Glumales.] GRAMINACEiE. 113 



The uses of this most important tribe of plants, for fodder, food, and clothing, 

 require httle illustration. The abundance of wholesome ftecula contained in their seeds 

 renders them peculiarly well adapted for the sustenance of man ; and if the Cereal 

 Grasses only, such as Wheat, Barley, Rye, Oats, Maize, Rice, and Guinea Corn, are 

 the kinds commonly employed, it is because of the large size of their grain com- 

 pared with that of other Grasses ; for none are unwholesome in their natural state 

 with the exception of Lolium temulentum, a common weed in many parts of England^ 

 the effects of which are imdoubtedly deleterious, although perhaps exaggerated ; of Bro- 

 mus purgans and catharticus, said to be emetic and purgative ; of Bromus mollis, reported 

 to be unwholesome, and of Festuca quadridentata, which is said to be poisonous in Quito, 

 where it is called Pigonil, To these must be added Molinia varia, injurious to cattle, 

 according to Endhcher ; and a variety of Paspalum scrobiculatum, called Hm-eek in 

 India, (Graham's Bombay Plants, p. 234), which is perhaps the Ghohona Grass, a reputed 

 Indian poisonous species, said to render the milk of cows that gi-aze upon it narcotic and 

 di-astic. (Madras Journal, 1837, p. 107). It is however unceriam how far the injuri- 

 ous action of some of these may be owing to mechanical causes, which, in the case of 

 the species of Calamagi'ostis and Stipa seem to be the cause of mischief in conse- 

 quence of their roughness and bristles. In then- qualities the poisonous species .seem to 

 approach the properties of puti-id Wheat, which is known to be dangerous. 



Among corn plants less generally known may be mentioned Eleusine coracana, called 

 Natchnee, on the Coromandel coast, and Nagla Ragee, or Aland, elsewhere m India ; Pha- 

 laris canariensis, which rields the canary seed ; Zizania aquatica or Canada Rice ; Pas- 

 palum scrobiculatimi, the Alenya or Kodro of India, a cheap gi-ain, regarded as unwhole- 

 some ; Setaria germanica, rielding German millet ; Panicum fi-umentaceum, called 

 Shamoola, in the Deccan ; Setaria italica, cultivated in India under the name of Kala 

 kangnee or Kora kang ; Panicum miliaceum, a gi-ain called Warree in India ; and 

 P. pilosum, called Bhadlee. Penicillaria spicata or Bajree ; Andropogon Sorghum or 

 Dui-ra, Doora, Jowaree or Jondla; and Andropogon saccharatus or Shaloo, are also grown 

 in India for their grain. A kind of fine-gramed com, called, on the west of Africa, Fundi 

 or Fundungi, is produced by Paspalum exile ; and finally, both the Teff and Tocusso, 

 Abyssinian corn plants, are species of this order ; the former Poa abyssinica, the latter 

 Eleusine Tocusso, (LinncBa, 1839). Even Stipa pennata is said to produce a flom'much 

 like that of Rice. 



The value of Grasses as fodder for cattle is hardly second to that of their corn for 

 human food. The best fodder Grasses of Em-ope are usually dwarf species, or at least 

 such as do not rise more than 3 or 4 feet above the gi'ound, and of these the larger 

 kinds are apt to become hard and wiry ; the most esteemed are Lolium peremie, Phleum 

 and Festuca pratensis, C}^lOsm■us cristatus, and various species of Poa and dwarf 

 Festuca, to which should be added Anthoxanthum odoratum for its fragrance. But the 

 fodder Grasses of Brazil are of a far more gigantic stature, and perfectly tender and 

 delicate. We learn from Nees von Esenbeck, that the Caapim de Angola of Brazil, 

 Panicum spectabile, grows 6 or 7 feet high : while other equally gigantic species con- 

 stitute the field crops on the banks of the Amazons. In New Holland the favomnte ia 

 the Anthistiria australis or Kangaroo Grass ; in India the A. cUiata is also m request. 

 But the most common Indian fodder Grass appears to be Doorba, Doorwa, or Hurrya- 

 lee, Cynodon Dactylon. Gama Grass, Tripsacum dactyloides, has a great reputation 

 as fodder in Mexico ; and attention has lately been du'ected to the Tussac-grass of the 

 Falklands, Festuca flabellata, a species forming tufts 5 or 6 feet high, and said to be 

 unrivalled for its excellence as food for cattle and horses. (See Gardener's Chronicle, 

 1843, p. 131). 



The fragrance of our sweet Vernal Grass (Anthoxanthum), is by no means confined 

 to it. Other species are Hierochloe borealis. Ataxia Horsfieldii, and some Andi'opogons ; 

 their odour is said to be o^\ing to the presence of benzoic acid. The most famous 

 species are Andropogon Iwarancusa and Schoenanthus, the latter the Lemon Grass of 

 English gardens ; A. Calamus aromaticus, which Dr. Royle considers the plant of that 

 name described by Dioscorides, and the " sweet cane" and " rich aromatic reed from 

 a far counti*y" of Scripture ; and the Anatherum muricatum, called Vetiver by the 

 French, and Khus in India, where its fragi'ant roots are employed in making tatties, 

 covers for palanquins, &c. 



This fragrance is connected with aromatic secretions which have in part recom- 

 mended Grasses to the notice of medical practitioners. The last mentioned plant 

 (Anatherum muricatum), is said to be acrid, aromatic, stimulating, and diaphoretic ; 

 another species, A. Nardus, is called, because of its quality. Ginger Grass, or Koshel. 

 The roasted leaves of Andropogon Schoenanthus are used in India, in infusion, as an 

 excellent stomachic. An essential oil of a pleasant taste is extracted from the leaves 

 in tlie Moluccas ; and the Javanese esteem the plant much as a mild aromatic and 



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