UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 634 
Contribution from the Bureau of Chemistry 
CARL L. ALSBERG, Chief 
Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER April 4, 1918 
A PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL STUDY OF THE KAFIR 
KERNEL. 
By George L. Bidwell, 
Chemist in Charge, Cattle Food and Grain Investigation Laboratory. 
The grains of nonsaccharine sorghums are becoming very impor- 
tant commercially. Although heretofore largely limited in their 
use to feeding farm animals, they are now being employed in increas- 
ing amounts for human food, a matter which has been studied by the 
Office of Home Economics of the Department of Agriculture. 1 Fur- 
thermore, the attention of manufacturers of alcohol and starch is 
being turned to these grains. As a basis for a process which would 
utilize nonsaccharine sorghums, probably one of the cheapest sources 
of starch, in the manufacture of starch and feedstuffs, a study was 
made in the Bureau of Chemistry of the physical characteristics and 
chemical composition of the kafir kernel, and the various parts into 
which it might be separated by milling. Kafir was selected because 
it is typical of this class of grains, and economically as important as 
any of them. Therefore a sample of Dawn kafir (Dwarf Blackhull), 
C. I. 340, was obtained from the Bureau of Plant Industry for this 
purpose. This sample was grown at the Cereal Field Station, 
Amarillo, Tex., in 1915, and is the same grain as that used in the 
food experiments. 1 
The kafir kernel shows some interesting physical characteristics. 
It is obovoid, or broadly ellipsoid, convex on the outer or dorsal 
surface, and somewhat flattened on the inner or ventral surface. It 
might be considered as developed from a sphere by first rolling it 
in such a way as to lengthen one diameter slightly, then flattening it 
on one side. The tip is more or less pointed. Beneath the tip is the 
hilum, or point of attachment of the seed. The outer end usually is 
rounded, but often bears a tiny, double, claw-like point. The endo- 
sperm, the main portion of the kernel, is horny without, inclosing a 
white, starchy mass. The germ lies in a depression in the endosperm, 
near the tip of the seed. The kernel is covered with a thin skin 6r 
bran coat, dirty white in color, spotted or blotched with dark reddish 
brown or black. Figure 1 shows the interior structure of the seed. 
1 U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 470, and Farmers' Bui. 559. 
17995°— 18— Bull. 634 
