68 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



The stems of grasses are round. Three-cornered 

 stems belong to the sedges, which are more near 

 to the rushes, that grow in wet ground. Sedges 

 are woven into matting by the Japanese. Rush 

 matting is made in many countries. 



A reed called Papyrus, that used to be cultivated 

 in the Delta of the Nile, was more important in the 

 early ages of civilization than it is now. Sheets 

 made of thin, overlapping strips of the pith 

 formed the first paper used for the manuscript 

 records. Other materials have quite superseded 

 Papyrus in the manufacture of paper, but its name 

 is preserved for all time in our English word, paper. 

 We see the plant occasionally in water gardens, 

 and in pools where goldfish live outdoors. 



CLOVERS 



Grasses include the cereals, the bread plants of 

 the world. Because they furnish rich food in both 

 forage and grain, these plants are great soil rob- 

 bers. They give back little or nothing. The 

 farmer must constantly fertilize his fields, or the 

 yield of grain falls off deplorably. Nitrogen is the 

 most needed element. It can be bought in chemi- 

 cal form and spread on the land, plowed or 

 allowed to wash in, and the crop will reward the 



