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on it, even when it is much dried up. In Jamaica, during severe 

 droughts, cattle feed almost entirely on the underground stems of the 

 Bahama grass. In dry soil impregnated with salt there are several 

 grasses known in India affording a considerable amount of forage. A 

 variety of Sporobolus arable us, Boiss. (S. pallidus, Duth.) known as 

 Kalusra, is mentioned by Duthie as constituting the greater part of the 

 grass vegetation of the usar tracks in the north-western provinces, and 

 is always a sure indication of the presence of reh salts. Other grasses 

 mentioned as more or less characteristic of saline soils are Aristida 

 depresm, Retz. (more sandy parts) : Cynodon Dactylon, Pers. (on less 

 infected parts) ; Chloris barbata, Sw. (more sandy parts) ; Tetropogon 

 villosiis, Desf. ; and Diplachne fusca, Beauv. (in moister parts). 



Annual Fodder Grasses. 



In dry regions not suitable for permanent pastures the Abyssinian 

 Teff (Eragrostis abyssinica) migat be grown during the occasional 

 rains and made into hay. This grass will produce a heavy crop of hay 

 in six weeks from the time of sowing. It is very nourishing, and cattle 

 are very fond of it. There are other annual grasses that might be 

 grown during the rains for fodder purposes. In Northern India green 

 wheat is used as fodder, and where a large yield is desired within a short 

 season, green oats are also used, as in St. Helena, for fodder purposes. 

 The maize ( Zea Mays ) is often given as a green fodder, or dried and 

 mixed with other green fodder. On sugar estates in the West Indies 

 and elsewhere " cane tops" are largely used during crop time as fodder 

 for working cattle, mules, &c. The tops are cut small, and sometimes 

 mixed with molasses. They are regarded as most nourishing. In 

 Mysore Sorghum saccharatum is regarded as an excellent fodder, and 

 if cut before seeding it is well suited for cattle, especially milch cows — 

 ss their milk being enriched to an extraordinary degree by its use in small 

 quantities." The United States Agricultural Department has declared 

 that " the value of sorghum for feeding stock cannot be surpasssed by 

 another crop, as a greater amount of nutritious fodder can be obtained 

 from it in a shorter time, within a given space, and more cheaply. " 

 The common sorghum ( Sorghum vulgare ), the Judr of India, is largely 

 used as fodder, green or dry. It is often specially grown as a fodder 

 crop, in which case it is sown earlier and more thickly than when 

 cultivated for the grain. 



A very valuable fodder grass belonging to this group is the Teosinte 

 (Euchlcena luxurians). This yields very large crops in good land, and 

 is regarded as one of the most prolific of annual grasses. Four good 

 cuttings can be made in four months. 



Most of these annual grasses, as also many coarse-growing perennial 

 grasses, might be largely utilised by being preserved in the green state 

 in silos. In South Africa silos, consisting merely of pits dug in the 

 ground, have been found very useful in preserving fodder that would 

 otherwise be lost, until the dry season. The cost of making silos is 

 comparatively trifling, but it should be borne in mind that fodder pre- 

 served as hay is often more generally useful, and especially if made in 

 good weather. Silos, on the other hand, offer a very ready and 

 convenient means for preserving fodder during wet seasons, when it is 

 impossible to make it into hay. 



