336 



CEREALS. 



DHOUBO COBN, DUBBA OB DOUBA, INDIAN MIL- 

 LET (Sorghum vulgare). 



Steins pithy, about eight feet high, spikelets clustered, each with one ^ 

 perfect and one neutral or staminate i flower ; no silky down ; glumes , 

 russet brown, coriaceous ; leaves long, linear, and recurved as Indian { 

 corn ; annual. Cultivated for its seed. 



In the West Indies, it is called Guinea Corn , in Arabia, 

 Dhouro, in India, Jovaree, and in China, Nagara. In some 

 countries it is cultivated as a lorage plant, the stems con- 

 taining a large proportion of saccharine matter, and when 

 dry affording a fine hay, though rough. The nutritive 

 quality of the seeds nearly equals that of wheat. From 

 its resemblance to Indian corn, in the south of Europe it is 

 called Small Maize. * On rich land it grows -from eight to 

 twelve feet high, and it produces more bushels of seed, 

 than an other known cereal, to the acre. 



There are several varieties of this cereal, being sports 

 from the original. Chocolate corn, Tennessee rice, Chicken 

 corn, are some of its synonyms. It is a native of Central 

 Asia, and is cultivated extensively in Asia, Africa, West 

 Indies, Brazil, and in the southern parts of the United States. 

 It will grow to perfection from Pennsylvania to Florida. 

 There are two varieties usually cultivated, the "White" and 

 the " Red," both good, but the red produces a great many 

 more seeds some say as many as four times the quantity of 

 the other. The red matures earlier, too ; the white, being in 

 higher latitudes, is often caught by frosts. The Litter, 

 however, is preferable when intended for food. A failure 

 of this crop in Arabia and Africa, would be as great a 

 calamity as that of corn in the United States. The meal 

 is white and makes delicious breakfast cakes, and is said to 

 be much better than corn meal. 



Its yield varies according to the soil on which it is sown. 

 On rich sandy loam or alluvial bottoms, it will make from 

 100 to 150 bushels per acre, but unlike the other cereals, 

 except buckwheat, it will grow well on soil however poor. 



