284 Plant Life and Evolution 



of many plants, first probably for fish-lines and for 

 binding the heads of arrows and spears and axe- 

 heads to the shafts, etc., but he later learned the art 

 of spinning and weaving, to provide himself with 

 clothing. The ancient Egyptians knew the art of 

 weaving, and, as we have seen, there is evidence 

 that even the Swiss Lake-dwellers cultivated a spe- 

 cies of flax. 



Forage Plants. Besides the plants used directly 

 by man for food, there must be taken into account 

 the forage plants, which serve to nourish the animals 

 upon which man feeds. These, like the staple food 

 plants of mankind, are largely grasses, most of the 

 herbiverous animals, like cattle, sheep, etc., feeding 

 largely upon grasses of various kinds. Next in im- 

 portance as forage plants are various leguminous 

 plants, clover, alfalfa, etc. These have become little 

 altered by cultivation and to all intents and pur- 

 poses are still wild plants. 



Cereals. The food staple of nearly all peoples 

 is some form of farinaceous vegetable food, and 

 this is seen in its greatest perfection in the grains 

 yielded by various species of grasses, which from 

 very early times have formed the principal food for 

 the vast bulk of mankind. Some of these grains 

 have been in cultivation as far back as there is any 

 historical record, and indeed, as we have seen, there 

 are evidences of the cultivation of grains even in 

 prehistoric times, as shown by remains of the Swiss 

 Lake-dwellers of the stone age. In consequence of 



