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MONOCOTYLEDONS GRAMINE^E DIAGRAM 17. 



Cob of 

 Maize. 



and supply its place with other food. Maize, which is much 

 grown in America and in the south of Europe, is 

 one of the Gramineae, but differs somewhat from the 

 cereals 3 the flowers have only one sex, and form two 

 ears on each plant. The ear of male flowers is at the 

 very top of the stalk. That of female flowers is lower, 

 and nothing can at first be seen but a tuft of large 

 pistils, which unfold from the leaves. The ripe grains 

 form a compact ear, or cob, which is stripped to make 

 flour. It is chiefly used in England for making pud- 

 dings, &c., but in America the grain is cooked in a 

 great variety of ways. 

 The Sugar-cane is another plant of this family, which is largely 

 cultivated in the West Indies. All the sugar used in Europe was 

 obtained from it until the beet-root begun to be cultivated for the 

 production of sugar. The stalk of the sugar-cane is nearly as large 

 as the arm of a young child, the knots are very close together, 

 and the whole interior is filled with abundance of a 

 sweet sap. When it is time to gather them, the canes 

 are pulled up, stripped of their leaves, and passed 

 between heavy rollers, which crush them. The juice 

 thus obtained is evaporated in ovens, and the residue 

 is the raw sugar which is imported into Europe. 

 To make white sugar, it must be refined. Molasses 

 is the refuse sap which will not crystallise after 

 evaporation. The remains of the crushed canes 

 are not wasted, but are fermented to make rum. 



The maize and sugar-cane are much larger grasses 

 than those of our fields and our cereals, but there 

 are others which greatly surpass these in size, and 

 which reach the size of trees. The Bamboos which 

 grow in warm countries are really gigantic grasses. 

 They are sometimes as large as the arm or the leg ; 

 as the space between the knots is hollow, it is enough 

 to cut the stalk between each knot to make household utensils. 



Sugar-cane. 



