GRASS CLOTH 



potash or phosphates, and in the 

 latter case remarkable results have 

 been obtained from basic slag. ' 



Meadows, after being used for 

 grazing, require chain harrowing 

 and rolling, and stones or the like 

 should be removed when a hay 

 crop is in anticipation. Large 

 dressings of manure are necessary, 

 more especially if a hay crop 

 is taken every year. Every 

 three or four years farmyard 

 manure, up to 10 tons per acre, 

 can be applied with advantage, 

 supplemented by a complete mix- 

 ture of artificials in years 

 when the meadow has not been 

 dunged. 



The world's great natural grass- 

 lands are known by various names, 

 prairies in Canada, steppes in 

 Russia, pampas in S. America, 

 veld in S. Africa, downs in Aiis- 



ttrasse. liie South ot France winter resort, ;rom tne east. 

 On the hilltop are the Hotel de Ville and the Cathedral 



tralia. On the desert edge the 

 grasslands degenerate into scrub- 

 lands ; on the forest edge they 

 become parklands or savannahs. 



In Western Europe and in New 

 Zealand the natural vegetation 

 should be forest, but the trees have 

 been cleared and the land devoted 

 to arable and pasture. In New 

 Zealand, cleared land is sown, 

 usually with English grass seed, 

 and sheep and cattle are fed upon 

 the resulting crop. Upon mt. 

 ranges in medium latitudes the 

 higher levels where trees do not 

 grow usually become meadows 

 during the summer months. 



These summer pastures are the 

 " Alps," and are used in Switzer- 

 land and similar countries for the 

 summer feed of flocks and herds. 

 Some natural grasslands, such as 

 the pampas, are sown with alfalfa 

 or lucerne, an excellent food for 

 cattle, which thrives especially in 

 a slightly alkaline soil and in a dry 

 climate. Other grasslands are 

 gradually being turned to arable ; 

 the great wheatlands of N. America 

 are gradually obliterating the ori- 

 ginal prairie. See Farm ; Pasture ; 

 Water Meadow. 



3650 



Grass Cloth. Term commonly 

 applied to fine fabrics woven from 

 certain Oriental plants which are 

 not grasses, especially to that 

 made from China grass (Boeh- 

 meria nivea), which is a nettle-like 

 plant. The inner fibres of Manilla 

 hemp, a plant of the banana family, 

 produce good grass cloth, much 

 used in Europe for articles of 

 dress. The cloth made from true 

 grasses, e.g. esparto, is coarse. 



Grasse. Town of France. In 

 the Alpes-Maritimes dept., it is 

 19 m. W.S.W. of Nice. On a mt. 

 slope, 700-1,380 ft, above sea level, 

 sheltered from the cold winds of the 

 N. and open to the S., it is a 

 favourite winter resort and a 

 centre for the manufacture of per 

 fumes and essences, about 60,000 

 acres being devoted to the culti- 

 vation of roses and orange flowers. 

 The parishchurch. 

 in old cathedral. 

 m| dates from the 

 jjjfl 12th -13th cen 

 I^^H turies ; the hotel 

 de ville, with a 

 12th century 

 tower, the hos- 

 pital, and the 

 casino are notable 

 features, and there 

 is a public park. 

 Queen Victoria 

 stayed here in 

 1891. J.H. Frago- 

 nard, the painter, 

 to whom there is a 

 statue, was a na- 

 tive. Pop. 19,700. 

 Grasses. Name loosely applied 

 to many plants of diverse nature, 

 but more correctly indicating those 

 of the natural order Gramineae 

 (q.v.). Although both in genera 

 and species they are outnumbered 

 by the orchids, in individuals 

 grasses predominate over all other 

 green vegetation. When the far- 

 mer speaks of grass he is referring 

 to all the fodder plants that con- 

 stitute the pasture and all the 

 meadow plants that will convert 

 into hay. The crops of his corn- 

 fields, whether wheat, barley, or 

 oats, he does not refer to as grass, 

 though they, as well as the sugar- 

 cane and bamboos of the tropics, 

 are equally grasses. These grain- 

 bearing grasses, including maize 

 and rice, constitute the staple food 

 of the human race, while the 

 fodder grasses supply indirectly 

 the greater part of animal diet of 

 man. Their great importance is 

 due to the richness of their seeds 

 in the matter of starch and the high 

 percentage of protein. Certain 

 grasses, such as esparto, yield 

 fibres that are of value in the mak- 

 ing of paper and cordage. Grasses 

 are found in nearly every part of 



GRASSMARKET 



the world where there is a little 

 soil, from the tropics to the arctic 

 regions, and from high-waiter mark 

 up to the limits of vegetation on 

 the mountains. 



Grasshopper. Orthopterous 

 (straight-winged) insects of the 

 Locustidae and Acridiiclae famili'ps. 



Grasshopper, u ea, r^ree., ,,rass- 

 hopper, Locusta viridissima. Above. 



Meconema thalassinum 



Remarkable for their long hind legs 

 and jumping powers, they are 

 common in fields during summer. 

 They vary in colour from green to 

 brown, and the species vary much 

 in size. The Locustidae are usually 

 green in colour, with long antennae 

 and an ovipositor in the female. 

 The Acridiidae have short antennae 

 and no ovipositor. 



Locusts do not belong to the 

 Locustidae but to the Acridiidae. 

 The familiar chirp is produced in 

 the former family by rubbing the 

 wings together, and in the latter by 

 drawing the edge of the wing along 

 the inner side of the femur. Most 

 of the species feed upon plants, 

 but a few eat caterpillars and small 

 insects. See Locust. 



Grassmann's Law. In philo- 

 logy, name given to the explanation 

 of certain exceptions to the law of 

 consonantal interchange known as 

 Grimm's Law. It deals with the 

 aspirated mutes (gh, kh, dh, th, bh, 

 ph) and lays down the principle 

 that, when an original Indo- 

 European root began and ended 

 with an aspirate, only one was 

 allowed to stand in Sanskrit and 

 Greek, e.g. Skt. bhavami, Gr. phuo, 

 I become, but babhuva, pephulca, 

 I became. See Philology ; Phonetics. 



Grassmarket. Thoroughfare 

 of Edinburgh, Scotland, between 

 West Port and the Cowgate. A 

 weekly market has been held here 

 since 1477. A stone cross marks 

 the site of the ancient gallows 

 where many of the Covenanters 

 were executed. During the riots 



