PART I 



BOTANICAL SECTION 

 CHAPTER I 



THE MORPHOLOGY OF GRASSES 



Id beginning the study of a particular group of plants such 

 as the grasses with a view to obtaining a knowledge of their 

 different species, habits, uses, etc., our first aim must be to 

 become familiar with the general structure and functions of their 

 different organs, and special attention should be given to those 

 points upon which their classification is based. 



This introduction can be obtained most readily by examining 

 a few typical species in detail. We may take for this purpose 

 the common cultivated Oat (Avena sativa, L.), Couch-grass 

 (Agropyrum repens, Beauv.), and Sheep's Fescue (Festuca ovina, 

 L.). These species are well known, they can be easily obtained, 

 and they will serve to illustrate the structure of grasses very 

 well. Fresh specimens of these plants should be obtained and 

 examined as this chapter is read. The underground parts must 

 be secured as well as the leaves, stems, flowers and "seeds." The 

 "seeds" need not be freshly gathered. 



(A) The Vegetative Organs. 



Root system. In the above-mentioned species the roots arise 

 adventitiously from the lowermost node or nodes of the stem, 

 and they are thin and fibrous in nature. In the Oat plant, 

 which is an annual species, they arise in a dense tuft from 

 nearly the same level; but in the case of the perennial Couch- 

 grass they are produced at every node on the underground creeping 



