Grasses 151 



loss of the humble plants, constantly trodden 

 under foot of man, and chiefly valued for their 

 utility as fodder. 



In fact, as Mrs. Stowe wrote in one of her 

 Florida letters, "You never realize what grass is 

 till you have to do without it." 



But in temperate regions grasses give character 

 to the whole landscape. They foster the wild life 

 of the fields, forming sheltering bowers in which 

 small animals hide from their enemies, and ground- 

 nesting birds rear their broods. 



Grasses are the basis of a large proportion of 

 the higher life of the globe, for no family of 

 plants equals them in usefulness as food for man 

 and beast. They give us corn, oats, wheat, 

 barley, rye, rice, and sugar. Our bread comes 

 directly from grasses, and, as they feed the flocks 

 and herds, our milk, cheese, butter, meat, and 

 leather come from them indirectly. 



So they enter into close business relations with 

 the farmer, the stock-raiser, the miller, the baker, 

 the shoemaker, the saddler, and the exporter. 

 After the grain has been gathered, the stems 

 which upbore it are peculiarly adapted for use in 

 many industries. And, lastly, the grasses are 

 doing, slowly and continuously, what the world's 



