30 



very difficult to eradicate. It is easily established by planting small 

 portions of the rooting stems about 8 inches apart. If done at the 

 beginning of the rainy season the ground will be completely covered in 

 six weeks. It may also be propagated by seeds, which are now readily 

 obtained in commerce. It should, however, never be planted except in 

 places [where it is required to remain permanently. When grown 

 specially for fodder, in enclosed paddocks, it yields three or four crops 

 in the year, and makes excellent hay. In very dry seasons in the East 

 Indies animals exist almost entirely on the underground rhizomes of 

 this grass. 



The following note on the use of Bahama grass for making lawns in 

 India is taken from Firminger's Manual of Gardening for Benyal and 

 Upper India [Calcutta, 1874] p. 26 : — " The grass principally used for 

 lawns in this country is that called Doob-grass ( Cynodon Dactylon ) ; & 

 plant of trailing habit, not growing high, and when in vigorous growth 

 of a soft dark green hue. It thrives where scarcely any other kind will, 

 and delights in tbe edges of frequented highways. The spot it seems 

 to like especially is where brick and lime rubbish has been thrown and 

 trodden down hai d. It will also grow in the poor soil beneath the 

 shade of trees, where other grasses grow but scantily, if at all. When 

 required for lawns a sufficient quantity can easily be collected from the 

 roadside and waste places. The piece of ground intended for lawn should 

 be well dug, and then made perfectly level and smooth. Drills should 

 then be drawn over it a foot apart, in which little pieces of the roots 

 should be planted out at the distance of half-a-foot from each other, 

 and the ground afterwards watered occasionally, till the grass has become 

 thoroughly established. In Bengal further watering will be unnecessary, 

 but in the [upper provinces irrigation during the hot season is indis- 

 pensable, as otherwise the grass would soon become scorched up and perish. 



" A more expeditious and very successful plan of laying down a lawn 

 sometimes adopted, is to pull up a quantity of grass by the roots, chop 

 it tolerably fine, mix it well in a compost of mud of about the consist- 

 ency of mortar, and spread this out thinly over the piece of ground 

 where the lawn is required. In a few days the grass will spring up 

 with great regularity over the plot." 



6. — Eragrostis abyssinica, Link. — A slender annual grass, known in 

 Abyssinia as " Ten ," " TthefT," or "Thaff." It is indigenous to the 

 higher lands, and is cultivated for ihe sake of its grdin all over Abys- 

 sinia. There are several varieties, some depending on the height of the 

 plant, others on the colour. According to Richard, there are green, 

 white, red, and purple Teffs. The grain crop requires four months to 

 ripen. " In good years it returns 40 times the seed, and only 20 times 

 in bad years." The flour of Teff is very white, and produces bread of 

 excellent quality. Seed of Teff was obtained by Kew in 1886, and dis- 

 tributed to numeious establishments in India and the colonies (Kew 

 Bulletin, 1887, January, pp. 2-6). The plant prefers light sandy soils, 

 and adapts itself even to the most sandy ; it then produces slender wiry 

 stems, ai d supports a large weight of ear. The grain is reported to 

 make " an excellent fine hay" in British Guiana, and to mature in six 

 or eight weeks from the time of sowing. " For this purpose teff is well 

 worth cultivating. It is cletner and brighter looking than any other 



