390 TransactioTis,— -Botany. 



grows from 2 to 3 feet higb, and will grow on lands that other grasses 

 cannot thrive upon. 



Avena elatior. — This grass grows through the spring and autumn most 

 strongly ; and as stock appear to select it in preference to rye, and as, 

 upon analysis, it is found to contain a fair proportion of easily assimilable 

 elements, it should be sown in mixed pastures. It may be sown both in 

 the northern and southern districts ; provided the soil is not too dry, it will 

 succeed as a good useful grass. 



Melilotus leucantha, or Bokhara clover, is a hardy biennial, growing 

 8 feet high, and yielding an enormous quantity of herbage for hay or fodder. 

 All stock eat it readily ; but it should not be sown too thinly, as it then 

 grows much higher and the stalks become woody, and the stock do not 

 relish it so much. As it is only a biennial, it is best for alternate husbandry. 



Symphytum as2Jerrmium, the prickly comfrey, still continues to grow and 

 yields plenty of leaves from the roots before described. All kinds of stock 

 like, and thrive upon it. 



Sorghum vulgare is a splendid grass, which, under different local names 

 and in different varieties, is now engaging a very large amount of attention. 

 As I have obtained and grown these several varieties of Son/hum, and tested 

 their powers and merits, I will give the result of my experience : — Prom 

 California, Egypt, India, Southern Europe, and elsewhere, I obtained seeds 

 of these Sorghums, and found that those obtained from warmer climates 

 than this were delicate at first, and took some trouble to get them to perfect 

 their seed, but that, by the second or third sowing, the acclimatization had 

 so far progressed that the germination commenced in the open ground the 

 first warm weather in October, and continued to grow during the summer, 

 and perfected seed during autumn, in some varieties giving two crops of 

 seed, the first heads being gathered as soon as ripe, and the second then 

 ripening faster. The varieties that seem to do best in this climate are 

 hereafter described by the local names that they are generally known by 

 in other countries. 



The Eg^jptian Corn is a brown-seeded Sorghum, now much cultivated, 

 with heads drooping downwards, and that grows very rapidly, producing 

 an immense quantity of succulent stems and foliage that makes an excellent 

 food for animals, which, cut green, will yield many tons of fodder to the acre, 

 and will, if allowed to ripen its seed, yield a larger weight of corn than most 

 other plants to the acre, having in several instances given over lOlbs. to 

 each plant, or 100 bushels of cleaned grain nett per acre. This grain is 

 eaten by animals, and in Egypt and India by men, cooked and eaten in 

 various ways. 



The Dwrra, or Doiira, is a white-seeded Sorghum, whose seed-heads droop 

 downwards, which is rather less hardy than the brown-seeded variety, but 



