1 88 Elementary Botany 



ant to man, yielding, as it does, the various cereals that he 

 employs as food, and the Grasses used as food for cattle. 

 Amongst the cereals the first place must be given to Wheat 

 (Triticum vulgare). The origin of this important plant is 

 entirely lost in the past. We are not acquainted with the wild 

 stock from which it has been produced. Numerous varieties 

 of Wheat are cultivated, some with awns to the flowering glumes 

 and some without. Interesting experiments have been tried 

 by Major Hallett in Sussex. By choosing the best ears and 

 grains, and using these for sowing, and by repeating this pro- 

 cess several times, the Wheat is greatly improved in character. 

 By this process of artificial selection what is known as ' Pedigree 

 Wheat ' is obtained. The seeds in the case of all the plants of 

 the Graminacese are albuminous, and flour is obtained from the 

 crushed albumen. 



Barley {Hordeum vulgare) is another important cereal, pro- 

 bably one of the first cultivated. Malt is prepared from Barley 

 by allowing it to begin to germinate, and then heating it to i6o° 

 or 1 80° ; by this means the starch of the grain is converted into 

 sugar, which is capable of fermentation. 



Oats {Avena sativa), Rye (Secale cereale), and Millet, which 

 is obtained from several genera, are also cultivated. Indian 

 Corn IS obtained from Zea Mais, which is a native of the 

 New World. Rice is obtained from Oryza sativa, a tropical 

 plant. 



Besides these food plants we have the important Sugar- 

 cane {Saccharum officinaruni), the clarified juice of which yields 

 us sugar, whilst the residue produces molasses and treacle. 



Numerous Grasses are grown for fodder purposes, whilst 

 from some sweet essences are obtained. Lemon-grass oil 

 is extracted from Andropogon citratum, citronelle oil from 

 Andropogon Nardus, and some suppose that the spikenard oil 

 of Scripture was obtained from Andropogon Iwarancusa. 



The Bamboo is an arborescent genus of this order, used 

 for many important purposes. 



It will be well in conclusion to point out the differences 

 between the two allied orders Cyperacese and Graminaceae in 

 a tabular form. 



