762 



of cultivation. One peck of tubers is required to plant an acre, 

 and it is advisable to soak them a few days before planting. 

 The yield is variable— G992 lb. to the acre; 172 bushels green 

 or 115-24 bush, dry and an average of 22-8 bushels per acre 

 being given— one bushel weighs 44 lb. (Piper, Forage PI. p. 596). 

 It is more or less of a weed in many countries, and it is difficult 

 to eradicate when once estabhshed. 



Bef.—" The Chufa or Earth Almond," Pharm Journ. [3] vi. 



1876, p. 748. " Chufa : Value as a Duck Pood," McAtee, 



U.S. Dept. Agric. Bull. No. 465, 1917, " Propagation of WM 

 Duck Foods," pp. 28-31. 



Cyperus exaltatus, Betz.; Fl. Trop. Afr. VIII. p. 370, and 



var. dives, C\ B. Clarke, I.e. {Cyperus dives, DeHle, FL Egypte, 

 p. 5). 



/«.— Delile, Fl. Egypte, t. 4, f. 3 {G. dives). 



Yemac. names.— Karan masallachin Kogi : gwaigwaya (Hausa, 

 Dalziel). 



Katagum, Abinsi, Lagos in Nigeria and recorded from 

 Kordofan and B.E. Africa. Abundant in S.E. Asia and Australia 

 and also found in the Mascarene Islands, Mexico and Brazil 

 (Fl. Trop. Afr. I.e.). Clarke (I.e.) gives the var. dives as widely 

 distributed in Tropical Africa, also in Egypt, Syria, Madagascar 

 and India, but adds that it cannot be distinctly separated from 

 the species {exaltatus) itself, therefore neither can its area of 

 distribution. The economic appHcation may also be regarded 

 as one in which might be included Cyperus alopecuroides , Rottb. 



Used for maldng mats, India (Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. India). 

 The var. djyesJ^.B. Clarke (C. dives Del.) and Juncellus alopecu- 



ire stated bv Delile 



m 



V together in Egjrpt 

 ; the native name oi 

 Muschler, Fl. Egypt; 



mentioned 



anu in maiang tne reea mats employed for so many purposes 



in Egypt and elsewhere, the reeds are split and woven over 



string, and it is estimated that one qantar [100 Rottoli 



98-046 lb.] of reeds is sufficient for about 25 square metres o\ 

 m atting. 



^ Two samples of stems under the name of Cyperus alopecic 

 roides, from Egypt, were examined at the Imperial Institute for 

 paper-making ; they gave " a fair peld of pulp of moderate 

 quality, but the presence of a considerable amount of pith may 

 interfere with their utiHsation"; it was further reported tha 

 " it is unlikely that these stems could be remuneratively exported 



4- 



utili 



for this purpose." (Bull. Imp. Inst. 1919, p. 152). 



These 



in pools or standing fresh water. " Samar " in Egypt is grown 

 for reclamation purposes. The cultivation is regarded as simple — 

 somewhat after the same methods as for rice; but unhke this 

 the water is never drained off — the ground is prepared by 



