I
1.There is no plant more common than grass，and there is none more useful.It has a beauty of its own，too；and though it has no gay flowers，as many other plants have，we never tire of looking at the smooth green carpet which it spreads over our fields and hill-sides.
2.If you were asked its use，you would likely answer that it feeds our sheep and cattle；and as their flesh forms part of our food，you might say that we get some of our food from the grass in this roundabout way.
3.We could live without beef or mutton.Indeed many people prefer to do so，while many others are so poor that they cannot afford to buy meat.But there is one thing we could not without，and that is bread.We call it the “staff of life，”because it is necessary to support life.
4.Now let us see where this part of our food comes from.Bread is made of flour，flour is made from wheat，wheat is the seed of a plant that grows in the fields，and that plant is really a big kind of grass.So you might say that man is one of the grass-eating animals，might you not？
5.Cattle eat the leaves of grass while it is green and juicy，or they eat hay，which is just the long stems and leaves of grass cut down and dried in the sun.Birds eat the ripe seeds，for the seed contains a great deal ofnourishmentin very small bulk；and we follow the example of the birds.
6.But we do not merely gather the seeds of grass where it happens to grow wild.All over the world for many thousands of years men have sown certain kinds of grass which bear large seeds，and by cultivatingthem we get larger and better seeds.
7.These grasses are sometimes called grain plants and sometimes cereals.In this country there are three grain plants in common use-wheat，barley，and oats.There is a smaller kind，called rye-grass，which is used for making hay，or for pasture .
8.Wheat is the largest of these grains.When ripe，it has a long square-shaped head with four rows of seeds.
It requires a good soil，and does not grow well in hilly parts of the country.
9.Barley has a more slender stem than wheat，and，when it is ripe，its head bends down in a ver y pretty cur ve.The common kind of barley has a long，flat-shaped head with tworows of seeds，and these seedshave each a long spike or beard.
For this reason we sometimes speak of it as “bearded barley.”
10.It is a much more hardy plant than wheat，and it requires neither so rich a soil norso warm a climate.It is much grown in Scotland and the northern countries of Europe.
11.Oats is also a hardy grain，much grown in Scotland.The head of oats is quite unlike that of wheator barley.The seeds do not lie close to the stem，but hang down from it by slender，tough little stalks.It is a beautiful sight to see a field of ripe yellow oats waving in the wind.
12.When these grain-plants are ripe，the seeds become round and hard，and the whole plant changes from green to a golden yellow.They are then cut down by scythes or by reaping-machines，and tied into bundles called sheaves.The sheaves are set up to dry in the sun，and then carted home to the farm and built in large stacks.
13.The seeds are taken off by a threshing-machineor mill，and carried to the flour-mill to be ground into flour or meal.The thin scales which cover the seeds are called chaff，and the long stems are called straw.Straw makes a soft bed for horses and cattle to lie on，and the finer kinds are also used for their food.
