21 



" They call it ' cowree,' and say it is the same as their 

 " Indian millet. I do not know whether any of the 

 " farmers have tried it in the upper districts of the Colony 

 " — none have done so about here that I am aware of. My 

 " coolie gardener procured the seed for me from some of 

 " his friends near Pinetown, and was a very small 

 " quantity. It was planted on about an eighth of an 

 " acre of land, and produced nearly five muid sacks of 

 "seed and about a ton of straw. The stubble when 

 " ploughed in will make excellent manure to invigorate 

 " the soil. As a feed for winter chickens 1 find it 

 " cannot be beaten, and to those who want to go in 

 "for poultry farming it is invaluable. It should be 

 " planted about October for seed, and for fodder or 

 " green feed for cattle in winter somewhat later. It 

 "must not be allowed to get too ripe before reaping. The 

 " Indians say they put it in heaps in India and muzzle two 

 " oxen which are worked around to tread the heads and 

 "the seed drops out. I performed the operation in a more 

 " simple way by making my Indian walk on it. He him- 

 " self suggested this process, as I knew little or nothing 

 " about it. After it is reaped it must be allowed to dry 

 " for about a week, and the seed then drops out when 

 " touched. 



"If any of your readers would like to try and grow 

 " some I can supply them with seed in 10 or 25 lb. bags. 

 "You might insert this letter in the 'Journal' if you 

 " consider it of sufficient interest or of any value to the 

 " farming community." 



Baron Mueller says that " horses prefer the hay to any 

 other dry fodder in India," and also that " E. indica, Gaertn. 

 only differs as a variety." E. indica is very common in Natal, 

 usually near farm houses and cultivated ground, but I have not 

 noticed that cattle are partial to it. It bears grain in 

 abundance and probably, when in seed, cattle take the seed 

 only, as I have observed they do with Eragrostis curvula, Nees. 

 in the upper parts of the Colony, where it is known, as 1 was 

 told by a farmer, as " seed grass." This grass is also figured 

 in " Natal Plants," Plate 439. 



Coleus sp. " Izambane." I also received from Mr. Gordon 

 a few tubers of this plant, which the Natives cultivate for 

 food. It will be noticed that the Native name is the same as 

 the one used for the common potato. This plant has always 

 been known by this name, which was afterwards applied to the 

 potato when it was introduced by Europeans. The tubers were 

 planted and yielded a large crop of small tubers, with a few of 

 about 2 inches in diameter. I had a couple of them cooked 



