616 THE GRASSES. 
which the instrument rests, should be made longer than in, the 
figure so that the block to which the membrane is attached may be 
farther off from the wheels. 
THE GRASSES. 
BY W. W. BAILEY. 
Tue earliest, as well as the latest sign of vegetable life is, per- 
haps, afforded by the grasses, whose green blades form the sward 
which we all so much admire. Did it ever occur to all our readers 
that these humble plants which form our out-door carpet or which 
are cultivated for forage, have flowers, often as beautiful in their 
way as any of their proud associates? All are aware that the tas- 
selled heads and silky plumes of the Indian-corn are beautiful, 
and gaze with delight upon a sea of grain when rippled by the 
gentler breezes or thrown into billows by the more wrathful. 
When another season shall present the opportunity, let those who 
are beginning timidly to woo Dame Nature, examine more closely 
the beauty which the grasses offer, and we think that they will 
thank us for the advice. To study them understandingly, it will 
be necessary to be provided with an ordinary field microscope of 
one or two lenses, and if in addition, the observer happens to 
possess a compound instrument for the examination of the minu- 
ter parts, he will find it very serviceable. 
A few words as to the structure of grasses, and the points in 
which they differ from other plants may be of interest, and while 
speaking of them, we will add a word about the sedge family,— 
their very next of kin. Both of these natural orders are so large, 
and the species so varied, that the study of them has become a 
specialty, and many men devote their whole lives to arranging 
and simplifying our knowledge of the classes, learning their habits, 
‘and ascertaining how the useful species may be made more ser- 
viceable and the valueless eradicated. Although we are not one 
of these specialists, we will try to give a familiar, and at the same 
time an accurate account of the structure of both grasses and 
sedges, referring, when in doubt, to those whose word is law. 
