18 



as the Wild Gooseberry (Physalis minima) will come up among the 

 Teff, and start to flower and seed in a last effort to propagate the 

 species ; but if the first cutting of Teff hay is taken early, the weeds 

 will be cut off with it, the second crop of hay will be practically 

 free from weeds and the ground will be left clean for the following 

 crop. 



Some farmers say they are not troubled with weeds, but only 

 with grass. The word " weeds " includes grass, for a weed is " any 

 plant growing in a place where it is not wanted." 



To smother weeds by means of Teff, therefore, we must (a) 

 sow behind the harrow, or harrow-in the seed ; (b) sow thickly and 

 evenly. By ■' thick " sowing we mean about ten pounds of seed 

 per acre or 21 lbs. per morgen. Some farmers recommend only 

 5 lbs., but that is not quite enough to make a good job of it. 



" Teff actually chokes black-jacks, pigweed, and other noxious 

 growths, and those that struggle through as a result of patchy 

 sowing, being of slower development are usually cut before the 

 weed seeds ripen, and, as Teff is a heavier stooler after cutting, the 

 second growth obliterates them completely." (19.) 



PART !!.— CULTIVATION AND HANDLING. 



EEGIONAL DISTRIBUTION. 



Teff matures so rapidly that it can be grown successfully both 

 as a main crop and as a catch crop, on the High Veld. It is also 

 well suited to the Bush-veld districts, where the rains are light, 

 and fall intermittently or commence latie in the season. It is 

 not so well suited to regions of heavy or continuous rainfall, and 

 it is there more dfficult to harvest the crop. Being sensitive to 

 frost it is purely a summer crop, and is therefore best suited to 

 regions of summer rainfall. Being accustomed to heat, it can be 

 ■grown in the warmer parts of South Africa. It is essentially a 

 dry-land crcip, and is not grown under irrigation ; it is scarcely 

 likely that it would pay to grow Teff on land suitable for Lucerne. 



The chief centre of production, at present, is the High Veld 

 of the Transvaal, the north-eastern part of the Orange Free State, 

 and the uplands of Natal, especially around Mooi River. 



The short season and low rainfall required to produce a crop 

 of Teff, and the low cost of production, make it suited to a much 

 more extended area than it at present occupies. I see no reason 

 why it should not be grown extensively in the Eastern Province, 

 the Karroo. Bechuanaland, and the Bush-veld of the Transvaal. In 

 the maize belt of Natal, also. Teff should prove uspful for feeding 

 to cattle after the maize stalks and stover are finished. On the 

 large cattle ranches of Rhodesia, Teff should b° most useful to 

 supplement the natural veld during winter droughts. 



Teff is also worth trial in the Western Province, to be sown 

 mth the last paiils of Spring. 



The fact that Teff furnishes useful grazing after it has been 

 Jrosted, also greatly extends the area of its possible cultivation 



SOILS. 



Red, sandy loams of a porous nature give excellent crops I 

 have also grown Teff on grey, clayey soils, and on black " tui-f," 

 but on the latter type of soil there is danger of the crop becoming 



