85 



support: in this way they can grow over empty spaces 

 such as from one tree to another. The wild grape vine 

 has very long branches but reaches from the ground to 

 the tree tops where they spread out and form leaves. 

 The most common species are the fox grape and chick- 

 en grape, which is the smallest of the grapes, the form- 

 er is very large. Some plants have strong feet by 

 which they are attached to objects. 



Beside the families mentioned, there are many others 

 which are interesting but difficult, the flowers being 

 oddly formed and not easy to examine. The sedge 

 family is composed of the sedges, clubrushes, bulrushes 

 and like plants: these have flowers collected in a head 

 or spike and are each in the axil of a single glume in 

 the form of a chaff or scale. The flags and cat-tails 

 are good examples of this class. 



The grass family comprises an extensive division of 

 plants, it is formed of the true grasses which have 

 straw stems called culms, and leaves with open sheathes, 

 it also includes corn and cereal grains as wheat, oats, 

 rye, barley, and also sugar cane and broom corn. In 

 descriptive botany all the particulars of plants and 

 their growth divisions and uses are given. To do jus- 

 tice to the flora of our country would require a very 

 large volume. The various names and descriptions 

 which are connected with our flowers are very interest- 

 ing, but in this little bird's eye view of the subject 

 only a few of the most particular points are mentioned, 

 but serve to incite an interest in them. 



Plants like birds and insects are distributed in all 

 parts of the earth: some which are not found in one 

 locality are represented by other species of equal inter- 



