4 FIRST BOOK OF GRASSES 



" glume" when speaking of that organ of a grass than 

 to say "the little green scale on the outside of the 

 thing with the seed in it." 



In the first lesson nearly all the new words that a 

 study of grasses will require are explained and illus- 

 trated by figures. The few additional terms neces- 

 sary are explained as they are used. No attempt is 

 made to write a primer of grasses in words of one 

 syllable nor to produce a work on "how to know the 

 grasses" without mental effort. It can not be done. 



USE OF LATIN NAMES 



Besides unfamiliar terms there are the unfamiliar 

 Latin names of the plants which some hesitate to 

 encounter. But many of the names in common use 

 for trees and herbs are the botanical names. Mag- 

 nolia, Rhododendron, Petunia, Asparagus, Chrysan- 

 themum, Phlox are the Latin botanical names and 

 are freely used by all without hesitation. Panicum, 

 Paspalum, Bromus, Festuca, Hordeum are no more 

 difficult. As in the case of such terms as glume and 

 lemma, the Latin names of plants are used for the 

 sake of exactness. Common names of plants, espe- 

 cially of those which are useful, troublesome, or 

 conspicuous, are more definitely applied in older 

 countries where the inhabitants have dwelt in a 

 region for many generations than they are with us. 

 Our ancestors brought names of old world plants 

 with them to their new homes and applied them to 



