2U JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1891. 



stick in their clothes and with their rough bristle? create consider- 

 able irritation. See Fergusson, 



Sorghum, Pers. 



8. halapeme, Pers. Syn. I, 101 ; JJolciis halapensis, Linn. Spec, 

 1047; Roxb. Fl. lucl, I., 269; Dalz. and Gibs. Bomb. Fl. Suppl. 

 99, Andropogon halapensis, Brot., Fl. Lusit. I. 89; Sibth. FL Grceca, 

 I. tat. 68. 



Ver. Bajra, Barru, Bam, Kartai, Dade, Batal 



It is a tall grass, 2 — 5 ft. high or more. Nodes glabrous. Sheath 

 compressed. Ligula ciliolate. Leaves narrow at the base, 8 — 12 in. 

 long and 1 in. broad, glabrous. Panicle pyramidal, 3 — 4, in. to above 

 1 ft. long, branches numerous, dense or in some cases, loose. Herma- 

 phrodite spikelets oblong, lanceolate, 2 — 3 lines long, greenish- white 

 or pale purple coloured. First glume coriaceous, 5 — 7-nerved ; second 

 glume nearly equal in length, 5-nerved, with a few hairs at the 

 base ; third glume a little shorter, thin membranaceous ; fourth or 

 flowering glume, small, hyaline, 2-lobed, with a fine short awn from 

 the notch. 



Pedicelate spikeiet male or rarely neuter, oblong, lanceolate, nearly 

 equal to the sessile, with a few short hairs at the base. 



This grass grows all over the Deccan, Guzerat, Dhulia, and Basscin, 

 where it is considered to be a good fodder grass for cattle. Mr. 

 Duthie says : " Common all over Northern India in cultivated and 

 uncultivated ground. It is considered to be a good fodder grass, both 

 for grazing and as hay. Various reports, however, indicate its in- 

 jurious effects on cattle if eaten when too young, or when the plants 

 are stunted by drought. The same results have been observed to take 

 place in the case of juar {Sorghum vulgare). Dr. Stewart was told in 

 Hazara that cattle after eating it are often attacked by fatal head 

 affections. In Gujranwala, Gujrat, and Shahpur districts it is said 

 to be poisonous until the rains are over, when the cattle eat it with 

 impunity. Tod in his " Rajasthan," Vol. II., p. 70, mentions that 

 the seed of this grass is collected and mixed with bajra Hour (Sorghum 

 vulgare), and is eaten by the poorer classes in Bikanir. In Australia 

 it is valued both for pasture and hay, and is much sought after by 

 cattle. Native pens are made from the stems of this plant. No 



