548 



GRAMINEjE 



Oats (Avena sativa), Barley (Hordeum distichum and H. hexdsti- 

 chum), Rye (SecdU ceredle), Maize (Zea Mays), Rice (Oryza sativa), 

 and various Millets, cultivated for die sake of their grain, are the 

 most valuable members of the Order to mankind ; while the 

 value of grasses as fodder for cattle is hardly second to that of 

 their corn for human food. 



Among the most esteemed fodder grasses are Rye-grass (Lolium 

 perenne) and its variety, Italian Rye-grass {Lolium perenne, var. 

 itdlicum), especially for hay ; Cock's-foot grass (Ddctylis glonierdta) 

 and Timothy-grass (Phleum pratense), especially for heavy or peaty 

 land ; the sweet-scented Vernal-grass (Anthoxdnthum odordtum) 

 which gives much of its delicious fragrance to new-mown hay ; 

 Poa pratensis for dry, sandy soils; P< 

 nemordlis, var. sempervirens, and P. 

 trividlis for permanent pasture ; and the 

 Fescues (Festuca duriuscula and F. 

 eldtior) also for permanent pasture, and 

 F. rubra for sandy soils. Cattle are 

 very fond also of the Tussock-grass 

 (Ddctylis ccespitosa) of the Falkland 

 Islands, which has been introduced in 

 the Hebrides. 



Sugar is a general product of grasses, 

 and can be easily tasted in spring if we 

 chew the stem of almost any meadow 

 grass. It is, however, chiefly manufac- 

 tured from the stems of the Sugar-cane 

 (Sdccharum officindrum), a native of south- 

 eastern Asia, now cultivated throughout 

 the tropics ; and, to a much smaller 

 extent, from those of the Guinea Corn (Sorghum sacchardtum). In 

 eastern countries the Bamboos are used for numberless purposes 

 — houses, furniture, cordage, and even sails of ships being made 

 from them. Alfa or Esparto-grass (Macrochloa tenacissima), a native 

 of northern Africa, is a valuable material for paper-making ; and 

 various Indian species of Andropogon yield aromatic " Grass 

 Oils," such as Vetivert, Lemon-grass, or Verbena, Citronella, 

 and Geranium or Ginger-grass, which are largely used in 

 perfumery. 



The classification of grasses is a matter of great difficulty ; 

 but the British species fall under eight tribes, which may be 

 grouped in two Sub-orders. 



Section of the fruit of the Oat : 

 /, pericarp, or wall of the 

 ovary ; t, seed-coats ; a, albu- 

 men ; c, cotyledon \g, plumule ; 

 r, radicle. 



