78ft 



improbable that it occurs there, and together with the more 



techuicus. ^ . . 



them. 



An annual; culms up to 14 ft. high; cultivated in the 

 countries above mentioned for the grain. 



Sorghum bicolor, Moench, I.e. var. technicus, Stapf. 



An annual; stems 10-15 ft. high— standard variety; 3-6 ft. 



high— dwarf variety (Ball); 8-10 ft. (Heuze); dry, pithy, 



yellow (when ripe), ^f in. thick at from 4-6 in. from the top 



of the short rachis — from which the slender brush fibres 



or seed heads (50 or so) arise compactly to a length of from 



12-18 in. (specimen of "Florence Whisk" in Mus. Kew), 



10-28 in. (Ball), 8-10 in. (Heuze); nodding shghtly in the 



growing plant. Leaves and young plant resembhng " Corn " 



{Zea Mays). Seeds about the size of ordinary." Guinea Corn," 



reddish brown (in specimen seen), yellowish, reddish or blackish 

 (Heuze). 



/«.— Heuze, PI. Industr. i. p. 294, f. 43 (Sorgo a balais) ; 

 Bailey, Cycl. American Agric. ii. f. 309 (" Standard " or tall 

 broom-corn), f. 809 (seed-head or brush); Hartley, Farmers' 

 BuU. 174, 1903, p. 12, f. 2; Queensland Agric. Journ. xx\a. May 

 1911, p. 235, f. 5 ("White Indian" variety); Montgomery, 

 Corn Crops, p. 332, f. 115, p. 335, f. 116; Journ. Roy. Soc. Arts, 

 Ixi. 1913, p. 348 (Photomicrog., x, 45—" Broom-Corn Stalk "). 



Broom-Corn, Venetian Whisk, Florence Whisk. 



Tunis, Queensland 



We 



in Nyasaland. 



The heads are used chiefly for brush- or whisk-making, and 

 the seed when allowed to develop may be used for feeding 

 poultry & stock ; the best material for brushes being cut before 

 the seed is fully formed. To obtain seed for so\\dng it is 

 advisable to set apart a special plot from which to collect it 

 when mature. The plant has httle value for forage. The 

 cultivation is much the same as for anj^ other annual Sorghum, 

 greater care, however, being necessary to space the plants 

 regularly and to grow the crop uniformly. Seed is sown at 

 the rate of 2 quarts to an acre, germinating 95 per cent. (Hartley, 

 I.e. p. 13), or from 6-8 lb. per acre in rows 3-3| ft. apart, and the 

 young plants tliinned out to 3 or 4 inches apart (West Indian 

 Bull. vii. 1906, p. 222); drilled in rows 3 ft, apart for dwarf 

 varieties (4-6 ft.) 3| ft. apart for standard varieties (12-15 ft.), 

 the same methods of .treatment as for Indian corn being recom- 

 mended. Harvesting is advised when the plant is just past 

 full bloom, and while quite green; the brush is said to lose 

 colour and to become brittle if allowed to ripen, the selling price 

 for such being less than one-half that of high-grade stock, the 

 10-20 bushels of seed per acre that may be secured by the delay 

 in cutting does not seem to be sufficient to compensate for the 

 loss in quahty of the brush. Standard broom-corn is first 



