and the commencement of our spring ; i; is sown at the end of 

 Megabit, in Myazga and Ghembot (March, April and May)." 



Thaf-tseddia is so called " from the name of the commence- 

 ment of the rainy season, which follows that of hagaiz and pre- 

 cedes that of Keremt; it is sown in June and at the commence- 

 ment of July." 



'' Hagaiz and Tseddia cannot be sown indifferently for one 

 another. The experiments which the natives tell me have been 

 made, have not met with much success. The seed of Thaf-hagaiz 

 musi be used for the first sowing, and that of Tseddia for the 

 second." 



Coulbeaux concludes that the superior quality of the grain of 

 Thaf-hagaiz is due to its more vigorous growth from its being 

 two months longer in the ground. But he recognises that they 

 represent two very distinct varieties. 



" These seeds," he adds, " almost equal barley in their growth, 

 and the rapidioy with which Ihey come up. Sown at the end of 

 March or in April and May, they arrive at maturity at the 

 beginning of September. Sown in June or Julv the crop may be 

 reaped in October. 



" The land requires to be prepared and cleaned by three or 

 four ploughings before sowing ; bu!; it is true that the ploughings 

 in Abyssinia are light and not very deep. It is sown thickly 

 on the surface of prepared ground. It is afterwards lightly hoed, 

 if necessary, when it has come up. 



"It is not necessary to wait uniil it is quite dry, like barley, 

 to cut it, for when too ripe and dried, the grain sheds in the wind 

 and at the least shock. It is cut as soon as the green ear turns to 

 grey, in the early morning, and is placed in heaps with the 

 ears inwards, and covered to preserve it from the rain ; it is then 

 left to ripen and undergo a certain amount of fermentation." 



According to Eichard (2) Teff in Abyssinia requires fomu 

 months from the time of sowing till the grain becomes perfectly 

 ripe. In the neighbourhod of Gondar, Teff is sown in August 

 and repeated at the end of November or beginning of December. 

 In good .years it returns about 40 times the seed, and only 20 times 

 in bad years. 



PART III.— HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 



NAMES AND VARIETIES. 



Teff is the name used for this grass by Bruce (1), in his Travels, 

 published in 1790, and, being the earliest published name known to 

 us, should by right of priority be retained. 



The nariies used in modern Abyssinia, according to Coul- 

 beaux (4), are Thaf (in the Tigrina language), or Thief (in the 

 Olmharigna language. 



Other names, or spellings of the .same name, are given by 

 Richard (2), as " Ttheff," " Thaff," and " Tteff." 



Coulbeaux (4) distinguishes two varieties: "White Thaf" and 

 " Red Thaf." " Both are, moreover, of two different qualities, 

 according to the time of sowing, and are in consequence distinguished 

 by the names of the seasons ; ' tha,i-hagaiti' and ' tha,i-tseddia.' . . . 

 Thaf-hagaiz is of slow, and Thaf-tseddia of rapid growth. The 

 difference between them, both in the case of the white or red, is 

 quite perceptible to the naked eye, by the want of plumpness 

 characteristic of the Thaf-tseddia, relatively to the other." 



