VARIETY OF GRASSES. 41 



which are exogens ! but I wish they had not such 

 hard names." 



" Those names simply mean, ' growing inwardly/ 

 and ' growing outwardly ;' and they are the only 

 hard names I shall trouble you with for a long 

 time." 



" And how many plants belong to this straight- 

 veined division, or endogens ?" asked Henry. 



" Very many that you are acquainted with, and 

 very many more that you know nothing about. 

 In the first place, there is the great tribe contain- 

 ing the various grasses which clothe the hills and 

 valleys wifh verdure, and in many cases bear 

 precious grain ; for oats, barley, wheat, rye, maize, 

 and rice, are all produced by plants of this tribe ; 

 while the inferior kinds of grass feed our flocks 

 and herds, and thus do us nearly as much service 

 as the others. But you must not suppose that all 

 the pastures of the earth consist of the same kind 

 of short sweet herbage with which our own fields 

 and meadows are covered. In South America 

 there are field crops of grass, especially on the 

 banks of the river Amazon, which grow to the 

 height of six or seven feet, and yet are perfectly 

 tender and delicate." 



