The Cereals. 



55 



Italian Millet. 

 Setaria italica, Beauv. 



Synonyms — Panicum italicum (L.) ; Pennisetum italicum (Brown). 



Hind. — Kangni, Tangan, Kayuni, Kungu, Rawla. Beng. — Kakun. Sinhalese — 



Tana-hal. Tamil — Tinai. 

 Sanskrit— )Lix\%\i,, Priyangu. 



2>/.— Kora. 



This annual grass has a cylindrical panicle, at length nodding 

 at the summit. It is frequently grown as an intermediate or 

 subordinate crop ; in some districts it is sown in April and 

 May, and cut in June and July; in others it is sown from June 

 to September, and reaped from September to January. It is 

 largely used as human food in Patna, Saran, Bhdgulpur, Dinajpur, 

 and Purniah ; in some parts of Purniah it is extensively grown. 

 Italian millet requires good land and is greatly benefited by manure. 



Composition of Italian Millet (Husked). 



The nutrient-ratio is here i : 7-4, the nutrient-value 91. 



Italian millet is generally regarded as nutritious and digestible, 

 but in some places it is considered to be rather heating. Some- 

 times it is boiled and eaten either alone or with the addition 

 of milk and sugar (forming the preparation called "sir"). 

 Sometimes it is parched. The percentage of flesh-forming 

 matter in this grain seems to vary a good deal — from 9 to 13. 

 The fibre in the unhusked grain may be as high as 8 per cent. 



A species of Cenchrus (C eckinaius, L.), a genus allied to 

 Setaria and Pennisetum, is not uncommon on the more arid 

 parts of the Punjab plains. The grain is used for food in times 

 of scarcity. Mr. Duthie remarks that Cenchrus catharticus 

 (Del.) furnishes a grain used for food by the poor, who mix 

 it with bdjra. 



