Durra

Durra (Sorghum), a genus of grasses, which is also called Durra Millet and Indian Millet, or Sorgho Grass. The genus is closely allied to sugar-cane (Saccharum) and Beard-grass (Andropogon). The species are generally annual, tall, broad-leaved grasses, having strong culms filled with a juicy and saccharine pith, and large panicles. Several of them are cultivated as corn-plants, chiefly in Asia and Africa, particularly the common durra (S. vulgare—Holcus Sorghum of the older botanists), also called Joar and Jowaree in India. It grows 4 to 8 feet high, with thickly crowded panicles. It is a coarse, strong grass; its grain is round, a little larger than mustard seed. It is a native of the East Indies, is extensively cultivated in Asia, and may perhaps be described as the principal corn-plant of Africa. It is also cultivated to a considerable extent in the south of Europe. It is sometimes cultivated in Germany, but the summer is not sufficiently long and warm to secure its perfection. The climate of Britain is still less suitable. Durra yields a very abundant produce, in this respect even rivaling maize, but the meal does not make good bread; it is excellent, however, instead of rice for puddings, and is prepared for food in various other ways. The culms and leaves, although coarse, are excellent food for horses and cattle, as is also the grain. In Armenia it is grown as fodder, and yields as many as seven or eight crops.—The seeds of the Shaloo or Sugar-grass (S. saccharatum) are more pleasant to the taste than those of the common durra. It is cultivated in the warm parts of Asia and in Africa, and has a diffuse and very spreading panicle. The sweet pith of the culm is eaten, and is also of value as a source of sugar, for which it is successfully cultivated in the United States (see SUGAR).—KAFIR CORN (S. caffrorum) is largely cultivated in South Africa, both by Kafirs and by the colonists; by the latter chiefly for feeding horses.—S. halepense is a troublesome weed in North Italy, like couch-grass. Its sweet rhizomes furnish a local substitute for sarsaparilla.