GRASSES OF IOWA. 169* 



meals and concentrated food substances, or b'ood, molasses, 

 distillery and glucose refuse, sugar beet pulp, apple pomace 

 and other by produc s. 



"8. Poultry foods of two types, namely — type 1, contain- 

 ing a dominant nitrogenous factor for laying hens, and No. 2, 

 containing a dominant carbohydrate factor for fattening pur- 

 poses. ' ' 



This manufacture is carried on extensively by the Marsden 

 Co., of Philadelphia, inOwensboro, Ky. 



The straw of several varieties of wheat is used for the man- 

 ufacture of braids or straw plait. The finest of thes3 come- 

 from ItaW, thus the celebrated Tuscan plait comes from Flor- 

 ence and is produced from a variety of wheat cultivated espec- 

 ially for the straw and without regard to the grain. The indus- 

 try is carried on extensively also in parts of China. The straw 

 of rye {Secale cereale) is likewise used for the making of hats. An 

 interesting account of its use in this connection will be found 

 in Mr. Dodge's paper on "Th3 Useful Fibre Plants of the 

 World." 



Brooms. 



Another important use of grasses is for the manufacture of 

 brooms. The plant usually used for this purpose is broom corn, 

 Andropogon sorghum. The cultivat on of broom corn for the 

 manufacture of brooms is an extensive industry in Ohio, 

 Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Kansas. Good crops may be 

 obtained with proper attention and care on any clean, fertile 

 soil. The seed is planted about the same time that corn is. 

 The soil should be well tilled and in exc-lent condition; the 

 weeds must b3 kept down to get the most remunerative cop. 

 The brush must; b3 cut before the seed is fully formed. 



Soil Binders. -^ 



Grasses are extensively used as sand and soil binders. 

 These grasses are especially important along the sea shores 

 where the tides and waves are a cons' ant menace to the land 

 and dwellings situated in proximity to the sea. "The digging 

 out and undermining by swift currents, the beating of the 

 waves on lake and ocean shores and the perpetual shifting 

 about of loose sands by the waves and winds, cost our country 

 many millions of dollars annually," siys F. Lamson-Scribner 

 in his paper on grasses as sand and soil binders.* The sand 



*Year book D. S. Dept. Agrl. 1894: 421, 



