52 GUINEA GRASS : ITS HISTORY, ETC., 



African birds had been brought to Jamaica and presented to 

 a Mr. Elhs, then Chief Justice of that Possession. With the 

 birds came as food a bag of the seed of a grass indigenous to the 

 coast of Guinea ; and, the birds having died, the remainder of 

 the seed was tln'own away. Kapidly germinating where it fell, it 

 attracted attention by the eagerness with which the resultant 

 grass was devoured by the cattle. Experiment soon established 

 the fact of its nutritious properties and easy cultivation, and, 

 from this small beginning, the grass rapidly spread in Jamaica, 

 and fouud its way to other countries where the climatic 

 conditions were suitable ; but in the West Indies its cultivation 

 has so greatly extended as to make one of the, if not the, most 

 valued fodder plant in use there. It is found, from the coast 

 line up to an elevation of 5,000 feet, covering extensive tracts of 

 country. It agrees with every soil and situation ; except where 

 the drainage is defective, being very impatient of stagnant 

 moisture about its roots. Lunan, in his " Hortus Jamaicensis," 

 states that in Jamaica it has rendered many rocky and 

 otherwise barren spots very valuable by providing a fattening 

 pasture for herds of cattle and horses. It resists dry weather 

 for a long time and even when apparently parched up, recovers 

 itself with a rapidity almost marvellous after slight showers. 

 Conditionally upon the soil being drained or naturally porous it 

 will luxuriate in wet weather ; but will rapidly succumb if 

 covered with water. I have myself grown it successfully for 

 years, and have found it invaluable for the family cow ; but last 

 year's flood, although the water was only 24 hours on my 

 cultivation patch, killed the Guinea Grass completely. I hold 

 it, however, in such high estimation that it was replaced upon 

 an enlarged scale within a week of the subsidence of the flood. 



Guinea Grass is perennial, and grows into large clumps which 

 are capable of minute subdivision. Although succeeding upon 

 poor clay and sandy soils, it does best upon a deep moist — but 

 well drained — soil, and is capable of enduring degrees of heat and 

 drought under which many other grasses perish. 



The cultivation is quite simple. The ground having been 

 properly prepared, a sufficient number of plants are obtained by 

 subdividing old clumps, and are planted firmly at intervals 



