309 



percennate must be borne in mind in any considerations bearing 

 upon the danger of this plant in the West Indies as a weed. At 

 the same time the undoubted nutritive value and great drought- 

 resistant powers of the grass are not likely to make its spread 

 undesirable on stock farms. 



In Florida and the intermediate region of America a good hay 

 grass has long been a desideratum. It is stated in the Annual Re- 

 ports of the Department of Agriculture of the United States, 1912, 

 that Rhodes grass, secured from Africa, promises practically to 

 solve the hay question for that portion of the South. Field tests 

 of Rhodes grass are being conducted in Florida in order to de- 

 termine its climatic and soil requirements and the yield of hay 

 which may be expected. One field of 20 acres has been estab- 

 lished near Brookesville, from which results on a commercial scale 

 are expected. This plant has also been introduced into Arizona, 

 where it promises to give much satisfaction, and it is understood 

 that it is also being tried in Porto Rico. The results of these ex- 

 periments will be awaited with interest. 



Whilst discussing forage crops, it' may not be out of place to 

 coiichule this article with a few remarks concerning other drought- 

 resisting grasses, which have attracted much attention during the 

 last few years. In the Monthly Bulletin of Agricultural Intelli- 

 gence and Plant Diseases (June, 1913), a note says that Tefif 

 ( Eragrosfis obyssiiiica) was introduced into the Transvaal in 1903, 

 and has since proved itself a complete success, and is fast becom- 

 ing a staple hay crop throughout civilized Africa, its qualities being 

 palatability, high nutritive value, heavy yield, rapid growth, 

 drought resistance, and ability to smother weeds. Another well- 

 known grass, namely, Soudan grass (Andropogon halcpcnsis), is 

 reported in the same journal for July, 1913, to have been imported 

 into the United States from Soudan in 1909. This grass yields 

 well, especially in dry seasons, and the fqdder is much appreciated 

 by stock.''-' The last grass to which we invite the reader's atten- 

 tion is known as Elephant grass or Napier's fodder {Pennisctnm 

 pnrpttreum). The cultivation of this plant is described in the 

 Monthly Bulletin of Agricultural Intelligence and Plant Diseases 

 (November, 1913). It has proved a very drought-resistant and 

 heavy-yielding fodder crop in Rhodesia. Owing to its succvdent 

 character and coarseness of stem it does not make good hay, but 

 as green fodder for stall-fed animals, it can hardly be excelled by 

 any other crop in Rhodesia. In damp situations, where water is 

 liable to stand, it wilts, and is then best replaced by Paspalum, or 



* A word of caution, however, is here necessary. Andropogon hale- 

 pensis is synonymous with Sorghum halepense (Johnson grass) — a plant 

 which when introduced into many places has eventually become for a time 

 uncontrollable as a weed, and has only been eradicated after much diffi- 

 culty and expense. Drought-resisting grasses are not always unmixed 

 blessings. 



