33 



ing untiljharvest. Reana is undoubtedly a very heavy producer, crops 

 grown on the farm have given enormous yields, but further experience 

 confirms the opinions expressei regarding the crop in the last report : 

 ' On good soils, under liberal treatment, when it can obtain plenty 

 of rain or irrigation water, the crop grows most rapidly and luxuriantly ; 

 but it cannot withstand a drought Indeed the experiments made 

 showed that a drought, which scarcely affected the Sorghum crops, was 

 sufficient to check the growth of the Reana to such an extent as to 

 render it useless to keep the crop standing longer. As a fodder crop 

 in a damp warm climate, or where irrigation can be secured, it is well 

 worthy of attention. There is perhaps no other crop, sugar cane 

 excepted, which will produce such an enormous quantity of green plant 

 per acre, but the fodder is very watery, and does not appear to be very 

 palatable to stock when offered for the first time. The watery juices of 

 the stem seem to be destitute of saccharine matter during all stages of 

 growth/ " 



The following account of the grass was given in the Report of the 

 Botanic Garden at Bangalore for the year 1888-9, p. 13 : — "Teosinte or 

 buffalo grass. With rich cultivation this noble giass affords an in- 

 exhaustible supply of fodder for cattle. In special instances the stalks 

 have been known to attain a height of 18 feet, but in ordinary cultiva- 

 tion they are usually 6 to 8 feet, with a small colony of offsets rising up 

 from the base of each parent stalk Seed was first received from Mr. 

 Blechynden, Honorary Secretary to the Agri-Horticultural Society of 

 India, and in the subsequent year (1878-79) the following particulars 

 of cultivation appeared in the Annual Report of the Garden : 



" The forage plant Euchlcena luxurious has been grown experimentally 

 on a small scale. 16 square yards of highly manured land produced 

 288 lbs. of dry fodder and 19 lbs. of seed. The object in culture was 

 chiefly to obtain seed to meet the demands of correspondents, and to 

 enable me to sow a larger piece of ground if Government should wish 

 to extend the experiment. Cattle and horses are fond of the green grass 

 and I think it will be a good addition to the green forage crops of the 

 monsoon season. At any other time the crop would require irrigation 

 and I have a small field now under this method of culture, which will 

 be reported on when the results are fully known." 



Subsequent cultivation confirmed the truth of the above remarks, and 

 the great value of Teosinte as a food plant has been established in many 

 parts of India. It should be grown on all land holdings where there 

 are horses, cows, and bullocks to be fed. If, during the dry season, 

 small plots are raised along the channels, and in spare nooks and cor- 

 ners, the condition of live stock would be better maintained than we 

 usually see it. 



The latest reports of Teosinte are as follows : — 



In a repoit on Agricultural Work at British Guiana for the years 

 1891- '2, p. 68, Messers. Harrison and Jenman give interesting particulars 

 as under: — Teosinte is an annual, but readily reproduces itself on good 

 land from the seed shed. It soon dies out, however, on impoverished 

 land. Though an annual, in the season of growth, if reaped young but 

 not too short, the stubble quickly springs again, and a second and third 

 crop can be thus taken in favourable weather. It should be sown in 

 situ, and the plants thinned out as much as is necessary to give each 



