NAPIER GRASS, A PASTURE AND FODDER CROP FOR HAWAII O 
(1, p. 334), Napier grass is easily injured by frosts. Observations in 
Paraguay (6, p. 60), however, indicate that frost injury does not 
materially damage the grass for feeding purposes. It was found that 
although frost had injured the tips of the grass badly, the cattle 
relished the fodder and suffered no ill effects from eating large quan- 
tities of it. Napier grass is exceedingly drought-resistant and although 
little growth is made during an extremely dry period, the grass 
Figure 2.— Merker grass in bloom 60 days after cutting. 
recovers promptly whenever moisture conditions are again favorable 
for growth. 
SOIL REQUIREMENTS 
Napier grass has been grown successfully on a wide range of soil 
types in various parts of the world. Langer (6, p. 60) reports good 
results even on very poor sandy soils, in South America. The tonnage 
of material harvested during a period of years with such a rank-growing 
