Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1878 [PAGE 279]

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varia, n a t h e , L a p h a m . richardsonii, native, L a p h a m ; Mead. pubesence, native, L a p h a m . aederi, native, Vasey. filiformis, native, Vasey. lanuginosa, native, L a p h a m . trichocarpa, native, Lapham, var. imberbis, native, Mead; Hall. comosa, native, Vasey. hystricina, native, Vasey. tentaculata, native, L a p h a m . intumescens, native, L a p h a m . grayii, native, Lapham. fupulina, native, Lapham. lupuliformis, native, Cook county, Babcock. squarrosa, native, Lapham. stenolepis, native, Cook county, Babcock. utriculata, native, Lapham. vaseyii, native, Gray monile, native, L a p h a m . Tuckermani, native, L a p h a m ; Vasey. longirostris, native, Lapham. stenolepsis,

G R A M I N E ^ E — G R A S S FAMILY.

ORYZA, Rice, a n n u a l s . sativa, Common Rice, cultivated from Asia in the United States, and in an essay on the culture of rice in Illinois, by J o h n Russel, of Bluffdale, Green county, (Trans. 111. State Agr. S o c , vol 3, p . 527), the writer states t h a t rice was grown in his county in the year the essay was written; had been raised in quantities sufficient for home use by many of the farmers in the southern counties, and was included in the census of 1840 among the agricultural products of the state. Finally, t h a t according to the census of 1850, a considerable quantity was grown in B u c h a n a n county, Mo., in the latitude of Sangamon county, 111. The census of 1860 shows t h a t 716 pounds we e grown in Michigan and 3,286 in Minnesota! " T h e r e is no single product of the soil t h a t sustains so much of h u m a n life as r i c e . " B u t its cultivation in the United States is retrograding.

Year.

Production.

1850 I860 1870

P o u n d s of Rice, thirteen States P o u n d s of Rice, fifteen States P o u u d s of Rice, t e n States

215,313,497 187,167,032 73,635,021

LEERSIA, White Grass. virginica, native, L a p h a m ; Cook county, Babcock; Champaign county, oryzoides, Rice Cut Grass, native, L a p h a m ; Cook county, Babcock. " U s e d in s o u t h ern states for h a y . ' ' —Lapham. lentieularis, Catch-fly Grass, native, Lapham; Champaign county. ZIZANIA, Water or Indian Rice. aquatiea, Indian Rice, Water Oats, ' 'Is found, though sparingly, t h r o u g h o u t the state of Illinois, and even extends south to A r k a n s a s and F l o r i d a . " — L a p h a m . "The Sioux call it ' p s h u , ' and t h e Chippewas 'man-om-in.' I t is a constant article of food with the n o r t h e r n Indians of t h e lakes and rivers between the Mississippi and Lake Superior. This plant delights in m u d and water, live to twenty feet deep. When ripe, t h e slightest wind shakes off the grains. After being gathered it is laid on scaffolds four feet high, eight wide and twenty to fifty long, covered with reeds and grass, and a slow fire is maintained b e n e a t h for thirty-six hours, so as to parch slightly the husk t h a t it may be removed readily. I t s beard is t o u g h e r t h a n t h a t of r y e . To separate it from t h e chaff or h u s k a hole is made in t h e ground a foot wide and one deep and lined with skins, about a peck of rice is p u t in at the t i m e ; an Indian steps in with a half j u m p on one foot, t h e n on the other until t h e husk is removed. After being cleansed, t h e grain is stored in b a g s . I t is d a r k e r t h a n t h e Carolina rice. The hull adheres tightly and is left on the grain and gives the bread a dark color when cooked. The husk is easily removed after being exposed to heat. In Dakota t h e men gather this grain, b u t all other grain t h e women collect. An acre of rice is nearly or quite equal to an acre of wheat in n u i t r i m e n t . It is very palatable when roasted and eaten d r y . " — D e p a r t m e n t of Agricultural Report, 1870. ALOPECURUS, Fox-tail Grass, perennials. pratensis, Meadow Fox-tail, naturalized from E u r o p e , L a p h a m . A valuable p a s t u r e grass in England. " O n e of our best p a s t u r e grasses, being quite early, much liked by the cattle and withstands o u r hot summers without b u r n i n g . ' ' -Richard