THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 171 
‘‘there came up accidentally amongst some rubbish in his 
garden at Samalcotah, two tufts of this plant, each, upon 
examination, he found to be the produce of one seed; each 
had twenty-five stems; and each of these stems had on 
an average two lateral branches, making in all seventy- 
five stems and branches; each produced upon an average 
six spikes (for they had from four to eight), in all four 
hundred and fifty spikes; each of these had at a medium 
sixty spikelets, and each spikelet ripened on an average 
three or four seeds; total produce, eighty-one thousand!’’ 
Much more information could be given from Watt’s 
“Dictionary of the Economic Products of India,’’ and 
other important works; but the above is, I think, suffi- 
cient to show that the plant is well worth a trial in our 
coastal districts, especially in the northern parts of the 
State, and particularly in rich flats that are fairly moist, 
as it appears to grow best in moist situations. Two very 
closely allied species, namely, Crows-foot Grass (Hleusine 
indica) and Button Grass (Dactylotentwm aegyptiacum) 
are fairly common in many parts of the Commonwealth; - 
but so far.as I know, ‘‘Natchnee’’ or so-called ‘‘Wimbi’’ 
has not previously been recorded, either as a naturalised 
or cultivated plant, in Australia. Professor Hackel sug- 
gests that the ‘‘Natchnee’’ or ‘‘Korakan’’ is probably de- 
rived from Hleusine indica, whose oblong seeds are marked 
with more distinct comb-like lines, and whose spikes are 
more slender. He also states that it is cultivated in H. 
India, Simla Islands, 8S. China, Japan, and_ especially 
through the whole of Africa. In many parts of Africa it 
forms the principal food, in spite of the bitter taste of 
the flour. <A kind of bread or unleavened cake is made 
from it. In Abyssinia and Niam a tolerably good beer 
is brewed from it. In India it is much prized, as it yields 
good harvests from very poor soil. My plants at Ash- 
field are fairly vigorous, and others at Hill Top are mak- 
ing fair progress; from these I hope to secure sufficient 
seed to carry on the work of thoroughly acclimatising this 
useful fodder grass in Australia. 
Since the above was written, I find that it is men- 
tioned in ‘‘Mueller’s Select Extra Tropical Plants,’’ which 
states that the grass is worthy of cultivation on account 
of its height and nutritiveness, and that according to 
McKeown, it has been grown in Northern New South 
