THE FLOWERING OF THE GRASSES. 63 



pound of old cheese ? Yet all three classes are degene- 

 rate. It is just the same with plants : the small, lithe, 

 waving grasses can fill up a thousand nooks and corners 

 in nature which cannot be filled by the great oaks, or 

 even by the tall docks, or spurges, or nettles. As a rule, 

 one may say that the higher plants are comparatively 

 few and far between, while the small, degenerate types 

 are common and ubiquitous : just as one can everywhere 

 find little insects and creeping things, while deer, ele- 

 phants, zebras, and monkeys, both from their larger size 

 and higher specialisation, are only found in small 

 numbers over restricted areas. 



But in their own way, to fill their own place in 

 nature, the grasses, though degenerate, are admirably 

 adapted to their particular station. The great secrets of 

 their success are probably three in number. First, they 

 have a general shape which allows them admirably to 

 fill up all the cricks and corners between other plants 

 to economise any bit of waste space which no other 

 competitor has seized upon ; and in perfectly wild or 

 tangled countries, this is really their main function in 

 the complex balance of vegetable life. Secondly, they 

 have an immense number of flowers stowed away in the 

 smallest possible space, and fertilised in a very cheap 

 and simple manner by the wind. And thirdly, they 

 have learned to produce only one seed from each flower, 

 in the shape of a single grain, more richly stored with 

 food-stuffs for the young plant than those of almost any- 

 other species. One rich seed is worth more in the 

 struggle for life than twenty poor ones. It is this last 

 peculiarity that makes the grasses so largely cultivated 

 by man. What feeds young plants will feed animals 



