826 



May be propagated by seeds or by division of the roots 

 5-8 lb. of seed per acre (Agric, Gaz. N.S. Wales, 1897 : Kew 

 Bull. 1902, p. 3)— or at least, 10-12 lb. of good hand-shaken 

 seed are required per acre which may He in the ground some 

 considerable time before germinating (Breakwell, Agric. Gaz. 

 N.S. Wales, Sept. 2nd, 1919, p. 632), or roots planted 4^5 ft. 

 apart ; and other suitable grass or leguminous fodders are some- 

 times grown as a mixture for permanent pastures. The plant 

 thrives best in rich moist land, soils of volcanic origin and black 

 alluvial soils, but it is also said to succeed on sandy or com- 

 paratively poorer soils with a good rainfall in all cases and when 

 once established, being a deep-rooted plant, it stands drought 

 more or less ; but in this respect it is considered not so good as 

 *' Rhodes Grass " {Chloris Gayana) (Breakwell, I.e. p. 634), and 

 again it has been stated that in a dry time, when perennial 



rye, prairie, and " cocksfoot " were dried up, one cow to 



the acre run in a paddock of " Paspalum " has kept in good 



condition and given a fair quantity of milk (Heron, Transvaal 



Agric._ Journ. April 1903, p. 40). It is advisable to encourage 



shedding of seed until growth is established, and under favourable 



conditions the seed germinates in from 18-21 days. In good 



soil and when well estabhshed it has been found (Richmond 



River, N.S. Wales) that three crops may be obtained per annum, 



giving 14 tons at the first cutting, 8-10 tons the second and 



6-7 tons the third or a total of 28-31 tons per acre. The yield 



of grass for one crop (Queensland) was 10-5 tons per acre and of 



hay (air-dried grass), 2-8 tons per acre (Kew Bull. 1902, p. 3). 



Cutting should be done before flowering, it is reported that 



Paspalum is not appreciated by stock at the flowering stage 



(Breakwell, I.e. p. 632). A plot of this grass was found to grow 



well on the Gold Coast at Tamale (Saunders, Rep. Agric. Dept. 



Gold Coast 1911 (for 1910) p. 38), and it has been recommended 



for growing amongst Rubber (Hevea) trees as a cover crop and 



for feeding cattle (India Rubber World, April 1st, 1914, p. 347). 



Hef. — Paspalum dilafatum : A New Fodder Grass for India, 

 Watt, in Agric. Ledger (Calcutta) No. 1, 1901, pp. 1-9. 



Paspalum dilatatum : An American Fodder Grass," Kew 

 Bull. 1902, pp. 1-4; reprinted as No. 27, April 1907, Dept. of 

 Agric. Nairobi. " Large Water Grass (Breedzaad) : Pas- 

 palum dilatatum," Heron, in Transvaal Agric. Journ. i. April 



1903, pp. 40-41. "Paspalum Grass," Harrison, in Journ. 



Agric. W. AustraHa, xiv. Aug. 1906, pp. 126-129 and in Natal 



Agric. Journ. x. March 1907, pp. 227-230. " Paspalum 



dilatatum. Golden Crown Grass," Journ. Agric. S. AustraKa x 

 Feb. 1st, 1907, p. 4.U.—-'' Paspalum dilatatum" (" De la 

 Necessite d'ameliorer leg Paturages Naturels et le Botail du 

 Congo"), Leplae, in Bull. Agric. Congo Beige, v. Dec. 1914, 

 p. 665.— — " Paspalum dilatatum " {" The Paspalum Grasses "),' 

 Breakwell, in Agric. Gaz. N.S. Wales, xxx. Sept. 2nd 1919* 

 pp. 632-634. . ' 



