thinned out either in one or in the other way the shoots 

 become hard and less palatable to horses and cattle. After 

 every second cutting the land should be manured with 100 

 to 150 maunds of farmyard manure or tank earth or jhil earth 

 per bigJia per annum. Solid and liquid excrements of horses, 

 men, sheep and goats have been found the best manure for 

 guinea grass. After transplanting the seedlings or root- 

 cuttings on to fields, watering should be done daily, unless 

 there is rain, until the plants are well established. After- 

 wards in the dry season irrigation should be continued once 

 a month. In the rainy season, of course, no irrigation is 

 .required. After the shoots are cut off, the land should be 

 dug up at intervals between the plants, the weeds collected 

 and destroyed and manure spread over and ploughed in and 

 the ridges formed again. The shoots should be cut off before 

 they run to seed that they may be gathered quite tender. 

 If seed is wanted the shoots should be allowed to mature but 

 clumps that are constantly cut produce weak seeds that do 

 not germinate. Any seed stalks showing smut should not 

 be touched but singed with fire. The guinea grass is not 

 known to suffer from any other malady. 



i, 066. Lucerne (Mcdicago sativa). The leguminous crop 

 that is called lucerne or alfalfa is also perennial, ie , it will 

 stand on the same field for 10 or 12 years running, if it is not 

 allowed to seed and if it is properly attended to. It is a most 

 nutritious fodder for horses ; cattle should not be given too 

 much of lucerne as it produces diarrhoea. The stomach of 

 the horse, being comparatively of a small capacity, requires 

 more nutritious food than that of cattle. Lucerne, there- 

 fore, is a most appropriate fodder for horses though not for 

 cattle. This crop should be grown near large towns where 

 good class horses are maintained. There is another special 

 advantage in growing this crop. The roots of this crop 

 penetrate several yards deep into the soil. It does not 

 therefore suffer from drought when it has been once estab* 



