ECONOMIC CLASSIFICATION OF GRASSES 7 



importance as food plants for the white race both in 

 America and the Old World. Wheat, oats, barley, and 

 rye are usually designated by the American farmer as 

 small grains, to distinguish them from corn. Rice is 

 usually not included in this loose classification because 

 its culture is confined to the moist regions of the coast, 

 and it is not found in the grain-growing districts of the 

 country. Emmer, spelt, and other species of wheat 

 allied to our common bread wheat, are grown in the Old 

 World, and the first mentioned is grown to a limited 

 extent as a forage crop in America. (See Farmers' Bul- 

 letins Nos. 139, 466.) A classification of the grains with 

 their botanical names is given in a future chapter. 



All the grains cultivated in the United States are 

 annuals. Certain plants that belong to other families are 

 cultivated in various parts of the world for the seed which 

 is ground into flour and used for food, and hence might be 

 classed as grains. The only one of these used in this 

 country is the buckwheat (Fagopyru7n esculentum L.). 

 Certain others are cultivated among primitive peoples in 

 other parts of the world, as for example, the quinoa 

 {Chenopodium Quinoa Willd.) in the Andes. The seeds of 

 certain wild grasses, especially the Indian rice {Zizajiia 

 palustris), have been used by the North American 

 Indians for food. 



8. Relative importance of the different grains. — The 

 grains are used primarily for human food. Scarcely less 

 important is their use as feed for domestic animals. 

 Wheat and rice are used almost exclusively as human food, 

 but all the others are used in part or, in the United States, 

 almost wholly for stock feed. In Europe, to a much greater 

 extent than in America, barley and rye serve as bread- 

 stuffs, while millet {Chcetochloa italica) and proso millet 



