20 



form the princii)al grain of such northern countries as Norway and Sweden, and 

 Scotland, and iu these countries boiled oatmeal and oatmeal cakes are impor- 

 tant articles of food. Boiled oatmeal is also much used in this country, espe- 

 cially at breakfast. The grain, however, is principally cultivated here as food 

 for horses. In the Southern States, oats, particularly winter oats, are largely 

 grown for forage. Sown in August, they fiu'uish the best grazing from Octo- 

 ber to the latter part of Aiiril, and will then yield a more certain and a larger 

 crop of grain than spring-sown oats. They are often cut green for soiling and 

 for hay. Oat hay is quite extensively used in the South and in Calif(U-nia. The 

 practice is to cut Avheu the grain is iu the ''dough" stage, or when the straw 

 commences to turn yellow below the head and the leaves are still green. The 

 yield ranges from 3 to 4^ tons per acre, according to the variety and the season. 

 The feeding value of oat hay is higher than that of tinutthy, containing about 

 8.8 percent of crude protein, and 55 to 05 percent of fat formers, while the latter 

 (timothy) contains from 5 to 7 per cent crude protein, and 45 to 55 per cent 

 fat formers. Among the cereals, oats are the most nutritious, hut oaten Hour 

 lacks the gluten of wheat, rendering the making of bread from it impossible. 

 Oatmeal is richer in nitrogenous matter than soft wheats, and contains more fat 

 than any of the other grains. Russian "quae'' beer is made from oats. 



No. 42. Avena sterilis L. Animated Oats. 



A stout, oat-like grass, with one-sided panicles, and very large, awuedspikelets ; the 

 awn is very long, twisted, and "kneed" or geniculate. It is the twisting and 

 untwisting of these awns when exposed to changes of moisture and dryness that 

 has given to this grass the common name of "animated oats." The untwisting 

 or coiling-up of the awn causes the spikelets to tumble about in various directions, 

 suggestive of independent motion or life-like activity. 



No. 43. Bambusa. Bamboo. 



The bamboos belong to the Bamhusea, a trihe of grasses numbering about 175 species, 

 chietiy limited to South America, southern and eastern Asia, and the East Indies. 

 There are no Euro]tean species, and only two in North America (see Arundinaria). 

 Of the whole number of species only one is common to both hemispheres. The 

 largest bamboos attain a height of IL'O feet, with a diameter of a foot or more. 

 A South American species has leaves 3 to 12 inches wide and 5 to 15 feet long. 

 In India are extensive bamboo forests, and in countries where these grasses 

 abound they are employed for many jnirposes. They furnish material for the 

 complete construction and furnishing (including domestic utensils) of houses. 

 They are used iu shipbuilding and in the construction of bridges. Buckets, 

 liitchers, llasks, and cups are made from sections of the stems. Baskets, boxes, 

 fans, hats, and jackets are made from split bamboo. Ropes and Chinese paper 

 are made from these grasses. A Chinese umbrella consists of bamboo paper, 

 with a bamboo handle and split bamboo for a frame. The leaves are used for 

 packing, filling beds, etc., and occasionally serve as fodder for stock. The 

 young shoots serve as a vegetable. Tabashir, <>r bamboo maiiua, a silicious 

 and crystalline substance which occurs in the hollow stems of some bamboos, is 

 regarded as itossessing medicinal properties. Good drinking water collects in 

 quantities in the hollows of the internodes of many of the larger bamboos. All 

 sorts of agricultural implements, appliances for spinning cotton and wool or for 

 reeling silk, are often (onstructed entirely from bamboo. Aery many articles 

 of househohl use or decoration made from bamboo have become articles of com- 

 mene in Europe and this country. So many and varied are the uses of the 

 several species of bamboo, that it is possible to mention here only a small part 

 of them. Bamboos are propagated by seed, but more often by cuttings. I'lants 

 from the seed do not attain a sufficient growth to admit (Topi)iiig under 10 or 12 

 years. 



