362 



GRASSHOPPER 



GRASS OF PARNASSUS 



Distribution. Grasses are almost universally 

 distributed on land, and are found at all elevations 

 up to the snow-line, wherever there is soil. In 

 temperate climates they form natural pastures, 

 hut in warm regions they are more tufted, and, 

 like the sugar-cane and many bamboos, often 

 attain a great height. The species of a single 

 genus have often widely different habitats e.g. Poa 

 annua is a low-growing field-grass, while a closely 

 allied species, P. aqtuatica, forms tall reed-like 



growths by the margins of rivers and lakes. The 

 istribution of grasses in time dates from the 

 Upper Eocene (q.v. ) and subsequent formations. 



Uses. The seeds of cereals furnish the principal 

 material for Bread (q.v.) in most countries. By 

 the process of malting, the starch of grains is con- 

 verted into sugar, which is then allowed to undergo 

 alcoholic fermentation; Beer or Ale (q.v.) is made 

 in this way from barley, and from this liquor 

 Whisky (q.v.) is obtained by distillation. Sugar 

 is also obtained directly from the juices of some 

 grasses e.g. Sugar-grass (Sorghum saccharatum), 

 unripe maize, and Sugar-cane (q.v.). Rum is the 

 fermented and distilled liquor produced from the 

 sugar of sugar-cane. Some grasses form Pasture 

 (q.v.) and Fodder (q.v.). A few are medicinal, as 

 Job's Tears ( Coix lachryma ) ( q. v. ) ; the reeds, 

 Phragmites arundinacea, Calamagrostis, and 

 Arundo Donax; and Couch-grass ( Triticumrepens], 

 the rhizomes of which form a mild diuretic. Very 

 few have poisonous properties. Darnel (q.v. ) is 

 held by some to be poisonous. Coldstream ( Grasses 

 of S. Punjab ) says : ' There is a curious fact regard- 

 ing the qualities of Sorghum vulgare as food for 

 cattle - viz. that in a dry season, before it flowers, 

 the plant is poisonous to cattle. This poisonous 

 quality is also shared by its congener, S. halepense.' 

 Some grasses are fragrant ; Sweet Vernal Grass 

 ( A nthoxanthum odorattim) contains coumarine, a 

 crystalline aromatic substance which gives the 

 sweet scent to meadow hay. Some East Indian 

 grasses are even more strongly scented, as Lemon- 

 grass (Andropogon citratutn) and others of the same 

 fenus, which yield grass-oil. The woody stems of 

 amboos and other large grasses are applied to a 

 great variety of economical purposes ; and the 

 straw of many of the smaller grasses is used for 

 thatching, rope-making, plaiting, &c. (see STRAW- 

 MANUFACTURES). Tims the fibres of the Moonja 

 (Saccharum Munja) of India, the Esparto (q.v.) 

 of Spain, and a few others are made into ropes, 

 mats, sacks, and other coarse fabrics. Paper is 

 made in China from the young shoots of bamboo ; 

 and in most civilised countries from the straw of 

 esparto, rye, wheat, barley, and oats. All grasses, 

 by means of their roots, help to fix the soil, and 

 prevent it being washed away by rain and floods. 



See Parnell's * British Grasses,' and ' Gramineae ' in 

 Engler's Pflanzenfamilien. For classification, see also 

 Bentham and Hooker's Genera Plantarum. The U.S. 

 Department of Agriculture has published several valu- 

 able bulletins and monographs on American grasses, by 

 Dr George Vasey. 



Grasshopper, a name given to numerous 

 insects forming the family Locustidae, included 

 in the order Orthoptera, and nearly related to 

 Crickets (Gryllidae) and Locusts ( Acrididte ). It is 

 unfortunately confusing that ' locusts ' are not in- 

 cluded in the family Locustidae, and that one of our 

 commonest grasshoppers is Locusta viridissima. It 

 must be noted that in this article ' grasshoppers ' 

 mean the majority of Locustidse. Whether grass- 

 hoppers are herbivorous or, as is oftener the case, 

 carnivorous, they usually live among vegetation, 

 in woods and thickets or in the open field, keeping 

 quiet daring the day, but making the woodsides 

 merry with their love ' songs ' in the summer 

 evenings. Most of them feed on flies and cater- 



pillars, in catching which they use their powerful 

 fore-legs, but many att'ect plants, and some combine 

 both diets. During their courting season they may 

 be seen flying even in the afternoon, but they are 

 predominantly nocturnal and twilight insects. By 

 their frequent green colour and yet subtler mimetic 

 characters they are in many cases well concealed in 

 their leafy haunts. The family is large and world- 

 wide in distribution, but best represented in 

 tropical and temperate regions. 



In the grasshopper family ( Locustidse ) the head 

 is placed vertically ; the slender antennae are longer 

 than the body ; there are hemispherical eyes, but 

 rarely eye-spots ; wings and wing-covers are 

 generally present. The right ( and occasionally also 

 the left) wing-cover of the male bears posteriorly 



Grasshopper, Female ( Locusta viridissima ). 



a clear, round membrane stretched on a ring, 

 which produces the well-known 'chirp' when set 

 in vibration by the action of a serrated ridge on the 

 under side of the opposite wing-cover. The left 

 wing-cover is the bow, the right is the fiddle of the 

 male grasshopper's music. There is usually a well- 

 developed auditory organ at the base of the anterior 

 legs. The females have a long ovipositor. 



Sexually mature grasshoppers appear in late 

 summer and autumn. The eggs are laid by means 

 of the ovipositor either in the earth or in some dry 

 stem. From these in spring larva? are developed, 

 which are virtually like the adults, but moult at 

 least six times before they become full-grown. 



The Great Green Grasshopper (Locusta viridis- 

 sima}, common in Europe, and occurring in Britain, 

 has a body over an inch long. Equally large is 

 Decticus verrucivorus, also British, which owes its 

 specific title to the habit Swedish peasants have of 

 making it bite their warts, which the secretion of a 

 fluid from the mouth of the insect is said to affect 

 favourably. Very common in Europe are Thamno- 

 trizon cinereus, Platycleis grisea, and other species. 

 Among American grasshoppers Conocephalus 

 ensiger, type of those with a conical forehead, is 

 very common, as are also various species of 

 Xiphidium and Orchelimum. The nearly allied 

 Katydids e.g. Cyrtophyllus concavus and Micro- 

 centrum retinervis will receive separate notice ( see 

 KATYDID). The tropical genus Copiophora is 

 noteworthy for the length of its ovipositor, which 

 sometimes attains a length of two inches, while 

 Phyllophora and Phylloptera deserve mention for 

 the exceedingly leaf-like appearance of their wing- 

 covers. See CRICKET, KATYDID, LOCUST. 



Grass-moth (Crambus), a genus of small 

 moths, allied to the Clothes-moths. The species, 

 which are numerous, inhabit pastures, where they 

 may be often seen to rise in great numbers when 

 disturbed, and soon to settle again on the blades of 

 grass. Their form, when their wings are closed, is 

 long and narrow, pointed at the head, abruptly cut 

 off at the opposite end. They are often brown and 

 white, sometimes silvery and golden. 



Grass Of Parnassus (Parnassia), a genus of 

 plants belonging to the natural order Saxif ragaceae. 



