226 



THE ESSENTIALS OF AGRICULTURE 



294. Kafir. The kafirs are stout, leafy plants with somewhat 

 juicy stems, crowded leaves, erect heads, and egg-shaped seeds. 

 They are natives of South Africa, and were first brought to the 

 Plains- area about 1888. They are now widely grown in Kan- 

 sas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and California. The kafirs 

 are the principal grain producers among the sorghums and make 

 excellent silage and forage of fair quality. The grain is largely 



used for stock feeding 

 and in poultry foods, 

 while the meal is some- 

 times used for human 

 food. The leading vari- 

 eties (Fig. 1 08) are the 

 Blackball, Dwarf Black- 

 hull, Red, and White. 

 295. Kaoliang. Kao- 

 liang was recently in- 

 troduced from China 

 and Manchuria by the 

 United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. 

 The plants have dry and 

 usually slender stems, 

 with few leaves, and are 

 of value chiefly for 

 grain. Twenty-two va- 

 rieties have been de- 



scribed, but only one, 



FIG. 108. Types of kafir corn 



i, White Kafir; 2, Guinea Kafir; 3, Blackballed 

 Kafir ; 4, Red Kafir 



Manchu, is important as yet. It is becoming a staple farm crop 

 in western South Dakota, and will doubtless extend throughout 

 the west central states. 



296. Shallu. Shallu is the only representative in the United 

 States of a group which is common in India and tropical Africa. 

 It has slender, dry stems, and is striking for its habit of sending 

 out shoots from around the main stem, a habit called tillering. 

 The heads are large, loose, and yellowish, with straw-colored 



