The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1885-03-18
$40
Guatemala Grass.

A paper read before the seventh an
nual convention of the National Cotton
Planters Association of America, held
in the Music Hall of the Worlds Indus
trial and Cotton Centennial Exposition
at New Orleans, La, Feb. 10 to Is, 1885,
by Prof. d. l.. Fares, A. NJ, Nj. D., Ag-
ricultural and Mechanical College, Stark
vile, Miss.
This magnificent forage plant is SO
called from its original habitat But by
the people of that country it is known by
the name given to it by the aborigines,
to wit: Ieosirte. This last name has,
perhaps, come into most general use
everywhere. Botanically it is very APP
propriately called Euchioenc Ja,rurians,
or the luxuriant rich-in-fodder-g Its
other name, Redna lururians, seems to
be founded on its wonderful life-sustain-
ing and spirit-stirring effects on animals,
and its rampant, eXtravagant growth and
immense product of forage.
Within few years this very large and
very beautiful tropical grass has been in
troduced into the south of France, the
Royal Gardens, Kew, England, and
thence into the East and West Indies,
Australia, Tropical and South Africa.
Cyprus, the Bahamas and other regions.
More recently it has been introduced in
to the United States at several points in
very cautious and limited way, SO
sparingly, indeed, and so managed as to
afford no proper test of its adaptions and
value.
The main purpose of this paper is to
direct and fix the earnest attention of
farmers upon this forage plant. 1t is
specially interesting as allied to, and in
some respects, closely resent bling Indian
corn. 1t has male flowers arranged in
large tassel forming the top of the stalk
as in Indian corn, and pistillate flowers
with their silks at the joints, the spikes
or little ears enclosed in a husk or shuck.
The grains are SO arranged in single
rowed spike as we have sometimes seen
occur in Indian corn, especially on the
so-called suckers. In the arrangement
of the grains of Indian corn now rocog-
nized as normal, they are placed in pair
ed spikes or two roWed spikes, as some
o. the pospaiums, and these united on
common receptacle termed cob. But
this cob is so often found variously forked
or branched and many spiked, and in
one variety each grain is enclosed in it's
own proper shuck, so that tendency of
Indian corn to atavism is strongly sug-
geSted, and an evolution from teOsinte,
or OF both from a common ancestry.
Teosinte tillers enormously, and also
bears many branches. \ tendency to
both these traits is also we'll marked i'll
some varieties of Indian corn. The stalks
grow from six to fifteen feet high, and
bear many broad and long leaves. Chem
ical analysis shows that the plant con-
tains much sugar.
The great botanist, Prof. Asa Gray,
thus speaks of this plant: The director
of the botanic garden ard government
plantations at adelaide, South Austral-
ia, reports favorably of this strong-grow-
ing, corn-like forage plant, the EuchTnd
IururiGns; that the prevailing dryness
did not injure the plants, which pre-
served their healthy green, while the
blades of other grasses suffered material
ly. The habit of throwing out young
shoots is remarkable, sixty or eighthy
rising to height of five or six feet Fur
Their north, at Palmerston (near the equa-
tor in the course of five or six months,
the plant reached the height of twelve to
fourteen feet, and the stems on one plant
numbered fifty-six. The plants, after
moving down, grew again several feetin
a few days. The cattle delight in it in
fresh state; also, when dry.
Undoubtedly there is not more pro-
life forage plant known; but as it is es.
sentially tropical in its habits, this ltiXu-
RANT growth is found in tropical or sub
tropical climates. The chief drawback
to its culture with us will be that the
ripening OF the seed-crop will be profile
NAUTICAL, as early frosts will kill the plant.
10 make teoSlnte a most useful plant in
Texas and along our whole southwestern
border the one thing needful is to devel-
op early Towering varieties, so as to get
seed before frost And this could be done
without doubt, ii some one in Texas or
Florida would set about it. What it has
taken ages to do in the case of Indian
corn in an unconscious way might be
mainly done in human lifetime by
rightly-directed and vigorous selection
Who is the man who is going to make
millions of blades of grass grow where
none of any account ever grew before 2"
4 planter writing form Milledgeville,
Ga, states that a small ''seed developed
plant nine feet high and four feet in
diameter, with something over eighty
stalks, and which no COW in the State
could consume at single meal. 1t
tillers from the very start, spreading
horizontally for some weeks before be-
ginning perpendicular growth" In
the Country Gentleman a correspondent
at Lebanon, Del, writes that he planted
May %. He gave the crop three hoeings
and on the 25th of August cut and weigh
ed the green fodder, and found the hill!
to average nine and quarter pounds
each. ''At this distance, three feet b,
one foot apart, you can grow over l4,00
hills to the acre, yielding over siXty-fou
tons OF green fodder, which my cattl
| seemed to eat with more relish thai
green corn-fodder. From my experienc
this year (being one of several drouths
/ am inclined to think teosinte very mucl
superior to corn as a soiling plant. Wit
a favorable season it will be fit for use i