INTRODUCTION. 5 



different sexes ; the turf, though not absent altogether, 

 is much less compact than in the cooler climates, and 

 meadows are less frequent. 



Of the many gifts bestowed by our beneficent Creator 

 in the kingdom of nature, that of the grasses is perhaps 

 the most valuable to the life of man, whether we regard it 

 as " the grass grown for cattle" or " the green herb for the 

 use of man." In the first-named gift we reckon all the 

 agricultural grasses, both natural and artificial, the value 

 of which we only realize when during a drought they 

 are withdrawn. At such a time we are not surprised to 

 hear even of so great and imperious a king as Ahab 

 going forth to see if perchance he can find a little grass 

 anywhere to save some of his cattle alive. And in the 

 u green herb for the service of man " we recognize the 

 rank lines of corn growing up, " first the blade, then 

 the ear, and then the full corn in the ear," — yielding at 

 last in the rich harvest time the precious " staff of life," 

 " bread to strengthen man's heart." 



As food for man and beast it is impossible to over- 

 value this great gift of God, nor should we forget how 

 valuable is the turfy carpet overspreading our hills and 

 valleys, both as regards its comfort to the foot of the 

 weary traveller and its charm to the eye. Who that 

 has any taste for the beautiful can fail to admire the 

 glory of the meadow, whether the trembling panicles of 

 its grasses are laden with the diamonds of the dew or 

 giving out their odour under the influence of the mid- 

 day sun ! And when the summer is over and gone, 

 and the rich grow r th of the meadows stands stoutly in a 

 burly stack, the aftermath is not less profuse in its adorn- 

 ments than was the earlier crop, for as — 



" Ilka blade o' grass keps its ain drap o' dew," 



