390 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



the grain-sorghums are extensively grown as staple crops 

 and are gradually becoming the basis of a great cattle- 

 feeding industry. 



485. Groups of non-saccharine sorghums. — The non- 

 saccharine sorghums in the United States are usually 

 divided into five groups as follows: Kafir, durra, shallu, 

 kowliang, and the broom-corns. 



486. Kafir. — The kafirs came originally from Natal 

 and the east central coast region of Africa. The seed of 

 two varieties of kafir were exhibited by ihe Natal Govern- 

 ment at the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 

 1876. From these small 'quantities of seed the kafir in- 

 dustry in this country has sprung. 



The kafir group in the United States includes three 

 varieties. These are White Kafir, Blackhull Kafir, and 

 Red Kafir (Fig. 66). These varieties differ principally in 

 the color of the seed and hulls. In all varieties the heads 

 are erect. Red Kafir usually grows 6 to 7 feet high, while 

 the white and black hull varieties seldom grow higher than 

 6 feet. Red Kafir is an excellent yielder of both fodder and 

 grain but the seed-coat has an astringent taste which ren- 

 ders it somewhat less desirable as a stock food than the 

 grain of White or Blackhull Kafir. White Kafir is little 

 grown in the United States at the present time because it 

 does not mature well, and the heads, not being well ex- 

 serted from the leaf-sheath, rot easily in damp weather. 

 Blackhull Kafir is by far the most popular variety, fur- 

 nishing about nine-tenths of the total kafir crop in this 

 coimtry. Nearly all of the remaining tenth is Red Kafir. 



487. Durra (Fig. 67) — The three important varieties 

 of this group are Yellow milo. Brown durra and White 

 durra. The last named variety is often called "Jerusalem 

 corn," "Rice corn" or "Egyptian corn." Another variety 



