CHAPTER IV 

 ECONOMIC PLANTS 



THE forms of vegetation that most interest the agri- 

 culturist have economic value, that is, they minister 

 to the needs of mankind by furnishing food, directly 

 or indirectly, clothing, shelter, or medicine. These 

 economic plants may be classified upon different bases. 

 A convenient classification is the following : cereals ; 

 sugar plants; oil plants; fiber plants; stimulants, 

 medicinal and aromatic plants ; grasses ; legumes ; 

 vegetables; fruits; tubers; roots. 



CEREALS 



By far the greater part of the food for the human 

 race comes from the grain-bearing plants, or cereals, 

 so-called from Ceres, the name the Romans gave the 

 goddess of the harvest. The cereals commonly grown 

 are wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, rice, and buckwheat. 

 All these plants, excepting corn and buckwheat, have 

 certain similar characteristics of growth, their roots 

 are fibrous, their stems are hollow and jointed, and 

 their leaves are long and narrow, characteristics 

 which they possess in common with other grasses. 



It is also characteristic of these cereals to thrive 

 best from shallow planting, one inch or less below the 

 surface. A peculiarity of their root and stem forma- 



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