14 



POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



Guinea Coen^ Darra^ Durra^ or Turkish Millet, called 

 in India Joar, — Tlie seed of Andropogon Sorghum. (Nat, 

 Ord. Graminacecc.) 



A roundisli grain, in shape not nnlike the maize, but not 

 of greater bulk than a small grain of wheat ; its colour is a 

 yellowish- white, in some varieties marked with a black spot. 

 It is borne in loose tufts or panicles, several grains being 

 attached to each of the upright pedicels at short distances 

 from each other ; the stalks are about eighteen inches to two 

 feet in height, and when dry are very rigid, — in this state 

 they are much used in the manufacture of carpet-brooms 

 and whisks. The grain itself is chiefly used in this country 

 for feeding poultry ; it is however strongly suspected that 

 wheaten flour is not unfrequently adulterated with it when 

 it is in the market, but this can only occasionally take place, 

 as the importation of Durra is very irregular. It is much 

 used as food for the black population in the West Indies, 

 whence it has been called negro corn : they make of it cakes 

 about an inch thick, which are white, and tolerably palat- 

 able. It is also used by the poorer peasants of Italy. All 

 kinds of poultry, pigs, cattle, and even horses eat it with 

 avidity. The quantity imported is very uncertain, some 

 years passing without any arrivals of Durra, while at other 



