OCT. — DEC. 1856.] 
of the Madras Beach. 
87 
as fast as destroyed, and the whole plant ofFers a resistance to the 
storm which is rarely overcome. I think this species would be near- 
ly as indestructible from natural causes as Couch grass, and it ap- 
pears to me (after watching patches of it on the road to Ennore, where 
it is little disturbed) that it would speedily colonize the sand tracts 
spontaneously, if it were only left unmolested for a year or two. In 
the experiment lately made in front of the Fort, and near the Salut- 
ing Battery, this binder has answered well, notwithstanding the fre- 
quent disturbance of the young plants. The fishermen do not ap- 
preciate the conservative design of this " ground rattan" or mat 
grass, but collect it for fuel, and thus destroy their greatest pro- 
tection : the reason secir^ to be that the spiny leaves injure their 
naked feet, and the turf does not answer for spreading their nets 
upon. On this account, it would be well to propagate the other 
plants mentioned, immediately in front of fishing villages. This 
grass IS Folj/gamo- dioecious f (Spinifex dioicus of Ham. MS. S.). and 
reproduction is eff"ected in a very remarkable manner ; the male 
spikes congested into an umbel are carried by the wind to the fe- 
male flowers, which are fascicled on a distinct plant, and being 
light and spherical, the Dutch call them wind-ball (Wind-boll). 
Rumphius in the " Herb. Amboinense" alludes to this plant, as 
being connected with a superstition among the natives, who, see- 
ing the capitula carried along the shore by the sea-breeze, think 
they are propelled by the devil. (Vide Plate No, 2). 
2. J^omcea pes-capra, Sweet. Goat's foot leaved Ipomcea, (also 
known as " Kabbit weed"). Perennial, creeping to a very great ex- 
tent. Stems rooting at distant intervals. Leaves smooth, long 
petioled, two lobed, like those of Bauhinia^ tipped with a miicro. 
Flowers large, reddish purple, very handsome. Common on the 
sandy beach north and south of Madras, where it is of great use 
in binding the loose sand, and in time rendering it sufficiently 
stable to bear grass. This fine creeper is equally abundant in both 
peninsulas, and is also a native of Mauritius, Macao, &c., occupy- 
ing the place of C. Soldanella of the British coast, and we have 
rarely seen a more striking and beautiful species of the Tropical 
Bind weeds. Kabbits, goats, and horses eat it, so do cows, but 
