GRAYLING INSTITUTE. 281 



ents, all their sulphur, and nearly the whole of their nitrogen and water. 

 From the atmosphere they obtain, through their leaves, the whole, or nearly 

 the whole of their carbon, with probably small quantities of nitrogen and 

 water. The amount and composition of the ash of succulent plants, as 

 meadow grass and clover, are greatly influenced by the character of the soil 

 and the manure apj)lied. 



For most of the above paragraph the writer is indebted to the " Chemistry 

 of the Farm," by R. Warington. 



Meadow hay contains a much larger proportion of potash and lime than is 

 found in the ripened grain of the cereals. 



The wide variations in fiber and albuminoids must be regarded as being 

 entirely due to physiological causes, which are dif&cult to explain. Digitaria 

 sanguinale, for instance, which in one specimen contains the extreme amount 

 of albuminoids and a small amount of fiber, has, in another, only half as 

 much albumen and one and three-quarter times as much fiber. We learn, 

 then, that species are not in themselves at all fixed in their composition, 

 there being as large variations among specimens of the same as between 

 specimens of different species. 



The different sections furnish very different qualities of grasses, and for 

 the reason that those from the north were almost entirely from cultivated 

 soil, while those from the other sections were many or most of them wild 

 species from old sod. The improvement brought about by cultivation is 

 marked, and the difference between a ton of wild western and eastern culti- 

 vated hay is apparent. 



In general, as a grass grows older, its content of water decreases, ash 

 decreases, fat decreases, albuminoids decrease, carbo-hydrates increase, crude 

 fiber increases, non-albuminoids decrease, until bloom, or slightly after, when 

 it is at its lowest, and then it increases again during the formation of the 

 seed. There are almost no exceptions to the fact that water decreases in the 

 maturer specimens; that is, a plant gradually dries up and becomes less suc- 

 culent. From these statements we infer that grasses of the better grazing 

 districts, when grown in a dry season, make the best feed, but usually less in 

 quantity. Gi'asses grown in sunny weather are better than those grown in 

 cloudy weather or in the shade. Grasses grown on marshes or wet land are 

 not so nutritious as those grown on dry land. Grasses grown on rich loam 

 or clay in fine condition are more nutritious than those grown on poor, thin 

 soil. 



There are many widely different plants which, in popular language, have 

 the name "grass" attached to them; such as knot-grass, rib-grass, cotton- 

 grass, sea-grass, eel-grass, sedge-grass, the clovers and others, but these do 

 not belong to the family here under consideration. There are many sedges 

 often abundant on marshes, and these are not grasses. The grass family con- 

 tains Indian corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, rice, doura, sorghum, broom- 

 corn, sugar-cane, millet, Hungarian grass, bamboo, timothy, red-top, June 

 grass, fowl meadow grass, blue-joint, buffalo-grass, orchard grass, meadow 

 fox-tail, the ferns, rye-grass, oat-grass, sweet vernal grass, Burmuda grass, 

 and many more, which contribute to the food of domestic animals. 



Of the staple crops of the United States, the grass family contains about 

 five-sixths of the total value. 



The cereals and the pasture grasses, the world over, are of more value to 

 man and his domestic animals than all other plants taken together ! 



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