The crown is a feather very similar to that of the sugar-cane; the blossom falls, and the feather becomes a head of dhurra, weighing about two pounds.

Each grain is about the size of hemp-seed.
I took the trouble of counting the corns contained in an average-sized head, the result being 4,848.

The process of harvesting and threshing is remarkably simple, as the heads are simply detached from the straw and beaten out in piles.

The dried straw is a substitute for sticks in forming the walls of the village huts; these are plastered with clay and cow-dung, which form the Arab's lath and plaster.
The millers' work is exclusively the province of the women.

No man will condescend to grind the corn.