THE STUDY OF GEASSES. 



No. I. 



those who 

 botanically 



surprising 

 so little 

 appears to be 

 known amongst 

 botanists and 

 others regard- 

 ing our British 

 rasses. Even 

 profess to be 

 inclined shun 

 this part of the science as 

 a kind of bugbear. It is 

 quite true they recognize 

 a grass when it is seen, by 

 certain outward signs ; be- 

 yond this they decline to 

 proceed any further. I 

 confess for my part, if any 

 portion of my herbarium 

 interests me more than 

 another, it is the dried 

 grasses, of which I now possess many hundreds of 

 both species and varieties. Again, why so many 

 persons take a deep interest in pteridology and 

 neglect all other departments of botany is to me a 

 mystery. It is for the purpose of inducing some of 

 my young friends, for their own sake, to begin to 

 look more closely into our grasses, that I write this 

 short paper. If I can persuade only one student to 

 commence, I shall not have laboured in vain ; for a 

 little thought will convince every unprejudiced per- 

 son that the supposed difficulty is a mere myth. 



Most country people will point out one or all of 

 the following British grasses, if the common English 

 name only is used. Common ray, or as usually pro- 

 nounced, rye-grass (Lolium perenne) ; silvery oat- 

 grass {Arrhe neither urn) ; and common meadow soft 

 grass (Holcus lanatus). 



Suppose you have the last-named grass on your 

 study table, and are wishful to learn something 

 about it. We recommend these grasses, because 

 the floral parts, being tolerably large, can be studied 

 without a microscope. This grass is exceedingly 

 common, and often gives a peculiar purplish tint to 

 No. 133. 



meadows of ripe hay-grass. It has a soft velvety 

 feel when handled. This, together with the pinky- 

 red colour of the flowers, is an unmistakable cha- 

 racter ; so that you will readily distinguish it from 

 all other species. Turning now to some descriptive 

 botanical work, supposing you have one at hand, 

 you will probably read something like the following 

 respecting this large and important natural fa- 

 mily, called by botanists " Gramim" or " Grass 

 Eamily" :— 



" Florets mostly perfect, one, two, or more imbri. 

 cated on a common axis, or rachis, situated within 

 an involucre, consisting of one or two glumes. 

 Perianth glumaceous, the fertile florets generally 

 consisting of two dissimilar glumellas" &c. 



This seems enough to terrify any one ; you lay the 

 book down iu despair, and declare you will never 

 again study the grasses. Let us calmly look it ove r 

 and see what we can do. Glumes and glumellas cer- 

 tainly look more formidable in print than they are 

 in reality. On this occasion we wish you to dissect 

 the specimen without the aid of any illustrations' 

 but merely by the simple description here given. 

 Next month we will again take up the subject, and, 

 by means of two or three small engravings, try to 

 throw a charm around the subject, and fill it with 

 interest to all our readers. 



Now take from the flowering head, which is 

 named a panicle, a flower ; by separating them with 

 a pin you will easily perceive what you suppose 

 bears a close resemblance to a perfect flower, 

 containing stamens and pistil. A caution is here 

 needed. Some parts of the panicle may not be 

 mature, i.e., the flowers are undeveloped. Search 

 on; you will soon find a perfect "floret." 



These florets are often named " spikelets." 



We presume you are tolerably conversant with 

 the formation of a flower, such as the buttercup or 

 wild rose. If so, you are aware that on the outside, 

 supporting all the other parts, and intended, espe- 

 cially when in bud, to cover up and protect the 

 more tender organs, is the "calyx," or cup, each 

 division of which is named "sepal." The second 

 ring of floral organs, in the rose, for example, is 



B 



