INDIAN MILLET OR CORN: A genus of the monocota order, belonging to the polygama clas of plants; and in the natural method ranking under the 4th order, Gramina. The calyx of the hermaphrodite is an uniflorous or biflorous glume; the corolla is a glume with an awn; there are three stamina, two styles, and one seed. The male calyx is a bivalved glume; there is no corolla, but three stamina.

Species. Of this genus there are 13 species, two of which are natives of Britain. The most remarkable of these is the lanatus, or creeping soft-grass of Hudson; for the description and properties of which see Agriculture, p. 59. The most remarkable of the foreign species is the sorghum, or Guinea corn. The stalks are large, compact, and full eight feet high. In Senegal the fields are entirely covered with it. The negroes, who call it guaranot, cover the ears when ripe with its own leaves to shelter it from the sparrows, which are very mischievous in that country. The grain made into bread, or otherwise used, is esteemed very wholesome. With this the slaves in the West Indies are generally fed, each being allowed from a pint to a quart every day. The juice of the stalks is so agreeably lucious, that, if prepared as the sugar-cane, they would afford an excellent sugar. The negroes on the coast of Guinea make of two kinds of millet a thick-grained pap called coucou, which is their common food.