20 



form the princii>al grain of such nortliern countries as Norway and Sweden, and 

 Scotland, and in 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 furnish the best grazing from Octo- 

 ber to the latter part of April, 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 California. The 

 practice is to cut when the grain is in 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 4i tons ]ier acre, according to the variety and the season. 

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

 8.8 percent of crude protein, and 55 to 65 percent of fat formers, while the latter 

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

 fat former.s. Among the cereals, oats are the most nutritious, but oaten flour 

 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 " quas" beer is made from oats. 



No. 42. Aveua sterilis L. Auimated Oats. 



A stout, oat-like grass, with one-sided panicles, and very large, awnedspikelets ; 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-ui> of the awn causes the spikelcts to tumble about iu various directions, 

 suggestive of independent motion or life-like activity. 



No. 43. Bambusa. Bamboo. 



The bamboos belong to the Bambusew, a tribe of grasses numbering about 175 species, 

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

 There are no European species, and only two in North America (see Arundmaria). 

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

 largest bamboos attain a height of 120 feet, with a diameter of a foot or more. 

 A Soutb 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 purposes. They furnish material for the 

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

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

 ])itcher8, flasks, and cups are made from sections of the stems. Baskets, l)oxe8, 

 fans, hats, and jackets are made from split l)amboo. 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 servo as fodder for stock. The 

 young shoots serve as a vegetable. Tabashir, or bamboo manna, a silicious 

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

 regarded as jiossessing jnedicinal properties. Good drinking water collects in 

 quantities in the hollows of the intornodes of nuiny of the; bnger bamboos. All 

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

 reeling silk, are often constructed entirely from bamboo. Very many articles 

 of household use or decoration made from bamboo have become articles of com 

 mcrco in Europe and this country. So numy and varied are the uses of the 

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

 of them. B;imbooH .-ire ]>ropagated by seed, but more often b.\' cuttings. I'lante 

 from the seed do not attain a sufficient growth to admit cropping under 10 or 12 

 years. 



