MILLET. 119 



Here, again, the millet came up far too thick, being 

 almost as much crowded from its greater tillering, as 

 it was in the preceding year; notwithstanding which, 

 the produce was so great, that twenty bushels were 

 harvested, being a return of one hundred and sixty for 

 one, and at the rate of more than one hundred bushels 

 to the acre. M. TschifTeli was of opinion that ten 

 pounds of seed would prove an ample allowance for 

 an acre of ground, and that greater space being thus 

 allowed for the individual plants, the proportion be- 

 tween the quantities sown and harvested would be 

 still more favourable. It does not appear that millet 

 has ever been subjected to the system of drill hus- 

 bandry, although the results here given seem to point 

 out that system as being peculiarly applicable to its 

 cultivation. 



Sorghum is cultivated largely in some parts of Chi- 

 na and in Cochin China. In England the autumn 

 is rarely sufficiently dry and warm for ripening its 

 seeds, otherwise the plant might prove useful in some 

 poor and light soils, the produce of which is ordinarily 

 insufficient to repay the greater expense attendant 

 upon the cultivation of other grain. Sorghum was 

 raised in this country as a rare plant, in the garden 

 of John Gerarde, as early as 1596. 



The golden-coloured millet seeds seen in our gro- 

 cers' shops are the produce of the sorghum sacchara- 

 tum, or yellow-seeded millet. Use is made of these 

 in a similar manner with rice, for the preparation of 

 puddings. 



This variety is likewise a native of India ; it is 

 cultivated largely in China and Cochin China; and 

 has been introduced into the island of Jamaica. 

 Philip Miller reared it in his garden in 1759. 



In warm climates millet is usually sown in May 

 and June, and perfects its seeds within four months. 

 The plant is not subject to blight, nor is it easily 



