THE NON-SACCBARINE SOBGHUMS 



309 



Broom- 

 corn 

 Type 



Pith dry: 



Head loose, 10-28 inclies long; spikelets oval or 

 obovate, small, 2.5-3.5 mm. wide, 

 lemmas awned : 

 Bacliis one-fifth, as long as branches. 



(a) Branches drooping, seeds reddish. XI. 

 Broom-corn. Rachis more than two- 

 thirds as long as head : 

 (6) Branches of panicle drooping ; glumes at 

 maturity spreading and involute ; seeds 

 white to buff (several varieties). 



VIII. ShaUu. 

 (c) Branches spreading but not drooping, 

 glumes at maturity appressed, not in- 

 volute; seeds white, brown, or red. 

 (Several varieties, corresponding to the 

 red, white, and blaekhull varieties of 

 Kafir and Durra. Also standard and 

 dwarf.) IX. Kowhang. 



Head compact, erect or pendent, spikelets oval or 

 obovate, small, lemmas awned : 

 Rachis two-thirds as long as head. X. Kowhang. 



237. Kafir. — • The three principal varieties of kafir are 

 red, white, and blaekhull. The heads are erect, in con- 

 trast to the durra group, in which the heads are mostly 

 recurved, or " goosenecked." The white and blaekhull 

 varieties both grow about 5 to 6 feet high, while the red 

 is 8 to 12 inches taller. The white and red varieties were 

 first introduced. The white variety, however, was not 

 satisfactory because of its not maturing well, and the 

 head was not always exerted from the leaf sheath, thus 

 inducing rot in damp weather. The red variety matured 

 properly and soon became more popular. 



The objection to Red Kafir was the astringent taste of 

 the seed coat^ common to all kafirs with a colored seed 

 coat. The blaekhull, a white-seeded variety, appears to 



