THE QUAKE-GRASS 



The grasses, therefore, as a family have been 

 eminently successful in taking possession of the 

 earth, but it is through their degeneracy that their 

 success had been achieved ; on the other hand the 

 Orchid family has slowly evolved and developed to 

 a greater complexity those characteristics it in- 

 herited from its remote lily-like ancestors. 



Thus the two groups of plants have each 

 reached the topmost points on entirely different 

 branches of the organic tree. So different have 

 they become that it is only by investigating the 

 details of their structure, and guided by modern 

 theories of evolution, that we are now able to 

 understand how the Lily group has given origin to 

 our choicest orchids and humble grasses, the 

 latter, be it remembered, including man's most 

 important cereal food-plants, such as rice, millet, 

 wheat, barley, etc. 



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