FAMILIAR GRASSES AND THEIR FLOWERS 



By E. J. Geske and W. J. Showalter 



(With Illustrations in Color from Paintings by B. J. Geske) 



THE dynasty of the grass family 

 dates back to the days of the fore- 

 fathers of the horse, the camel, 

 and many others of the important her- 

 bivorous animals of the present day, and 

 there is little doubt that the evolution of 

 many animals into orders and forms of 

 today was greatly facilitated by the ad- 

 vent of the grass family in the vegetable 

 kingdom. 



Today, of all the plants that cover our 

 earth, grasses rank second to none in im- 

 portance. In the matter of utility to man 

 and beast, no plant or group of plants 

 has ever played so great a part in the 

 history of the world, and we may well 

 say with Solon Robinson that "Grass is 

 King." 



The 10,000 species of the order, of 

 which 1,300 are indigenous to the United 

 States, are distributed throughout all the 

 zones of the earth, and range in size from 

 a few inches in height to veritable forest 

 trees towering sixty feet and more. 



Wherever rainfall sufficient to sustain 

 plant life occurs, and at intervals of time 

 not too distant, and with temperatures 

 above freezing at least part of the year, 

 some members of the family will be 

 found. They readily adapt themselves to 

 soil and conditions and flourish and 

 propagate their kind. 



Regions that afford ideal conditions 

 are the great prairies of the United States 

 and Canada, southern Russia, Siberia, the 

 grassy plains of South America, and 

 Africa. 



the: bamboo is a giant grass 



Wherever the rainfall is insufficient 

 for forests and the climate is not too arid, 

 grasses prevail over all but the hardiest 

 vegetation. In these areas often more 

 than 90 per cent of the indigenous plant 

 life belongs to the grass order, and, ex- 

 cept where cultivation of some species 

 has excluded its rivals, it is not uncom- 

 mon to find from twenty to sixty distinct 

 species inhabiting almost any locality. 



Rice, wheat, corn, oats, barley, and rye 



are grasses. They enter so largely into 

 the relations of mankind that the country 

 which is best able to supply the world 

 with these necessary articles of food com- 

 mands the destinies of nations. 



Several groups of grasses, like sugar- 

 cane, furnish sugar and its by-products. 

 Brooms, paper, rugs, hats, and innumer- 

 able articles of commerce are made of 

 grasses, and even houses are built and 

 furnished with their products, not only in 

 darkest Africa, but in many civilized 

 countries. 



The giants of the order are the bam- 

 boos, the great trunks of which furnish 

 material for an endless number of articles 

 of commercial importance. The pigmies 

 are the various forage grasses, which 

 furnish pasturage for domestic animals 

 and beautify our parks and lawns. 



Nor is the story of the merit of the 

 grasses more than half told when it is 

 related that they are "Man's bread and 

 meat ; many things good, and most things 

 sweet." 



GRASSES GUARD THE SOIE 



Grasses are the overseers of the soil. 

 What is more irresponsible than the sands 

 of the seashore and of the desert ? Driven 

 hither and thither by every shifting wave 

 and wind, they now drift here and lodge 

 there. Now they bury forests, now they 

 expose the bones of those who lie asleep 

 in God's Acre, while in the waste spaces 

 of earth the sand-storm overwhelms the 

 traveler and his caravan. 



If it were not for the grasses, the soil 

 of hillside and plain would be as shift- 

 ing as the sands of seashore and desert. 

 Every raindrop would be a vehicle on 

 which a grain of the soil would steal a 

 careless ride down to the sea. 



But the grasses pin the soil down to its 

 duty. The barren hillside may become a 

 mass of gullies and gulches, but where 

 the grass is master, the soil becomes the 

 faithful servant of man. Even the trees 

 and the shrubs would not possess a sure 

 footing, did not the grasses help hold 

 down the soil around them. 



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