796 



■ 



(Pterocarpus santdlinus) and ' Barwood ' {Pterocarpus Soyauxii), 



same 



' Santalin ' or ' Santalic acid ' (Bull. Imp. Inst. vi. 1908 



" Materials used in the Preparation of West African Leather " 

 p. 180). , 



An annual plant, with strong, tall stems. 



Sorghum halepense, Pers. Syn. 



[Andropogon halepensis, Bret. 



vu 



nsis, Bret. Fl. Lusit. i. p. 89; Hooker, 

 }.] A perennial grass, 3-15 ft. high, with 

 creeping stoloniferous roots. Leaves 8-18 in. long, or more, 

 up to 3 in. broad, narrowed to the rounded base, flat or waved. 

 Panicle, 6 in.-2 ft., very variable in form and amount of rami- 



with 



or drooping w 

 1-3. rarelv 5-7 



Spikes of 



Vernac. names. — Baru, Braham, Bikhonda etc. (India, Watt). 

 Johnson Grass, Aleppo Grass, Evergreen Millet, Means Grass 

 (S. Carolina), False Guinea Grass, Cuba Grass, Morocco Millet, 

 Syrian Grass, etc. {see, U.S.Dept. Agric. Bur. PI. Ind. Bull! 

 No. 11, 1902, seq.) 



Native of Western Asia ; found in India, Burma, Ceylon and 

 the Mediterranean region; naturahzed in the hotter parts of 

 the United States 



Seeds eaten by tne poorer classes in India, where the grass is 

 also considered a good fodder both for grazing and for hay (Diet. 

 Econ. Prod. India) a ad similarly in the United States, where in 

 the south it is said to probably produce more hay than any other 

 perennial grass, excepting perhaps " Bermuda Grass " {Cynodon 

 Dactylon). The rootstocks are also readily eaten by farm 

 animals, especially hogs, and in Texas, fields are sometimes 

 ploughed up in winter for feed (Piper, Forage PI. p. 244). 



The plant spreads so freely when once estabhshed that it 

 may soon become more or less of a pest under circumstances in 

 which there is no use for it ; wherever cotton succeeds it will 

 thrive, and it is well adapted to gro^^ing with " cow peas " 

 {Vigna Catiang), producing on rich black soils, sometimes 

 three cuttings averaging l|-2 tons at each cutting (I.e.). 



In common with other species of the genus it may require 

 some care when fed green, it is regarded as injurious to animals 

 if eaten too young or stunted by drought (Watt, I.e.), and cases 

 of poisoning cattle have occurred in Montana and CaKfornia; 

 but there are no cases of poisoning reported from the Southern 

 United States, where the grass is most abundant (Piper, I.e.). 



There is no record of this grass in Nigeria; and it may be 

 open to question whether, if not already arrived there from 

 North Africa— where Trabut states (Le Progres Agric, xxiii. 

 March 5th, 1916, p. 235; Bull. Bur. Agric. Inst. Rome, May 

 1916, p. 682) " Aleppo Sorghum has spreading rhizomes which 

 forms a coirs? dry grass much disliked by cultivators " — and • 



the Mediterranean region, it is advisable to admit it; but it is 



