THE GRASSES.

Grass makes pasture for summer and hay
for winter, and these are the chief feed of all
the cattle, sheep and horses on the hills and
prairies. Good Illinois steers are always
saleable, and will buy any thing that can be
obtained in this or in any other country.
Upon grass we are dependent for beef and
leather, mutton and wool, milk, butter and
cheese ; and with these, some how, always
come a good supply of green-backs, which
makes everything go easily.

The term "grass, " as used in common
every day life, by many people, is applied to
all those plants which are used for pastures
and meadows. This is a classification founded


upon use alone, disregarding all the other
features of the plants. It is like calling
every thing a fish because it lives in the
water; or bird and insects because they can
fly. These are superficial or artificial classifications and have no scientific value whatever. The basis for a natural classification
exists chiefly in the peculiarities of structure
of root, stem, leaf and flower.

I have no intention of giving a scientific
definition of grasses. This is well done in
the various text books which are accessible to any one who may wish to study the
subject. With regard to structure, I will
only venture to say a few words about the
flowers of Indian corn. This belongs to the
true grasses. In this plant the flowers are
of two kinds, each incomplete in itself. On
top of the stalk, the branching tassel produces
in one kind of flower, an abundance of a fine
dust called pollen. On the side of the stalk
are one or more short branches covered with
a cluster of leaves, from the tip of which extend a large number of slender threads.

These side branches, becoming the ears,
contain the other kind of flowers. The
leaves about the ears are called husks, and
the threads are often called the silk. One of
these long delicate threads runs down to
each one of the embryo kernels of corn.
That each may become a kernel, it is first
necessary that a grain of pollen from the tassel should fall upon the silk. Here the pollen
grows or thrusts out a very delicate prolongation down to the young kernel. If the
pollen from one variety of corn fall upon the
silk of another variety, we get a mixture, so
our seed will not be pure. M wheat, red top,
oats and timothy, the flowers are perfect,
having the pollen and silk (stamens and
pistils) growing from the same flowers. Our
new varieties of wheat and oats doubtless
arise in a manner similar to the mixing of
Indian corn.

The grasses include in all about 300 genera,
which are composed of some 4,000 different
kinds or species. They are wide spread in
geographical range-being found in nearly
every part of the land surface of the globe
which sustains any vegetation-around the
snow clad summits of the loftiest mountains,
associated with lichens and mosses, chick
weeds and gentians. Every species of grass
has its own peculiar natural place or places
of growth.

"Grass is king among the crops of the earth. More land is devoted to its cultivation and more money value realized from it than from any other product."-ALEXANDER HYDE, in Mass. Ag. Report, 1868. 9.

Our hay and pasture are of more value
than all other agricultural products combined
and cannot be less than 500,000,000 dollars
annually.
W. J. B.