sell seed to one another, and for several years the demand for seed 

 always exceeded the supply. In the year 1911 I had offers of seed 

 totalling 50 tons weight — grown from the half pound of seed 

 brought from California. 



DESCRIPTION. 



^JTeE {Eragrostis abyssinica) is an annual grass, characterised by its 

 leafiness and fineness of stem, heavy seeding capacity, rapid growth, 

 early"lnaturity,~ai)ariTi~'fesistance to drought and heat. It grows 2J 

 to 4 ft. high, branches freely from the base, produces abundance of 

 seed-heads and a heavy crop of very small, hard grain, which, in 

 the variety cultivated here, is dark brown in colour. When cut 

 above the ground, the teff-plant throws out fresh branches from the 

 base of the cut stems ; in this way second and third crops of hay 

 can be obtained in favourable seasons. It is one of the guickest- 

 growing crops known, being ready to cut~lf6r hay in six to eight 

 weeks from sowing, and ripening seed in eight to twelve weeks. 



DROUGHT-EESISTANCE. 



Though the seedlings are so fine in texture as to appear deli- 

 cate, they are not readily scorched by the hot summer sun, which 

 is an important point in this climate. The plant is sensitive to 

 frost, but as it " cures on the root " (in cowboy parlance), this 

 is not a serious drawback. 



As a farm crop, Teff is drought-resistant, though some farmers 

 claim that this is not the case. Drought-resistance is a relative 

 quality, andas__compa.red with most of our crops, Teff is extra- 

 ordinarily <1jfiu gE£rggistfiat. Reports from the Bloemfontein dis- 

 trict state that a crop of Teff hay has been grown on a four-inch 

 rainfall. Mr. J. J. van Rensburg, Leeuwdoorns, reported that 

 after sowing Teff, on December 5th, 1910, followed by a heavy rain 

 next day, the crop had no more rain till March 8th, yet a good crop 

 was harvested on April 29th. 



Reports of Australian experiments stated that one of the chief 

 merits of Teff was " its suitability to thrive in dry, sandy regions 

 where few other grasses would flourish equally well." (10.) 



USES. 



In its native country Teff is cultivated as a cereal crop for 

 bread, and for the preparation of a kind of beer. In South Africa 

 it is grown chiefly as a hay-crop ; but also for pasturage, green- 

 manuring, silage, and as a " smother crop " for cleaning land foul 

 with weeds. 



The chief vajiip of Teff-hajy lies in its palatabilit y. hijgh nutritive 

 valufiL, narrow albuminoid ratio (for a grass hay), heavy yiel37 rapi3 

 growth, droiight-resistance. and ability to sm otlieF_weeds. Our 

 experience~wilh Teff in the Transvaal is that if sown in October 

 (provided we have moderately good rains to establish the braird) 

 we can obtain a cutting of about a ton of hay per acre by the 

 beginning of the new year ; at this time we often have ten days 

 to two or three weeks free from rain, which allows farmers to 

 harvest the crop nicely. Our steady rains usually begin about the 

 middle of January ; these induce the Teff to start fresh growth, 



