34 
the missionary Colbeaux (3) as “of very inferior quality, and the 
flabby cake, or the ‘ Tabita,’ which is produced from its flour, is as 
disagreeable to chew as if it were mixed with sand.”. The slow- 
growing, or Thaf Hagaiz variety, is described by the same writer 
as requiring nearly five months to mature, or two months longer 
than the other, and as being of superior quality for human food; 
“its flour is only advantageously used in making ‘ Tabita,’ a kind 
of large fermented pancake. The ‘ Tabita’ of Thaf is most easily 
digestible, and has none of the bitterness of some other kinds of 
rain,’ 
But its failure as a grain-crop for India may be due entirely to 
other factors. The yields of grain where it was tried, appear to 
have been usually too small to be profitable. It should be borne in 
mind, moreover, that in the work of Seed and Plant Introduction 
and Acclimatisation, success rarely follows first attempts, whereas 
perseverance, repetition, study of controlling conditions and re- 
moval of inhibiting factors often result in subsequent success. The 
natural conservatism of native races should also be taken into 
account. A further cause of failure may have been the lack of a 
well-organised system of co-operation in field experiments on 
private farms. Observation and experience show that to overcome 
indifference or conservatism it is not sufficient to maintain demon- 
stration plots on Government Farms or Experiment Stations, nor 
to issue publications broadcast, nor, even, to “stump the country ” 
lecturing to farmers. New crops are generally taken up first by 
theorists or men trying to get rich quickly, to whom the advertise- 
would be a success, the result being that the new crop gets a bad 
name. 
ad I not adopted a system of co-operative experiments with 
the Transvaal farmers, by which selected farmers, who knew how 
to grow crops, were induced to try new and promising things, under 
supervision, Teff would not to-day have been the success that it is. 
In spite of the favourable reports quoted above it does not appear 
to have become established either in Australia or India. As 
already noted, it was introduced into Natal in 1887, and was 
distributed among twenty farmers, 17 in Natal, 2 in Zululand and 
one in the Transvaal ; though it was reported in 1888 as being 
“highly thought of as a quickly-growing grass,” it failed to 
acquire the status of a farm crop, and it was not until after its 
re-introduction in 1903, and by careful fostering, that it became 
established, But as Mr. Wentworth Sykes has pointed out (11) 
“ it has now certainly come to stay, as witness the hundreds of tons 
of hay sold locally last year (1910) on the Johannesburg and 
Pretoria markets, which is but a little of that sold or fed locally.” 
In the Bulletin article on Tropical Fodder-grasses (8) it is 
grown during the occasional rains and made into hay. Ss grass 
will produce a heavy ¢ in six weeks from the time of 
co 
