306 



MILLET. 



bers, from the time it is out of the " milk," till it is harvested and 

 carried off the field, that it is no object to attempt: to ripen it. 

 This crop is sometimes sown in drills, when it is only intended for 

 fodder, being cut and cured in bundles, as the stalks of Indian 

 corn are. It is best to pass it through a cutting machine before 

 feeding it to stock ; indeed, all millet hay will be fed with less 

 loss in this way, than if fed to animals without cutting. 



The seed is used in various European countries as a substitute 

 for sago, for which it is considered excellent. It is likewise a 

 valuable food for poultry, particularly for yoang chickens, which 

 from the smallness of the grain can eat it readily, and it appears 

 to be wholesome for them. 



In some countries millet seed is ground into flour and converted 

 into bread ; but this is brown and heavy. It is, however, useful 

 in other respects, as a substitute for rice. A good vinegar has been 

 made from it by fermentation, and, on distillation, it yields a strong 

 spirit. Millet seed — the produce of H. saccharatum — is imported 

 into this country from the East Indies for the purpose chiefly of 

 puddings ; by many persons it is preferred to rice. It is cultivated 

 largely in China and Cochin-China. The stalks, if subjected to the 

 same process that is adopted with the sugar-cane, yield a sweet 

 juice, from which an excellent kind of sugar may be made. 



Millet will grow best on light, dry soils. The ground being first 

 well prepared, half a bushel of seed to the acre is ploughed in at 

 the commencement of the rains, in India. The crop ripens within 

 three months from the time of sowing. The usual produce is about 

 16 bushels to the acre. The Canary Islands export annually about 

 212,400 bushels of millet. 



Great Indian Millet, or Guinea Corn. — This is a native of India 

 (the Sorghum vulgare, the Andropogon Sorghum of Eoxburgh), 

 which produces a grain a little larger than mustard or millet seed. 

 It is grown in most tropical countries, and has peculiar local names. 

 In the West Indies, where it is chiefly raised for feeding poultry, 

 it is called Gruinea corn. In Egypt it is known as Dhurra, in 

 Hindostan and Bengal as Joar, and in some districts as Cush. 



In Lower Scinde joar is very extensively cultivated, as w^eU as 

 bajree {H. spicatus). It is harvested in December and January; 

 requires a light soil, and is usually grown in the east, after 

 Cgnosurus corocanus. 



Gruinea corn is extensively cultivated in some parts of Jamaica. 

 I did not, however, find it thrive on the north side of the island. 

 It is best planted in the West Indies between September and 

 November, and ripens in January. It ratoons or yields a second 

 crop, when cut. The returns are from 30 to 60 bushels an acre, 

 but the crops are uncertain. 



Mr. C. Bravo tried Gruinea corn at St. Ann's, Jamaica, as a 

 green crop, sown broadcast, for fodder, and it answered admirably, 

 the produce being very considerable. It was weighed, and yielded 

 14 tons of fodder per acre, and was found very palateable and nu- 

 tritious for cattle. It was grown on a very poor soil, which had, 



