RECRKAT1V!-: NATURAL HISTORY. 



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RECREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. 



GRASSES, BEEDS, AND mtintud). 



d most commonly mot with in thia country ia that known 

 l-Vii KVoil (I'httrymitci eommunit). Thia, aa wo have aeon 



M 11 ! liy tlio inhabitants of marsh tracta and fenny 



..nl river shores for a variety of important and URoful 



es. Paper-making has of lute been added to the number. 



A linn in tho neighbourhood of Odessa having turned their 



this branch of manufacture, we aee no reason why 



it hlmuld not be successfully carried out in thia country. Not 



: unily valuable on account of tho number of 



hollow cane-like stalks or stems it produces, but because, like 



many other of Nature's marvellous gifts to man, it performs 



which no human skill or energy could hope to achieve. 



Tho countless myriads of sand-grains gathered together on tho 



borders of some of our sea-coasts would, if unrestrained, bo 



carried onward by tho drifting wind, thrown shorewards by tho 



rising tide, or seawards by heavy rain-storms, thereby changing 



araeter and form of boundary which divides sea from 



land ; thus endangering the lives and possessions of all those 



who dwell among the sand-plains and dunes. But fortunately 



there exist certain reeds whoso favourite place of growth is 



among the sand-beds in which lurks the danger. Here 



flourishes tho " sand binder" (Elymus arenarius), and the 



" marrnm " or Norfolk sand reed (Ammophila arundinacea). 



These plants throwing out their long cord-liko runners and 



numerous rootlets, establish a tough fibrous net-work, which 



effectually restrains tho masses of sand, and keeps thorn from 



being carried about by ordinary disturbing causes. 



The Norfolk sand reed, unlike its cousin of the marsh, rarely 

 grows to a greater height than three feet from the ground. So 

 important are tho services rendered by this plant, that stringent 

 laws have been made regarding its preservation ; and there can 

 be little doubt that very large tracts of sea-shore, which now 

 lie barren and next to valueless, might, by the introduction of 

 Ammophila arundinacea, be rendered fit for tho reception of 

 Socks and herds. 



A large and handsome description of reed, Arundo donax, 

 grows extensively in many parts of Southern Europe. It may 

 justly bo considered the largest member of true European 

 grasses. It is from the split joints of this description of reed 

 that tho mouth-reeds of clarionets and some other wind instru- 

 ments are made. Rice in its uncultivated condition may be 

 regarded in tho light of a marsh reed. Immense tracts of wild 

 rice exist in many parts of America, affording food stores and 

 shelter to myriads of wild fowl. The Indians, too, avail them- 

 selves of these vast natural grain crops ; pushing their light 

 buoyant canoes through the closely-growing stalks, they haul 

 huge bundles of tho heads of ripe grain in over tho gunwale of 

 the boat, and beat out tho rice with sticks, thus performing 

 their threshing operations before reaping time a feat rather 

 calculated to puzzle an English farmer. Cultivated rice (Oryza 

 stativa) appears to have been known in very early ages ; both 

 Dioscorides and Theophrastus speak of it, and state that it was 

 brought from India. Tho Chinese have cultivated rice from 

 periods of the remotest history. It was not, however, grown 

 in America until about the year 1697. Rico is grown with 

 tolerable success in somo parts of tho south of Europe, but tho 

 best is brought from South Carolina. Very large quantities of 

 Patna rice arc also made use of in this country. 



In considering the so-called cereal grasses grown in this 

 country, it is both curious and interesting to trace the relation- 

 ship, and in many cases striking similarity, which 

 between them in growth, notwithstanding the different position 

 they hold when ranked according to their value and usefulness. 

