,fiNrrA ilORTUS JAMAICENSIS. ' Si? 



GUINEA GRASS. HOLCUS. 



Cl. 23, OR. 1. Polygnmia vicr.oecia, Nat. ou. Gramma. 

 Gek. char. .S'i-'i? Guinea Corn, /;. 351. 



POLVG.iiMUM. POLYGAMOUS, 



Mujor asnirgcns, culnio comprcsso, spica la.ra spatiosa. Browne,. 

 p. 366. 



Panicle compaund, capillary, spreading ; floscules polygamous ; cuira jointed, 

 inrsute. _ , 



This has been clashed as a paviann hy Svvartz andother authors, but later botanists^ 

 as well as Browne, have made it a species o( liolcus. Brovvne observes that its rliarac- 

 ttrs agree pretty wed with those of the pnnirum in general ; bnt the flowers coininoniy 

 grow very luxuriant, and, tiiough often hermaphrodite, are generally observed to l;e 

 distinct males and females, surrounded by seperate involucres, and standing on distinct 

 pedicels within i he same calyx*. . This most valuable grass is a native of AInca, and was 

 introduced into this i.sland many yearo- ago by the merest accident. Mr. .John Ellis got 

 some bircis from. the cfjasl of Guinea, an'd with them some seeds for their snpjiort ; the 

 birds dying soon after, the se-eds were thrown out of doors as useless. From these seeds 

 grew some luxuriant grass, .v;l>ich attr.xted Mr. Ellis's notice, and he had a horse and 

 a. cow broughtvvh'ere it was, .when both of them greedily eat oPit. h. was then tru-iis- 

 plaiited iji-to a garden and graduaily cultivated, until it has become one of the most lu- 

 crative.and nselnl plants in Jamaica. If agrees with almost every soil and situation, 

 and has i'endered man3' rocky and othcrwi.-ie barren spots of Jamaica very valuable, as af- 

 fordiitg support to lierds of cattle and horses. The growth of this grass is very cpick, 

 for in wet weather, and in a favourable situation, it may be cut once in a fortnight. It 

 resists dry weather for a consiilerable time, and even, when parched up, tlnrslightesi: 

 showers will revive it. It rises from five to eight feet high. WIten of proper strength 

 it is a very excellent food for horses and cattle, which, when considerably lean andre- 

 tmced, will be restored to flesh and fatness in two or thiee montiis by feeding upon it. 

 This grass does not require so much moisture as the Scotch grass, but is justly esteemed 

 as a more hearty fodder, and makes a very nourishiiig hay. The manner of cultivating 

 it is to make the land intended for it perfectly clean by hoeing, and then to dig 

 holes from three to frve feet distance, accordmg to the quality of the soil. The holes 

 should be large and deep enough to bnry a fevv roots of the grass a good depth, which 

 are taken from a rijeighbouring nuiser}' or grasspiece, as it is of service to large roots 

 to separate half of them, and then mould up what remains in the ground. The plants 

 should be topped within a few inches of the root, yjut into the holes, well covered with 

 earth, and pressed dov^n v.'ith the foot ; and a stone laid upon ihe place is thought use- 

 ful, by occasioniiig the grass to spread more- Care sli(iuld be taken to-keep the young 

 plants free of weeds. The best time for planting is in April agd May, for the grass 

 will then perfect its seed in Sejjtember and October, the season when it seeds the most 

 abundantly. The ground should be ngite clean when the seed is ready to drop, and if 

 the spaces between the roots be then stirred with the hoe, it would be found very bene- 

 ficial. When the seed is all fallen stock may be turned in, to eat the grass and tread 

 the seed into the ground. In rich and new land the grass at first will grow so rank as 

 to produce very thick stalks, which, by running up the noses of tlie stock, prevent*. 



Z z thsais 



