55 

 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CLUB 



M?:KTiNCi OF Fi':muiAKV 2H, 1923 



The meeting was hclfl at (he Museum of the New York Botani- 

 cal Garden. 



The budget, committee, under the chairmanship of Dr. 

 Barnhart, offered estimates for the year 1923. 



The report of the budget committee was accepted and adopted. 

 The resignation of Miss Hester M. Rusk as bibhographer was 

 accepted with regret. 



The first paper on the scientific program was by Dr. George 

 M.Read on"Sorghum Smuts and their Relations to Sorghums." 

 An abstract follows: 



The sorghums are a group of important agronomic plants 

 especially well adapted to the Great Plains area, including 

 western Kansas, western Oklahoma, northwestern Texas, 

 eastern New Mexico and eastern Colorado. They are annuals, 

 belonging to the species Holcus Sorghum L., the wild types of 

 which are natives of central and southern Africa. A closely 

 related species is Holcus halepense L., or Johnson grass, which 

 is perennial, and a native of southern Europe, western Asia 

 and northern Africa. 



The sorghums have been introduced into the United States 

 from various parts of the world. The majority of them, however, 

 including such groups as the Durra, Feterita, Milo, Kafir and 

 most of the Sorgos, have come from: Africa. The Kaoliangs 

 have been introduced from northern China, in some sections 

 of which they constitute a very important group of cultivated 

 plants. 



All the sorghums readily cross with one another and this in 

 part accounts for the great diversity of the group as a whole. 

 They are conveniently classified as follows: 



1. Grass Sorghums, as Sudan Grass and Tunis Grass. 



2. Broom Corn, grown extensively for the manufacture of 

 brooms. 



3. Grain Sorghums, including the diverse groups of Durra, 

 Feterita, Milo, Kaoliang, Kafir and Shallu. 



4. Sorgos, or sweet sorghums, grown mainly as forage crops 

 and, to a less extent, for the production of sorghum syrup. 



