m 
Supplement  to  the  “ Tropical  Agriculturist” 
[June  1,  1897. 
KAFFIR  CORN. 
The  above  is  the  name  by  which  Sorghum  vul- 
gare  is  known  in  South  Africa.  In  the  United 
States  it  is  called  broom  com  (compare  the  Sinha- 
lese name  “Edal’’  iringu),  in  the  West  Indies 
Guinea  corn,  in  India  as  Juar  or  Jowari  and  Cho- 
lum.  Kaffir  corn  has  the  advantage  over  other 
cereals  of  thriving  and  giving  large  crops  in  hot 
arid  regions.  In  Syria,  North  Africa,  and  the 
Soudan,  where  it  is  called  Dkurra,  it  is  the  chief 
sustenance  of  the  people,  and  is  also  considered  a 
necessary  diet  for  horses.  In  addition  to  its  valu- 
able use  as  a food,  a kind  of  beer  is  made  in  Africa 
from  the  malted  grain,  and  the  leaves  and  young 
stems  form  e.xcellent  fodder  for  animals,  whilst  the 
stalks  are  sometimes  used  for  manufacturing 
sugar.  The  flour  of  the  seeds  is  very  white  and 
makes  good  bread,  and  the  panicles,  after  the  re- 
moval of  the  seed,  becomes  hard  and  rigid,  and 
are  used  extensively  in  America  and  even  Eng- 
land, for  the  manufacture  of  brooms  and  clothes 
brushes.  Numerous  varieties  of  the  plant  are 
now  cultivated  extensively  in  all  the  warmer  re- 
gion.s  of  the  earth  under  various  names. 
Sorghum  will  grow  and  yield  a crop  in  nearly 
every  soil,  but  the  most  suitable  is  a rich  light 
sandy  loam,  well  drained  and  not  too  moist.  The 
climate  should  be  a dry  one,  and  to  obtain  large 
crops  the  temperature  should  never  fall  below 
60°  F.  Kaffir  corn  stands  drought  remarkably 
well,  so  that  the  hot  and  dry  districts  are  well 
adapted  to  its  growth. 
The  land  having  been  ploughed  and  harrowed  so 
as  to  bring  it  to  a good  tilth,  the  seed  is  sown  in 
furrows,  or  drilled  in  by  the  means  of  one  of  the 
useful  seed  drills  now  made  bj’  the  manufacturers 
of  agricultural  implements.  The  lines  or  furrows 
for  the  seed  should  be  from  three-and-a-half  to 
four  feet  apart,  and  tlie  plants  should  be  thinned 
out  after  they  have  sprouted,  so  that  the  seedlings 
may  not  be  less  than  twelve  inches  apart  in  the 
rows.  As  soon  as  the  corn  is  a few  inches  high, 
the  field  must  be  thoroughly  weeded,  and  a second 
weeding  may  be  necessary  later  on,  or  a light 
plough  or  cultivator  may  be  run  between  the  rows 
so  ns  to  turn  up  the  soil  and  destroy  the  weeds. 
Very  soon  the  plants  will  cover  the  land  by  their 
luxuriant  foliage  which  grows  with  such  rapidity. 
The  best  season  for  sowing  is  June,  and  crops  may 
be  reaped  in  four  or  five  months  afterwards  ; al- 
though w'hen  grown  under  favourable  conditions, 
returns  have  been  got  in  three  months.  When  the 
corn  has  arrived  at  maturity,  it  is  harvested  by 
cutting  off  the  ears  near  the  top  of  the  stem  and 
then  carrying  them  in  baskets  to  the  house  or 
shed.  The  ears  are  kept  in  heaps  for  a few  days, 
and  afterwards  they  are  spread  on  the  floor  of  the 
building,  and  the  grain  is  threshed  out  by  means 
of  a fail.  In  .some  parts  of  the  East,  Sorghum,  like 
rice,  is  threshed  by  bullocks  being  made  to  tread 
on  it,  and  this  process  dates  far  back  into  primi- 
tive times.  Indeed,  in  some  Eastern  countries, 
agricultural  systems  and  manufacturing  processes 
have  been  handed  down  unchanged  from  remote 
ages  to  modern  times ; descriptions  by  ancient 
writers  of  the  every-day  life  of  the  people  being  in 
some  instances  faithful  delineations  of  what  is 
seen  at  the  present  time. 
