FARMER'S BOOK OF GRASSES 29 



CHAPTER VI. 

 The Night Shade Family. 



While this family affords many poisons and valuable medi- 

 cines and a few nice vegetables and condiments, as red pepper, 

 egg plant and tomato ; it gives but one of much value as food, 

 the Irish Potato. 



SOLANUM. 



S. TUBEROSUM. The potato is too well known to need de- 

 scription and its value as food for man is every where recogni- 

 zed. It is valuable also as food for live stock. . But as it should 

 always be cooked for them, is more expensive to grow, less rel- 

 ished and less profitable than the sweet potato and less certain as 

 a crop, I can not recommend it as a food crop for live stock. 



CHAPTER VII. 

 Nettle, Buckwheat and, Pine- Apple Families. 



1, The Nettle Family includes the Elms, Figs, Mulberries, 

 Osage Orange, Hemps and Hops ; but no forage plant perhaps 

 properly so called, although cattle eat with relish the foliage of 

 some plants of this order. The leaves of the mulberry are quite 

 nutritious. The Boehmeria seems to be worthy of some attention 

 as a forage plant. We have but one native representative of 

 this genus ; but it is everywhere regarded as a nuisance. 



The B. nivea, (formerly Urtica nivea) better known in Amer- 

 ica by its Malayan name of 'Ramie, was introduced into many 

 parts of the south some years ago as a fibre producing plant. It 

 produces a most beautiful, strong fibre, of a transparent, glossy 

 whiteness surpassing the finest specimens of linen. I have seen 

 nothing in textiles more beautiful than handkerchiefs and shirts 

 made of Ramie fibre of American growth. It is from this that 

 the famous Chinese grass cloth is made. It is said to be supe- 

 rior to all other materials for Brussels lace. 



This plant grows readily from seed and from root-cuttings and 

 may be rapidly multiplied. It may be cut three times a year, 

 yielding an immense quantity of fibre. It requires little culti- 

 vation after once fairly started to grow. But being a new thing 

 requiring a new mode of industry and special machinery for 

 preparing it for market, it has nearly disappeared from our 

 country. 