 Tho term Triticum has been applied to that genus of plants to 

 which tho various kinds of wheat, as well as that plague of 

 farmers and gardeners, tho common couch-grass, or 

 belong. Tho barley, oat, rye, canary-grass, etc., have each their 

 representatives amongst the wild grasses of our fields, hedge- 



rowH, and meadows ; and it ia from a gathering together of these 

 that oar beat hay oropa are mainly formed. The oooch-grMa 

 (Triticum repent) haa been called tho black abeep of its family, 

 bat a little patient investigation will servo to ahow that oven 

 thia maoh-deapiaed weed has it* good qualities. The undcr- 

 runner or root, so remarkable for its length, tough- 

 noHB, and powers of reproduction, has not uufroquently served, 

 during iwrioda of want and scarcity, to prolong the lives of tho 

 famished poor who possessed thrift and practical knowledge 

 enough to gather and partake of it. A considerable quantity of 

 saccharine matter liea atored np in the rnnners of thia member 

 of tho f ujiily Triticum. Pigs fatten rapidly on food prepared 

 from them. Tho celebrated Ariali gran* of India, which ia held 

 in irach high onteem by the keepers of horses of that country, in 

 closely allied to tho couch of England in mode of growth and 

 tho nature of tho awoot products yielded by tho underground 

 runncra or roots. The term Triticum, applied to tho genua of 

 plants under consideration, is derived, according to Varro, from 

 tritum, ground or rubbed ; as wo say, to triturate, or crush by 

 tho aid of a pestle and mortar, or such like contrivance. Both 

 tho early Egyptians and Jews cultivated and consumed grain 

 extensively, and so great is tho vitality possessed by the seed* 

 of this order of plants, that wheat-grains found in mummy-canes 

 discovered in both Egypt and Thebes, which had probably lain 

 buried for several thousands of years, germinated freely when 

 subjected to the stimulating action of light, heat, moisture, air, 

 and soil. Who then shall say how long the seeds of grasses and 

 other plants may remain locked np within tho coffers of tho 

 deep quiet earth, without parting with the germ of life with 

 which a wise Creator has c ndowed them ? It is usual to speak 

 of what is called common wheat as Triticum vulgare ; but under 

 tho same head must bo classed two varieties of the same species 

 of plant viz., Triticum cettivum and Triticum hybernum. 

 Those last-mentioned kinds differ in their periods of growth, 

 and although they have been found growing wild in both Siberia 

 and Persia, it is difficult,, if not impossible, to assign any parti- 

 cular country as being tho place of their origin. Still, it is 

 important to bear in mind tho distinctive habits of the two 

 varieties, as that called Trilicum asstivum is the true type of all 

 tho kinds of wheat known in this country as spring and summer 

 wheats ; whilst Triticum hylernum is tho family head, so to 

 speak, of all the summer or winter wheats properly so called. 

 Then wo have Trilicum turgidum, cone, turgid, or English 

 wheat, of which about ten well-marked varieties are enumerated. 

 Tho quality and number of grains produced by any particular 

 variety may, however, be materially influenced by careful selec- 

 tion of seed and proper management. Tho change of character 

 thus set up in wheat plants is clearly and curiously shown by a 

 series of experiments carried out by Mr. Hallet, of Brighton, 

 a well-known agriculturist. This gentleman, in the year 1857, 

 selected an ear of corn which measured 4J inches in length, and 

 yielded forty-seven grains of wheat ; from these selection was 

 made, and in the year 1861 an ear was produced which 

 measured 8f inches long, and yielded 12 J grains with eighty 

 stalks or reeds springing from one crown of roots formed 

 from a single grain. Thus it will be seen that attributes well 

 calculated to lead the casual observer to imagine that a dis- 

 tinct species of wheat was before him, may be brought about by 

 management and judicious selection. 



Bearded wheat (Triticum durum) is a native of Switzerland. 

 Thero are several varieties of this plant, all of which produce 

 summer wheats, and ace extensively cultivated in Spain, Italy, 

 Sicily, etc. Tho bearded wheats of tho East wo cannot dwell on 

 here. There are yet a number of noteworthy and attractive 

 grasses, which ore cultivated in this country more on account of 

 their beauty of appearance than absolute utility. Amongst 

 these we may mention tho stately pampas grass, now such an 

 admired ornament to our lawns, and tho striped ribbon-grass, 

 and breza or quaking grass of our garden borders. Unlike tho 

 true grasses, the rush family ore of little value for the seed they 

 bear. They, with tho flags and sedges, are held in esteem 

 according to the utility and general character of their leaves 

 and stalks. Tho papyrus of the lakes and rivers of Egypt 

 (Fig. 1), as most of our readers will bo aware, furnished the 

 principal material from which the books and other documents 

 of tho ancient Egyptians were formed. Tho Greeks, too, availed 

 themselves of tho samo material for writing on. To prepare 

 the papyrus for the reception of the inks and pigments used by 



