228 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1890 



Mr. Simmons in his brochure on Indian Grasses gives the following 

 history of the experiments made in Saidapet (Madras) : — 



" Guinea Grass — Has, of all the grasses experimented with, been 

 " found to be the best ; it is an exotic, but perfectly acclimatized, grass, 

 " which is most easily propagated by root-cuttings. Its culture is 

 " very simple, for if planted at the commencement of the rains, it 

 " soon strikes root, and is then safe and out of danger for the future. 

 " If planted in rows it allows of interculture by cattle power, by 

 " which means the land on which it grows may be easily cleansed; 

 " thus it affords an excellent crop for a rotation. It has been found 

 " capable of withstanding our longest and severest droughts without 

 " the aid of irrigation, and although its energies remain dormant 

 " during such a time, the first rain makes it spring up again most 

 " rapidly. This power was never more clear than in a field 

 " planted in September 1875, measuring about two acres, which, in 

 " May 1877, after the great drought, was as brown and as dry as if it 

 " were totally devoid of life ; the heavy rains which fell during that 

 " month, however, led to its immediate revival, and before the third 

 " day of rain was over, green shoots had appeared all over the field 

 " which grew on and produced a good crop of fodder in two months, 

 " which weighed green 5,556 lbs. ; this was followed by another 

 " cutting of 4,564 lbs. of dry fodder ; two months after, an amount 

 " equal to about 12,000 lbs., green. Not one per cent, of the tufts 

 " failed to throw out shoots after the rain referred to. 



" An idea still prevails that Guinea grass must be irrigated not 

 " only at the time planted, but regularly at stated intervals after- 

 " wards ; that it must be taken up and be replanted on new ground 

 " at the end of every two years at the furthest ; and that the fodder is 

 " not a suitable food for stock, and can only be used in small quan- 

 " tities for such a purpose. It is perfectly true that if Guinea grass 

 " is planted in the hot season, or during dry weather, when the soil 

 " contains scarcely a particle of moisture, and the sky is clear and 

 " bright, that the plants will fail completely if not planting under 

 " such circumstances. In the dryest parts of the country there is 

 " always a time when the sky is cloudy and the weather showery ; 

 " and if such opportunities are properly utilized for planting, the 

 " roots can be established well without the aid of irrigation. Irriga- 



