2 A TEXT-BOOK OF GRASSES 



this family belong the grains, such as wheat, com, and 

 rice, that furnish the bulk of the vegetable food of the 

 world for man, and feed for stock; the greater part of the 

 pasture and meadow plants that furnish forage and hay; 

 and many large grasses such as the sugar-cane, the sor- 

 ghum, and the bamboos that are not usually classed with 

 this family by those who are not botanists. 



1. Agrostology. — Agrostology is that branch of botany 

 which treats of grasses. The term is derived from two 

 Greek words, agrostis (ayposrts from aypos, a field) a 

 kind of grass, and logos (Xoyos) speech. The subject is 

 usually divided into two branches, economic agrostology 

 and systematic agrostology. Like any other branch of 

 botany, agrostology can be considered also from the 

 standpoint of anatomy, morphology, or physiology. Up 

 to the present time the study of grasses from these stand- 

 points has not received distinctive recognition but has 

 been merged with the anatomy, morphology, and physiol- 

 ogy of plants in general, or has been included in syste- 

 matic agrostology. 



2. Economic agrostology. — This is that branch of 

 economic botany which treats of grasses, or it is that 

 branch of agrostology which treats of the uses of grasses. 

 The uses of the grasses and their products are so many and 

 various and touch so many industries that it is necessary 

 to define the limits of the subject as it will be considered 

 in this work. It is intended so far as practicable to 

 restrict the discussion of economic agrostology to its 

 botanical phases. The methods of growing grasses, that 

 is, cultural methods, belong more properly, in case of the 

 field crops, to agronomy; or, in case of the ornamental 

 species to horticulture. The methods of obtaining the 

 products of grasses and the course of the products after 



