-8- 
The f ascination of grasses is not 7^holly due to their great 
usefulness* The student of grasses loves tiieiofor their own sake. 
In the Gr^iss Herbarium at present inadequately housed in ths old 
Smithsonian Building, there are some EOO,OCQ^ specimens of grasses, by 
far the greatest collection of grasses in the worlds [Show Manual] 
'^Ve are striving to have an^^aaerican grasaes^T^ell represented, 
not only those of the United States • Pi^ofessor Hitchcock collected 
grasses from Alaska to Chile, Labrador to the West Indies, Panama and 
British Guiana, Plawaii, Philipi)ines, Japan, China, and i^frica. T have 
collected in Rxerto Rico ^tid- Brazilj^ [Map] To most people Brazil 
means either the MB.zon or Rio de Janeiro. But is a vast territory, 
comprising about lia,lf of South ;j!ieriC8 ? cinci larger than the U« S», 
excluding i^laska. 
Pernambuco 
Ball la 
Minas- high grasslands like eastern Montana. 
Brazil is one of the oldest land masses in the v?orldj much too old - 
for fossils or coal or oil. ^'ill the eastern uplan.ds are granite^ schist. 
The country dips to the ivest and nortliwest till aloiF; the Paraguay and 
UDoer ^'^jria2;on it is only a hundred feet or so above seaiLevel or even 
less« 
Itatiaia 
xi.rauoari a 
Ceiba trees, quaresma (Tibouchina) 
Serra de Cipo 
Serra de Grama 
eia|®ra0, Hinas ^::3Me 
