FORESTRY OF WEST AFRICA. 455 



spikes of this plant are used in medicine at Bembi. — 

 Kew Museum. 



Indian Millet or Guinea Corn, Dawa of Nupe, &c. 

 {Sorgkum vulgare, Pers.). — A tall handsome grass, 

 bearing numerous small corn grains which are very- 

 valuable as food. In the Nupe country Dawa is 

 sown in April, and the crop ripens about Christmas, 

 and forms a considerable part of the food of the 

 natives. The sheathing leaves often assume a purple 

 tint, and are then employed by the natives as a 

 crimson dye for mats, nets, and cotton fabrics. 

 Baskets, brushes, &c. are made of the spikelets, and 

 brushes are made of the roots. In India the dry 

 stalks and leaves are chopped up into small pieces, 

 and used as fodder. — ' Field and Garden Crops of 

 India,' Duthie and Fuller, part i., p. 25. — Kew 

 Museum. 



Distribution : Generally cultivated in Guinea. 



Johnson Grass {Sorghum halepense, Pers.). — Peren- 

 nial. This grass is being introduced on the low wet 

 prairie lands of Texas, and the reports are quite 

 favourable. It is essentially a hay grass, and may be 

 cut three or four times a year. It should always be 

 cut before the seed stalks run up, else it will be too 

 coarse. It is also said to make a good pasture grass. 

 — 'Department of Agriculture Report,' 1881 and 1882, 

 Washington, p. 239, &c. 



Distribution : Upper Guinea. 



