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In the Malay peninsula, and especially near Singapore, the grass is 

 cultivated on the largest scale, and used, besides for the production 

 of oil, chiefly for cookery purposes. 



The grass blossoms very rarely, and for this reason has been very 

 little or not at all observed by botanists; this explains why, in spite 

 of its wide distribution, it has not yet been sufficiently identified 

 botanically. 



The oil obtained from it differs from the Malabar lemongrass oil 

 specially by its lower solubility in alcohol and the frequently lower 

 citral-content, for which reason it is usually less valuable than the 

 Malabar oil. 



8. Cymbopogon Martini Stapf (Syn. C. Martinianus Schult, Andro- 

 pogon Martini Roxb., A. pachnodes Trin., A. Calamus aromaticus Royle, 

 A. nardoides, a, Nees, A. Schoenanthus Fliick. et Hanb., non L., A. Schoe- 

 nanthus var. genuinus Hack., A. Schoenanthus var. Martini Hook, f.), 

 Rusa grass, geranium grass. The vernacular name "rusa" which 

 is largely used for this grass is probably derived from the brown-red 

 coloration of the panicles in autumn. 



Rusa grass is found from the Rajmahal mountains (on the bend 

 of the Ganges) to the Afghan frontier, and from the sub-tropical zone 

 of the Himalayas to the twelfth degree latitude, with the exception 

 of the desert and the steppe region of the Punjab, the external slopes 

 of the Westghat, and apparently a large part of Northern Karnatik. 



According to Forsyth the grass commences to bud towards 

 the end of August, and then blossoms until the end of October. 

 During this time, namely at the commencement of the blossoming- 

 period, the destination must be carried out, as the yield of oil later 

 on diminishes considerably, and moreover its quality becomes quite 

 inferior. The principal places of production of the oil are the follow- 

 ing: Pimpalner, Akrani, Nandurbar, Shahada, and Talada, all in 

 Khandesh; further, the districts of Nagpur, Sagar, Jabalpur, and Karnul, 

 and of Ajmere in Rajputana. If the wide distribution of the grass 

 is taken into consideration, the limited district of oil-production is 

 remarkable. 



A distinction is made between two varieties of the grass: "sofia" 

 and "motia", but it is for the present undecided whether we have 

 here to do with botanical varieties, or only with different conditions 

 of maturity of the same species. How far in this respect opinions 

 differ, is shown by the following lines. According to the Pharmaco- 

 graphia Indica, part III, 558, what is understood under the name 

 "motia" or "motiya" is the young grass of which the inflorescence 

 has a blueish-white colour; the oil obtained from it is the palmarosa 

 oil of commerce. "Sofia", "sofiya", "sonfiya", or "sufia", on the other 

 hand, is the name of the grass in the ripe state, in which it has 



