The Book of Grasses 



(Arufidinaria iecia) grows as far north as Maryland, and by 

 streams and river hanks forms evergreen thickets from three to 

 twelve feet in height. A reed of southern Europe and Palestine 

 belongs to a closely related genus, and from this grass the heroes 

 of Homer are said to have made their arrov/s and with it to have 

 thatched the tent of Achilles. Pan-pipes, such as Orpheus might 

 have used in charming the Dryads from their leafy shelters, were 

 also made from the smooth stems of this reed. 



Of all flowering plants the grasses are the most widely distrib- 

 uted, and innumerable are the ways in which they have served 

 mankind since, in the story of Eden, the earth brought forth these 

 common plants as the first of its flowers. 



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