HOLE : SOME INDIAN GRASSES AND THEIR CECOLOGY. 37 



ally provide information of economic value on such points as the best treatment to adopt 

 in areas where a grass like Saccharum Munja is worked for munj fibre, or for paper mate- 

 rial, the best species to cultivate for the purpose of fixing sand or unstable soil, the kind of 

 locality in which a valuable fodder grass like Andropogon monticola can be cultivated 

 with most prospect of success, methods to adopt with a view of eradicating troublesome 

 species which have taken possession of valuable agricultural lands, and so on. 



Another point borne in mind also is that, so far as possible, when an important species 

 is being studied, other species of less importance, occurring in the same locality and likely 

 to be mistaken for it, should also be studied and fully described and illustrated, special 

 attention being paid to characters which can be easily recognised in the forest and which 

 serve to distinguish the important from the unimportant species. 



For these reasons the following species were selected for study : — 



Saccharum spontaneum, 

 Saccharum Munja, 

 Saccharum Narenga, 

 Erianthus Ravennce, 

 Imperata arundinacea, 

 Aristida cyanantha, 

 Triraphis madagascariensis, 

 Andropogon monticola. 



In subsequent papers it is hoped to deal with the Bhabar grass {Ischmmum august i- 

 folium) and the valuable odoriferous oil-grasses. 



34. The information collected regarding Arrange- 

 each species has been arranged under the following heads : — information 



(A) Botanical Description. 



(B) Taxonomy. 



(C) Biological and GEcological Notes — 



(a) Habitat, 



(b) Development of Culms, Season of Vegetative Activity and Flowering. 



(c) Susceptibility to Fire Damage. 



(d) Utility as Fodder and best Treatment for Fodder Production. 



(e) Eelations of Grassland to Woodland. 



(D) Economic Uses. 



This paper has also been divided into three chapters, the first containing a brief des- 

 cription of the locality, the second containing the detailed information referring to each 

 species and the third containing a summary of the work done in the form of suggestions 

 regarding the practical treatment of grasslands. 



35. The identification of grasses from the illustrations 

 brief written descriptions given in a work like the Flora of British India is often found 



[ 37 J 