The  crop  of  Kaffir  corn  from  an  acre  of  land 
varies  considerably  fifty  bushels,  however,  may  be 
considered  as  a good  average  return.  But  double 
that  quantity  is  by  no  means  an  unusual  crop  on 
good  soil. 
♦ 
OCCASIONAL  NOTES. 
The  present  month  will  witness  the  60th 
anniversary  of  the  reign  of  Her  Gracious 
Majesty  the  Queen,  who  through  her  wise  policy 
and  even  by  her  noble  e.xample  has  done  much  to 
encourage  and  advance  the  peaceful  art  of 
agriculture.  It  was  during  Her  Majesty’s  regin 
that  Agricultural  Colleges  were  founded,  and  we 
would  fain  hope  that  this  “ Jubilee  year  ” will  see 
the  adoption  of  a liberal  policy  (too  long 
delayed)  for  agricultural  education  in  this 
Colony. 
The  present  number  brings  the  8th  volume  of 
the  Agricultural  Magazine  to  a close,  and  we 
again  thank  our  subscribers  for  their  kind 
support  and  the  press  for  its  patronage. 
With  this  issue  we  forward  to  those  of  our 
subscribers  who  we  venture  to  think  take  a special 
interest  in  the  School  of  Agriculture,  copies  of 
“ Addresses  on  Agricultural  Education  in  Ceylon,” 
being  a reprint  from  the  Ceylon  Observer  of  the 
I’rize-day  Speeches  delivered  at  the  School  of  Agri- 
culture, Colombo,  since  the  founding  of  the 
institution. 
Our  correspondent  “Traveller’’  is  doing  good 
service  to  the  school  in  contributing  a series  of 
Notes  in  which  he  declares  his  intention  of  review- 
ing the  past  work  of  the  institution.  We  trust 
his  contributions  will  serve  the  desired  end,  to 
place  fact  in  their  proper  light. 
Dr.  Henning’s  instructions  how  to  inoculate 
for  rinderpest  are  most  welcome,  and  are  clear 
enough  to  encourage  some  of  our  enterprising 
stock-owners  to  operate  on  their  own  cattle. 
THE  SLAUGHTER  OP  CATTLE. 
The  Australian  Tropiculturist  and  Stockbreeder 
is  publishing  a series  of  prize-essays  on  this  subject 
which  is  of  more  than  ordinary  interest  to  us,  and 
we  therefore  take  over  from  the  valuable  pages  of 
the  paper  referred  to  the  following  essay  by  W.  J. 
Evans,  who  writes  briefly  and  to  the  point: — 
To  deal  fully  with  this  subject  it  is  well  to 
describe  the  treatment  to  whicli  cattle  are  sub- 
jected previous  to  slaughtering.  To  preserve  the 
good  colour  and  keeping  qualities  of  the  meat  it 
is  necessary  that  all  cattle,  whether  very  fat  or 
not,  should  be  given  rest  for  at  least  an  hour  in 
some  place  or  shed  near  to  the  slaughter-hou.se. 
Food  should  be  withheld  from  them  for  the  same 
period,  but  in  no  case  longer  than  three  hours. 
Water  should,  for  dritiking  purposes,  be  alway.s 
plentifully  provided.  The  quality  of  a caroase'is 
greatly  reduced  if  the  animal  is  slaughtered  in  a 
heated  condition  ; the  fat,  when  cold,  appears  of  a 
bloody  hue,  caused  by  the  presence  of  a quantii  v 
