THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



39 



countries bordering on the Mediterranean are species of 

 sorghum, known under the general name of ])ourah. 

 There seem to be three loading species, with short close- 

 set panicles, having either white, red, or olive-coloured 

 seeds, probably Sorghum vulgare, S. rubens, and S. 

 bicolor. There is also a black-seeded variety (Sorghum 

 saccharatum), grov/n in India and China, and now 

 more diffused, cultivated chiefly for its saccharine 

 juice. Lately another sorghum has attracted some 

 attention in this country, Europe, and America (ap- 

 parently S. caffrorum), from the endeavour to intro- 

 duce it as a sugar plant. This is the Kafir cane of 

 Natal, or the Imphee of the Zulus, introduced into 

 notice here by Mr. Leonard Wray. This is not the 

 Kafir millet, or mabaalee, which is used as the staple 

 corn food of the natives, for of this there are a dozen or 

 more varieties. 



Now many of the sorghums have rigid and compact 

 heads, while others have loose and spreading panicles ; 

 and the colour of the seed or grain appears to vary 

 considerably, so that there is some difficulty, in the ab- 

 sence of precise information, identifying them or nam- 

 ing them botanically, amid the scientific complexities of 

 Andropogon, Holcus, and Sorghum, to which different 

 authors respectively refer them. Then they bear various 

 popular names in different countries ; the broom corn 

 of the United States, the Negro or Guinea corn of the 

 West Indies, the Dourah of Africa, and the Jowarri or 

 Cholum of India being evidently the same plant and 

 seed. 



The sorghums require a more tropical climate to 

 bring their seed to perfection than the common millet, 

 but yield a much greater cpiantity of seed per acre than 

 other grains. Dourah is produced in considerable 

 quantities in Upper Egypt, where it is cultivated with 

 much success ; and being forty or fifty per cent, lower 

 in price than wheat, is more commonly the food of the 

 ftllah or peasant than any other grain. 



Three leading species or varieties of this great 

 millet are also grown in India, under the local names, 

 in the peninsula, of Munja cholum, Mootho cholum, and 

 Secapoo cholum. 



Several species of Panicum are cultivated in different 

 parts of India : thus the Panicum frumentaceum is called 

 shamoolo, in the Deccan ; P. colonum, millet-rice; P* 

 italicum, ragee; P. pilosum, bhadlee ; P. miliaceum, 

 warree and samee cheena, of which there are several 



varieties. Besides these, we have the spiked millet or 

 bajree (Penieillaria spicata), called cumboo in Madras, 

 which is also grown in several parts of Africa. 



The seeds of Amaranthus frumentaceus, A. oleraceus, 

 and other species, constitute otlier eastern millets. 



Paspalum scrobiculatum, the menya or kodro of 

 India, furnishes a small cheap grain, which is regarded 

 as wholesome, in common with auUoo (P. frumentaceum ) 

 and other species. 



A fine-grained corn, called fundi oV fundungi on the 

 west coast of AiVica, is produced by Paspalum exile. 

 Eleusiiie tocusso is a millet corn plant in Abyssinia, 

 and E. corocana in several parts of the East; -while the 

 grain of E. stricta is even used in India, in times of 

 famine. Setaria italica is cultivated in India under 

 name of kala kangra, or kora kang , and the Poa 

 abyssinica yields the teff of parts of Africa. 



The canary-grass may be ranked among the millets ; 

 for in its native islands the seed is ground into flour, and 

 made into a nutritious bread, by the inhabitants ; and 

 from one to two hundred thousand bushels are annually 

 shipped thence. 



The small seeds of the sesame (Sesamum orientale 

 and indicum of Willdenow) arc ' prepared in various 

 ways for food in the East, being parched, as also made 

 into bread, puddings, used in soups, &c. This is the 

 oily grain of some writers, it being largely used to ex- 

 press the gingelie oil from — a bland oil largely used for 

 culinary purposes. The seed is called ajonjoli by the 

 Spaniards in Central America, and teelin India. 



Here, then, we close our passing glance at what 

 may be termed the millets, som.o of which are known as 

 2)ctit metis to the French colonists in Africa. Their 

 uses, it will be seen, are more various and important 

 than generally supposed. On the continent, and espe- 

 cially among the Germans, where the grain of millet 

 is hulled, it is highly esteemed for broths, puddings, 

 and even for bread. The plants are much grown in 

 several countries as an excellent cattle provender; the 

 grain is largely consumed locally, and from some quar- 

 ters much is exported; while even sugar, vinegar, 

 spirit, and millet-beer are yielded by several, and the 

 stalks of others are grown for making brooms. The 

 larger millels are as rich, too, in protein compounds, as 

 many varieties of English wheat, and hence large quan- 

 tities occasionally reach I»Iark-lane to be ground up 

 into flour. 



THE COMMERCE OF THE UNITED ST ATE S— CH I CAGO. 



We have recently ventured some observations on the 

 system of agriculture pursued in the American States, 

 for the purpose of showing that although new land to 

 a vast extent is being continually brought under culti- 

 vation, yet that whilst there is still such an abundance 

 to be obtained at so cheap a rate and of so excellent a 

 quality, the system of cultivation will still be of a cha- 

 racter to impoverish the soil and decrease the produce 

 per acre. Consequently the increase arising from the 



newly-broken-up land makes no adequate addition to the 

 ago-regate amount, but is, to a large extent, swallowed up 

 by the increasing population on the one hand, and in 

 supplying the older States on the other, where the con- 

 tinuous scourging of the soil has been followed by the 

 inevitable deterioration and diminution of the pro- 

 duce. 



If, however, this is the case with the agriculture 

 of the United States, its commerce is conducted upon 



