. Bulletin. Agriculture. 20 HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION OF SORGHUM. Asia. The physical and climatic features of the two regions are quite similar, and the almost complete absence of any other forms has prevented much hybridization. For that reason there has appar- ently been but little change in the varieties in many centuries. The climate of much of this North African region is dry and hot. The white durra when grown in our Western States is very early and drought resistant and likewise a fair yielder. Its chief faults are the pendent heads of most strains and the freely shattering seeds. The sh
. Bulletin. Agriculture. 20 HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION OF SORGHUM. Asia. The physical and climatic features of the two regions are quite similar, and the almost complete absence of any other forms has prevented much hybridization. For that reason there has appar- ently been but little change in the varieties in many centuries. The climate of much of this North African region is dry and hot. The white durra when grown in our Western States is very early and drought resistant and likewise a fair yielder. Its chief faults are the pendent heads of most strains and the freely shattering seeds. The shattering habit does not seem to yield to continued selection. If a strictly nonshattering strain could be found in North Africa, it would be of great value for our higher altitudes and latitudes. The brown durra is an inferior sort and gives little promise, though it is also early and able to grow with little moisture. Southwest Asia. White durra, the single variety found throughout the re- gion of Asia Minor, Russian Turkestan, Syria, and Arabia (see fig. 6), has al- ready been men- t i o n e d . In the southern part of this area it has certainly been grown for nine centuries, and prob- ably for three times that period. The form commonly grown in these lands differs from that of North Africa and the United States in having the heads shorter and more compact and the seeds smaller, less flattened, and with less tendencv to shatter. The heads of nearly all strains are persistently pendent or goose necked. In parts of this region the white durra grows under exceedingly high summer tem- peratures. It is possible that very drought-resistant strains may be secured here. However, those brought from this region heretofore have not seemed to be more especially drought resistant than our best developed strains of kafir and milo. A nonshattering form of white durra from a dry, hot region would be of great value on our dry and windy plains. 175. Fig. (i.—Plants of white durra from differ
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