114 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
Italy and Portugal hats from this material are made with an 
extremely large brim, the width of which equals the height of 
the crown. 
*The dog’s-tail grass (Cynosurus cristatus) is native of 
Europe and naturalized in North America. It is one of the 
short spike grasses incorporated in grass mixtures for lawns 
and pastures. Straw made from the stem and leaves has been 
braided and made into hats. In the earlier days hats of this 
type were made in Northumberland, England, being worn by 
the shepherds. The peasants of Wexford, Ireland, used this 
grass either dyed or plain for mat and basket making. 
*Uva grass (Gynerium saccharoides) is a native of the 
tropics where it grows to a height of 40-80 feet. In Dominica 
and the Rio Casiquiare the natives make hats by braiding and 
sewing together the long thin split fibers of the leaves, these 
hats being remarkable for their lightness. The flower stalks 
have been employed by the Indians of the Rio Negro for mak- 
ing the shafts of poisoned arrows used for spearing fish. 
The tribe Hordeae which includes wheat, barley, rye, ete., 
furnishes the straw for making American and European hats. 
Triticum tenax is used principally for hats worn by seamen. 
The straw is extremely tough and when covered with a water- 
resisting cloth makes a very durable head-covering. In China 
and Japan hats are made from the wheat straw, Triticum 
vulgare, the shape suggesting the steel helmets worn by the 
American and English soldiers during the late war. The 
prepared straw which is braided is exported in large quan- 
tities to this country and Europe where it is eventually made 
into hats. In Florence, Italy, Triticum vulgare var. aestivum 
is a favorite hat material. In Portugal the hat-making 
industry is given over to prisoners. 
BAMBOO 
*The giant bamboo (Bambusa arundinacea) is a native of 
India where it grows to a height of 60 feet. The canes or 
stems are split into long fibers and used by the natives in the 
manufacture of hats. The seed is eaten by the poorer classes 
as a substitute for rice or millet and is commonly ealled' by 
them bamboo rice. The stems, which frequently measure 10 
inches to one foot in diameter, are used as flower pots. For 
this purpose the elongated stems are cut below the nodes, the 
joint or node constituting the bottom of the pot. In Corea 
the canes are split as fine as thread and used by the High 
Mandarins for making sun blinds. In India the young succu- 
lent shoots are prepared into delicate pickle. Two large speci- 
