WAYSIDE WEEDS, 



177 



With some little resemblance to tlie grasses, the 

 sedges are yet very different, as the descriptions 

 prove, and more diverse still in their useful import. 

 Comparatively, the sedge has rarely any economical 

 value : the grass tribes, directly or indirectly, are 

 the staple of man's material life, 



Fio. 105.— Carex striota, or Tufted Bog-8cdge : a, barren spike; h 4, ferUle 

 spikes ; c, d, scales of perianth ; e, frnit, or seed ;/, section of stem. 



Important, however, as the second or gramineous 

 division of the British Olvmacem may be, we must 

 dismiss it with but short notice. It would be quite 

 useless to attempt to discriminate for a beginner the 



