of l<.:eu rations. .

Many experiments were conducled all owr lhe Grellt Pbin.\ 10 L1etermim: kaur\ merulness llS a fini,hing grain. Kansas Slale Colleg.c at Manhallan had tW(> theses on bur and seveD on sorghum wrillen in the 191(l~. Cpmmon farm journals IIlso carried anieks (>ll

lhe usefulness of kafir, and ~Illle agricullur'dl bulletin~ poured all! their finding, as well. For example, II Texas Experimenl Station Bullclin prinled eXlensive chemical analy~es comparing kafir and corn. The findings agreed \Vilh F~rmer'~ Bulletin No. 288's stlllemenl lhat kalir "compared very favorably wilh corn in fppLi \lalue. A bushel of the grain is ","'Crlh aboUI four-fifths as much as II bushel of corn fmm the standpoinL of nUlrilion, Chemical analyses indieaLe that the grain and fodder are ahoul equal in feeding value of com, but are slighlly less digestible. The prices usulllly off(:red for the grain are much Ie.'>;; lhan il i.'> really worlh

15

16

when oompared with corn." The bulletins also listed a wide variety of rations and feeding programs Cor beef and dairy cattle, horses and mules, pigs and hogs, chickens and other poultry, and sheep.6

Simon and Thieler, when asked about the =5 of katir on their farms, both slaled that kafrr was =d as (he primary component in chicken feed on farms all along Mill Creek. In the 1920s and 19305, as earlier, chickens were one of the few mOlley-makers on the typieal Flint Hills farm. The farm woman's flock provided DOl only eggs and meal for the rabie, bUl also "egg money" that bought groceries and many of the clothes and luxuries for the farm family. Egg mOlley, along with milk and cream money, provided the weekly paycheck. Simon laUghed, saying, 'Egg money even bought repairs for the machinery." When fed whole, katie also 5eI"VW as a rmisher to the butcher flock. Finely ground, threshed kafrr was an excellent feed for baby chicks. Kafrr was fed to Lhe laying flock in two ways: threshed, it served as Lhe grain component of the ration, but as Simon described., "Hea& were thrown 10 Lhe flock to keep the chickens busy in winter scratching and eating without peeking on each other." Corn and wheat were considered too fattening for routine ehieken feed.

The next-largest use of kafir, Simon and Thierer explained, was for pigs and hogs. They thrived well on slop containing threshed kafrr and skim milk. Kafir heads were infrequenlly pitched to the pigs. Ground karrr was fed to bueket calves, because the ralion acted as a constipalor to counteract scours, and Ihey required less milk on thi~ dier. Milk cows were also fed ground or whole threshed kaflf, ground kafrr heads, and occasioually whole heads. The head part was considered to add bulk to their diet. The milk COllIS also received kafir fodder. Feedcr caltle received as a finishing ration either threshed kafir or grou.nl kafir hea&. Karlf fodder was primarily fed to beef cattle. "On a cold day," Thierer remembers, "one-and-a-half bundles per cow and call plus alfalfa were fed. Kafir was added bccausc it raiscd the heat value of the feed: Kafrr grain, as a rule, was not fed to horses or mules bccause farmcrs interviewed said they them fed oats. Thierer noted, however, "During lbe 193Os, wilh [he shortage of feed, horses and mules were often given a bundle as a supplen,ent or as a cbange from their regular diet:

)'1any of the agricullural bullt:lins di.scUS.'ied Lhe food value of kafrr for humans, and a Texa~ bulletin even gave recipes.' Simon and Thierer boLh said their families never considcred earing it. even if it were ground into meal. Both, however, had eaten popped kafie. Tky said il "wilsn't bad, but not as good as popped corn.' Tbierer laughed and said, "It was best whcn popped by holding the head over the traclor exhamt and eating il as a snack in lhe fidd."

Kansas Icd Ihc plains stalcs in production of kafir, with Butler the best known kafir­producing county. El Dorado, the seat of Butler Counly, annually sponsored a harvest festival honoring kalir. Boolhs were erected up and down Main Slreel, [here wa~ a parade of township-produced l1oals, and stores and homes were decorated using only the national colors and karrr stalks, beads, or kernels. Prizes were awarded to the best in eaeh category ,and for exhibits of the best cooking utilizing kafrr meal or flour. El Dorado even had a "kaflf ye\l" and a queen.8

Wabaunsee County did not promote or r.elebrale kafIl' like Butler County, but it did conlribute to the overall kafir production of Kansas. In fact, in one isolated case, in 1926, Wabaunsee County produr.ed 101 more acres of kafIl' hay Lhan did Buller. (See (aWe showing the comparison between the counties and the overall state production.)

