342 



TEFF. 



that is about the end of June or beginning of July, and is ripe in 

 September. It is much cultivated in the higher lands on the coast 

 of Coromandel. The soil it likes is one that is loose and rich ; in 

 such it yields upwards of a hundred-fold ; the same ground will yield 

 a second crop of this or some other sort of dry grain during October, 

 November, December, and January. 



The stalk is almost useless as fodder when dry, but cattle are some- 

 times fed with it when green. The seeds are rather heating, and are 

 used in cold weather mostly as flour. In Africa a kind of beer is said 

 to be made from the malted grain. 



The per-centage composition of the grain is : 



Water 11-80 



Nitrogenous substances 10-13 



Fat 4-63 



Water ,. .. 71-75 



Eaggt, or Raggee (Eleusine corocana). — This grain is of high 

 importance to the poor of India, from its hardiness and from the 

 abundant return it gives. It will grow on almost any soil, but the 

 yield will be proportioned to the quality of the soil and to the atten- 

 tion bestowed on the cultivation. The seeds are usually ground into 

 flour by the hand-mill, this being chiefly a bread-grain. In the south 

 it is very largely cultivated, and extends north over the Punjaub plains 

 to the Himalaya, where it is frequently found as far west as the 

 Chenab up to 6000 and 7000 feet. This grain is the chief article of 

 food amongst the labouring classes in Mysore and other parts of 

 Southern India. It is usually stored in pits, and will keep good in 

 them for many years. Eleusine stricta is said to be the most cultivated 

 species of the two, as it is found to be the most productive. 



KoDA Millet {Paspalum scrohiculatum, Lin.). — This is a common 

 and cheap grain, grown to some extent in most parts of India. It 

 delights in a dry and loose soil. The seed is an article of diet with 

 the Hindoos, particularly with those who inhabit the mountains and 

 most barren parts of the country, for it is in such districts it is chiefly 

 cultivated, being an unprofitable crop, and not sown where others 

 more beneficial will thrive. 



Another undescribed species, believed to be P. exale, is grown 

 in Sierra Leone, and other places on the West African coast, where it 

 is known under the names of hungry rice and fundungi. 



Teff (Poa Ahyssinica, Jacq. ; Eragrostis Ahyssinica, Link.). — There 

 are several varieties of this millet; though the seed is small it is 

 abundant, and much used by the natives of Soudan; it forms the 

 bread-corn of Abyssinia. 



