Abstract

Among plants that are useful to man, grasses are by far the most important. The crops that provide the staple food for the greater part of mankind, namely, paddy, wheat, maize, sorghum, ragi, cumbu and tenai, belong to this group. The animals that furnish food and labour, wool and leather live principally on grasses. Besides giving us food, grasses are sources of starch, alcohol and sugar. In America enormous quantities of cooking oil are secured from the germ of corn (Zea Mays). A good many grasses furnish material, for making brooms and brushes, and some are important sources of fibre for the manufacture of paper and cordage. Some yield essential oils. In many parts of India and a great part of Asia, bamboo which is a giant grass forms the principal timber for the construc- tion of dwellings of the poor and bridges over village streams and also furnishes material for a variety of articles of domestic use and cheap furniture.

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