250 BOTANY. 
rice, all natives of the old world, have been in cultivation 
from time immemorial. Indian Corn, being a native of 
America, has but recently come under general cultivation. 
The stems of most grasses are nutritious, and constitute the 
greater part of the pasturage and fodder for domestic ani- 
mals. In several of the larger species, as the Sugar-canes, 
Fig. 139.—Part of a flowering plant of the Banana, showing th i 
flower-bud and the young truite, ‘i eae atonite 
this nutritious matter is so abundant as a sweet juice that 
they furnish the greater part of the sugar of the world. 
526. The Palms, while of little value to the people of 
cooler climates, furnish in tropical regions most of the 
necessaries of life. In some countries every want of man 
is supplied by one or another of the palms. The Cocoa- 
nut-palm, now grown in all hot climates, is one of the most 
useful of the species, furnishing material for huts, fences, 
