31 



a bare list of seeds, without any descriptive account, and I had 

 no means of calling the attention of the farmers to the potential 

 value of this grass. At that time the Experiment Station lacked 

 a well-organized system of co-operative experiments ; though seeds 

 were distributed for experimental purposes, for a, modest sum to 

 defray expenses, and reports on them were received and published, 

 there was no means of regular personal inspection and report by a 

 competent experimentalist attached to the Station Staff, able to 

 explain the causes of failures and to suggest alterations in methods 

 of treatment which might lead to success. 



SECOND INTRODUCTION INTO SOUTH AFRICA. 



When I accepted the position of Government Agrostologist and 

 Botanist in the Transvaai Department of Agriculture, in 1903, I 

 brought with me seeds of the most successful grasses which I had 

 grown a,t the State Agricultural Experiment Station at Berkley, 

 California, including Teff and New Zealand tall fescue (Festttca 

 ■arundinacea). In the Manuscript of a Report on crops suitable for 

 the Transvaal, prepared by me in 1903 but unpublished, I find Teff 

 included with the following comment: — "9. — Teff (Eragrostis 

 nhyssiniea Link). A slender, leafy annual grass, 2 to 4 feet high. . . . 

 It matures early and may be of some value for hay in the Trans- 

 vaal. It seeds profusely and seed should be easily and cheaply 

 "harvested." 



From the first, Teff proved a success ; in my first Annual Report 

 to the Director of Agriculture, dated 28th October, 1904, I 

 wrote (11) : — 



" Teff (Eragrostis ahyssinica) is an annual grass of Abyssinia, 

 leafy and fine in quality, and 2 to 4 feet high, seeding heavily ; it 

 makes very rapid growth, maturing in seven or eight weeks from 

 time of sowing, and if cut before the seed develops, a second crop 

 can be obtained from the same stand ; it makes an excellent catch- 

 crop for hay, two successive cuttings being obtainable during the 

 summer on unirrigated land. The plants seed heavily, our yield 

 of seed from a small plot having been at the rate of about three- 

 quarters of a ton (1,500 lbs.) per acre ; the seedlings are not readily 

 scorched by the intense heat of summer, which is a most important 

 point in this climate ; its adaptability to our conditions is shown 

 by the way in which ' volunteer ' seedlings came up all over our 

 ' experiment grounds ' under the most adverse conditions. Stock 

 eat this grass readily, both green and when made into hay. Teff 



is a most promising plant for further experiment Seed is 



now offered by French dealers at about 3s. 2d. per lb. ; it weighs 

 about 63 lb. per bushel." 



Seed harvested from this crop was distributed among selected 

 farmers in different districts of the Transvaal for trial under 

 ordinary farm conditions and to test its adaptability to different 

 parts of the country. My system was to issue the seed free of aU 

 cost to the farmer, who signed a written undertaking to return to 

 me from his crop twice the amount of seed supplied. In the case 

 of failure of his crop this condition was not enforced. The majority 

 of bona fide farmers loyally carried out their agreement, and where 

 they desired to retain all the seed for further experiment, they 

 often offered to pay cash for it. 



In my Annual Report to the Director of Agriculture for the 

 year 1904-05 (12), I wrote : — " Mr. V. L. Robertson, of Amersfoort, 

 reports : ' In this grass [Teff] I think we have struck the desired 



