632 GEAMINEffi. 



grass, and A. Calamus aromaticus, whicli seems to be the njp (kaneh), or 

 DB^a nap (kaneh bosem), the Sweet-cane of the Bible. A. Schcsnanthus 

 yields Eousa oU, called also oU of ginger-grass or of Geranium. A. mur- 

 catus, Ouscus or Vetivert, yields a fragrant oil,'used medicinally in India. 

 A. Nardus yields citronella oil. Grasses contain a large quantity of 

 siliceous matter in their stalks. This is deposited so as to form part 

 of their structure, and in some cases it accumulates in the joints. 

 The tabasheer in the joints of Bamhusa arundinacea, the Bamboo, and 

 of Melocanna bambusoides, is composed of silica. This is one of the 

 tree-like branching grasses, which sometimes attains a height of fifty 

 or sixty feet. It shoots up with great rapidity. In the Edinburgh 

 Botanic Garden the young shoots attain a height of thirty or forty 

 feet in a few months ; and the late superintendent (Mr. W. M'Nab) 

 measured, during a long summer day, a growth of the young stem to- 

 the extent of nine inches. In Borneo the Dyaks use Bamboos for 

 floors, beds, temporary houses, bridges, pegs for climbing lofty trees 

 in order to get beeswax, baskets, fish-traps, hencoops, bird-cages, 

 aqueducts, water-vessels, cooking utensils, jars and dishes of various 

 sorts. The leaves and young shoots of the Bamboo are eaten ; the 

 leaves serve as fodder for horses, also for covering the tops of houses, 

 and for stuffing cushions ; the split stems serve as floor mats ; the 

 fibres are used for cordage and paper. Bamboos rarely flower and 

 produce seed. Most of the species of Bamboo have lioUow stems, 

 which often attain a diameter of many inches. Gardner mentions a 

 large species of Bamboo (B. Tagoara) having a stem 18 inches in 

 circumference, and attaining a height of 50 to 100 feet. The touch- 

 jDaper of the Chinese is made from a variety of Bamboo, by beating 

 the young shoots flat, steeping them in a lime-pit for a month, and , 

 then washing and drying. A kind of paper is made from the Bamboo 

 in India. Its young shoots are used as pickles. The hollow stems of 

 some reeds in warm climates supply refreshing water to travellers. 

 Bendrocalamus strictus is called the male Bamboo. Lygeum Spartum, 

 Alpha-grass, and Macrochloa tenacissima, Esparto, yield fibres which 

 are used for making paper and mats. 



The stems of some grasses run under ground, and form a sort of 

 network, which is useful in consolidating the sand of the sea-shore. 

 Elymus arenarius and Ammophila (Psamma) arenaria constitute the 

 Bent and Marram of the British shores. This tendency to creep under 

 ground renders some grasses, such as Triticum repens, Couch-grass, 

 difficult of extirpation. The grains of some grasses are used for orna- 

 ments. Beads are made from those of Coix Lachryma, commonly 

 called Job's-tears, from their form and hardness. A few grasses, as 

 Bromus purgans and catharticus, have purgative properties ; and one, 

 Bolium temulentum {infelix lolium), Darnel-grass, is said to be poison- 

 ous, but this has not been proved, if we judge by the experiments of 



