May 1, 1895.] Supplement to the " Tropical AgricuMiwist" 
777 
fodder and from 2,000 to 3,000 lbs. of dried hny 
per acre. 
" A sowing of 5 lb. of each kind was made at 
Arnigndh in the beginning of the rains, and 
resulted in a collective out-turn of 40 lbs. of grain. 
This was a remarkably good yield for the small 
quantity of seed sown, and proves that in hill 
tracts teff may yet prove a prolific food grain. 
" The hay made from the teff was of exceptional 
good quality and was greedily eaten by the 
garden bullocks. When it was offered to them 
they were being fed upon jowar or sorghum 
stalks, and, as is well known, these are remark- 
ably sweet, and cattle, when fed upon them, 
generally refuse other kinds of dry food until 
they find that sorghum is not forthcoming. Our 
garden cattle, however, seemed to prefer the 
teff hay to the sorghum, as they would not touch 
the latter until they had devoured the whole of 
the teff placed before them. 
■' The experience gained here in the cultivation 
of teff during the past year may therefore be 
■ summed up as follows : — 
"When sown in the dry season it will yield a 
light crop of grain, and when sown in the rains 
it yields little or no grain, but produces abun- 
dance of green fodder which may be cured into 
very palatable hay where the latter is preferred. 
In my opinion, tell is destined to become the rye 
grass of India, and is well worthy of more extend- 
ed trial on some of the Government fodder 
reserves.'' 
Euchltena luxurious, Miers (Eeana luxurians, 
Uuriou). "Teosinte." An annual grass of large 
size from Guatemala allied to the maize. The 
first published illustration of the plant was given 
in the Botanical Magazine, tab. 6,414. It attract- 
ed a good deal of attention about 20 years ago 
as a fodder plant (see Kew lleports, 1878. 1879 
and 1880). Seeds of it were widely distributed 
from Kew to the East and AVest. Indies, Australia, 
and tropical Africa. It is a tall, densely-tufted 
grass, sometimes reaching 15 feet in height, the 
stems are as thick as the thumb at the base, and 
the leaves 3 to to 4 feet long, by 2 or 3 inches 
broad. Dr. Schomburgk in 1880 wrote from the 
Adelaide Botanic Garden, & Australia: "I have 
now cultivated Teosinte for three years, and it is 
one of the most prolific fodder plants." 
Mr. W. it. Robertson, Agricultural Reporter to 
the Government of Madras, wrote as follows in 
July 1883: — "A small plot was sown with this 
crop ; the out-turn of green fodder was at the 
rate of 88,400 lb. per acre, a very large out-turn ; 
but, the cost of production was great, for it was 
necessary to irrigate the land nearly every other 
day, from sowing until harvest. Henna is un- 
doubtedly a very heavy producer, crops grown 
on the farm hftve given enormous yield-, but 
fnrth T experience confirm- the opinions expressed 
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 luxuriant ly ; but it cannot with- 
stand a drought. lnd 1. the experiment* mad' 
showed that a drought, which scarcely affected 
the Sorghum crops, was sufficient to check the 
growth of the Jleana 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 mutter during all 
stages of growth." 
The following account of the grass was given 
in the R port of the Botanic Gaiden at Bangalore 
for the year 1888-9, p. 13 :— " Teosinte or buffalo 
grass. With rich cultivation this noble grass 
affords an inexhaustible supply- of fodder for 
cattle. In special instances the stalks have been 
known to attain a height of 18 feet, but in ordi- 
nary cultivation 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-IIorticulturrl Society of India, and in 
the subsequent year (1878-79) the following parti- 
culars of cultivation appeared in the Annual 
Report of the Garden : — 
" The forage plant Euchlwna luxurians has 
been grown experimentally on a small scale. I9 
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 experi- 
ment. Cattle aud 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 irri- 
gation, and I have a small field now under this 
method of cuiture, 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 corners, the condition of live 
stock would be better maintained than we usually 
see it. 
The latest reports of Teosinte are as follows: — 
1 11 a Report on Agricultural Work at British 
Guiana for the years 1891-92, p. 68, Messrs. 
Harrison aim J -nmnn give interesting particu'a 's 
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 he thus taken in favourable weather. It 
ahould be sown in situ, and the plants thinned 
out as much as is necessary to give each one 9 to 
12 or 16 square feet of superficial space, as it 
does not bear transplanting, under which the 
yield is poor. The following is an analysis of 
the seed : — 
