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hollow, except at the nodes, where it retains the power 

 of growth and if knocked down is raised again by the 

 growth of the under side of a node, hence the angular, 

 kneed, appearance of many grasses. A few species 

 grow to considerable heights, as the Sugarcane and the 

 Bamboo. The latter is by far the largest of the family, 

 some species attaining a height, in favourable situations, 

 of over a hundred feet and a thickness of ten or twelve 

 inches, but always hollow like other grasses. 



Economically this family is perhaps the most im- 

 portant of all. The cereal grains, e.g. Ragi, Paddy, 

 Sorghum, Wheat, Maize, Oats, and Barley, which form 

 the staple food of the majority of mankind, are fruits 

 of one or other cultivated species, while the vegetative 

 parts, the leaves and haulms, are the chief food of cattle. 



