35 
About. this time Kew very kindly sent me a little seed to 
California, where I grew it at the Experiment Station of the 
College of Agriculture. I was at once impressed with the wealth 
of hay produced. 
ut California is a region of winter rains, where Lucerne thrives 
to perfection, and where Lucerne is therefore the staple forage 
crop. o one who could grow cerne cared anything about 
putting in an annual hay crop, like Teff ; and Lucerne being in the 
ascendant, no farmer had. room or time for it 
When I came to the Transvaal in 1903 I bench with me seeds 
of the most successful grasses which I had grown “at the Experiment 
Station there, such as Teff and New Zealand Tall-fescue (Festucd™ 
arundinacea). Most of these did well, and from the start Teff was 
a great success. In my Annual Report for the season 1903-4, 
dated 26th October, 1904, I wrote (9) : 
“* Teff (Eragrostis abyssinica) is an annual grass of Abyssinia, leafy 
and fine in quality and 2 to 4 ft. high, seeding heavily; it makes 
very rapid growth, maturing in7 or 8 weeks from time of sowing, and 
if cut before the seed develops, a second crop can be obtained from 
the same stand; it makes an excellent catch-crop for hay, two 
successive cuttings being obtainable during the summer on un- 
irrigated land. The pla nts seed heavi Ys ou yield of seed from a 
small plot having Goa at the rate of about ? of a ton (1500 lbs.) 
per acre; the seedlings are not readily scorched by the intense 
heat of summer, which is a most important point in this climate ; 
its adaptability to our conditions is shown by the way in which 
‘volunteer’ seedlings came up all over our Experiment Grounds, 
under the most adverse conditions. Stock eat this grass readily, 
both green and when made into hay. Teff is a most promising 
plant for further experiment. Seed is now offered by 
French dealers at about 3s. 2d. per Ib. : “it sokichiy about 63 lbs. per 
bushel.” 
Seed harvested from this crop was distributed seg selected 
farmers in different districts of the Transvaal, for trial under 
ordinary farm conditions and to test its adaptability to different 
parts of the country. My system was to issue the seed free of all 
cost to the farmer, who signed a written undertaking to return to 
is crop twice the amount of seed supplied. In the case 
of failure of his crop this condition was not enforced. The majority 
of bona fide farmers loyally carried out their agreement, and where 
they desired to retain all the seed for further experiment, they 
often offered to pay cash for it. 
In my report for 1904-05 (p, 248) I wrote :—“ Mr. L. 
Robertson, of Amersfoort, reports :—‘ In this grass [Teff] I think 
we have nck the eared hay for the High Veld ; sown November 
6th, it was 3 ft. high in February and ready for cutting for hay ; 
if cut then it would have matured for a second crop of hay in April. 
Its yields of hay per acre must be tremendous. On account of the 
soft, thin straw, it dries and cures very quickly. Of all my experi- 
ments this has pleased me more than an 
“The general consensus of opinion is that Teff is a most valuable 
hay-grass, - Moder favourable conditions it will mature in two 
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