KafIl' produclion declined in the 19305 Lo 1940s, but kafIl' continued to be grown along Mill Creek in isolated pockets up until the mid-1950s. The decline in numbers of

a wide variety of rations and feeding ::a, pig!. and h0g5, chiekens and other

:I of laflt on their farms, both stated en feed on (arms all along Mill Creek. If lhe few money-makers on the typical It aaly qrg; and meat for the table, but abe clothes and luxuries for the farm

,provided tbe weelcly paycheck. Simon .be machinery: When fed whole, kafrr ~DUDd. Lhreshcd bfrr was an excellent in two wa)'.: thte.-;hed, it served as the d. 'Heads were thrawn to the fioek to ,Il'ithout peeling on each other: Corn chicken fud.

lfer explained was for pigs and hogs, c and ilim milk. Kafir heads were d to bucket calves, because the ra\ion required less milk on this diet. Milk ground kafll healk, and occasionally ill to their diet. The milk cows al~o

~biog ration either threshed kafu- or ) beef caltle. ·On a cold day: Truerer plus alfalfa were fed. Kafir was added aiD, as a rule, was Dot fed to horses or oats. nierer noted, however, "During lules were often given a bundle as a

Ie food value of kafir for humans, and 'hierer both said their families never al. Both, however, had eaten popped pped com." Thierer laughed and said, the tractor exhaust and ealing it as a

~, wilh Butler the best known kafir­:Ounly, annually sponsored a haIVest down Main Street, there was a parade ~re decorated using only the national ~ awarded to the best in each categol)' lor Hour. EI Dorado even had a "kafu­

'ate kafll like Butler Counly, but it did In fad, in ODe isolated case, in 19""'...6,

die hay lhan did Butler. (See table Ie overall stale production.)

rIOs, but kafir continued to be grown ~d-1950s. The decline in numbers of

diversified family farms, especially small family chicken operations. and the introduction of new machinery such as the combine, led to kafir's downfall. Farmns c1a.lllored for ill Dew reed grain crop to replace talir aDd its hand processes, horse-drawn machinery, and lahor­intensive culture. That crop was milo, a grain sorghum that could be harvested readily .....jlh the combine, and it nudged its grandparent, kafrr, into obscurity.

Tobie

Kansas Kafir Produdion

= Acres Value $ Bu~hds

1920 (State) 968,368 23,632,On 19,529,850 (Butler) 27,856 689,m 542,()(,() (Wabaunsee) 6,642 208,788 184,352

1922 (State) 971,963 17,271,072 17,523,272 (Butler) 25,060 494,811 511,917 (Wabaunsee) 9,256 235,842 256,816

1924 (State) 1,081,087 22,753,550 22,710,845 (BUller) 36,983 951,507 812,427 (Wabaunsee) 15,512 421,578 464,730

1926 (State) 1,111,]97 17,444,735 16,461,107 (Butler) 33,B06 580,427 600,804 (Wabaunsee) 13,097 274,071 251,360

1928 (Slate) 1,036,760 19,731,870 23,320,208 (BUller) 3],589 637,013 661,440 (Witbaunsee) 12,108 290..186 326,565

1930 (State) 974,107 12,329,083 11,727,128 (Buller) 42,867 371,430 291,242 (Wabaunsee) 11,466 163,451 179,872

1932 (State) 1,258,%5 6,472,654 14,953,3(,(J (Butler) 37,6M 233,831 6f>~926 (Wabaunsee) 11,lXl2 83,795 298,680

Sourees: Kansas State Board of Agrieulture, Biennial Reports. Acres include all planted to kafJr, whether haIVested for grain or for forage only.

17

l'

Not~s

1. L. H. B<lil~y, Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, Vol. 2 (London: M<lcMilJan, 1907), p. 384.

1. Ibid.; L. E. Willoughby, "History, Vari~ties and Seed-Bcd Preparation; Kausas St<lte Board of Agriculture, BieNnial Report, 1925-26, p. 197; C. W, Warburlon, The Nonsocchrufne Sorghums, U.S. Department of Agricultllre, Farmers' Bulletin 288, reprinted in Kansas Slale Board of Agricullure, Report flJr Quorter Ending Mtueh, 1911. p. 115.

3. Warburton, Non5ucchorine Sorghums, pp. 115-16.

I4. Aorence Simon, interviewed by Joyce Thierer, 28 October 1984; Lowell Thierer,

interviewed by Joyce Thierer, 4 November 1984. Detailed inlerviews with these informants !were also the source for the following discUS5iOfls of cultur<ll practices throughout the kafir crop year. Discussions in these interviews were based upon <lnd departed rrom m<lterial in 'The NonsaccharillC Sorghums, P<lrI II: a collection of seven reprinted articles rrom a v<lrlety oC sources, KanS<lS State Board oC Agricllllure, Report for Quorter Ending Murdl. 1911, pp. 197-311.

5. W(lTburtotI, NOf/socchorj,lC Sorghums, p. 117,

6. Kansas State University Libr<lrie5, Card Calalog; J. B. Adams, 'Grow Kafir·Corn and Prosper," address to an as50ciation of ban~ers orKans<ls and Oklahoma, reprinted in TIle Eruth, May 1912, p. IB; F. D. Coburn, "Moslly AboLlt Milo and Kanr,' reprinted Crom Muil and Breeze in The Eorth, May 1912, pp. 13-14; "Kafir: The Dry Land Com" (OUf Junior Farmers Series), Successful Fanning 21 (June 1922): 30-31; F. R. Marsh<lli. '"Karlr Corn and Milo Maize ror Fattening Cattle," reprillled from Texas Experiment St<ltion Bulletin 97 in Kansas Slate Board of AgriClllture, Report for Quruter Ending March, 1912, pp. 131·32; Warburton, Nunsacc!Jorine Sorghums, p. 128.

7. F. W. Davis, Kajir, Fe/eri/a, Milo, Texas Department of Agriculture, Bulletin (1915), p. 17.

B. On hlir in Butler County and the Kalir-Corn Carnival of El Dorado, see Joyce Thierer, 'The Kafir·Corn Carnival in El Dorado, Kansas," paper read at a DistriCl Conference of Phi Alphao Theta, Topeka, 1986.

\ J