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-3-

but nowhere is it so important as in America from Canada to Argentina.

3. Rice, the principal food of the southern half of Asia, the East Indies, Philippines and other Pacific Islands, and an important food throughout the rest of the world, especially Brasil.

4. Barley; 5. rye; 6. oats. I should think would come next in importance food for man and beast.

7. Sugarcane, a grass, of which not the grain but the juice of the stalk is used. ^[[ [ ]] see Grass p. 218^[[ ] ]]

8. Bamboo: So dependent are the people of tropical and subtropical Asia and the East Indies on bamboos that theirs has been termed a "bamboo culture". The young shoots of many bamboos are used for food.  Bamboos set seed so rarely that their grain is not depended on for food, though at times when crops failed or were destroyed it has saved large populations from starvation. Bamboos supply almost all the necessities of life, except food, to many millions of people. Houses, bridges, rafts and furniture are built of bamboo. The great stems serve as waterpipes and cut in joints^[[,]] form vessels for water and all manner of containers. ^[[ [ ]] see Grass p. 229^[[ ] ]] The people of Sumatra and other Malays write with [[strikeout]]the sections of green stems. When these [[/strikeout]]] a sharpened pencil of metal or bamboo on the sections of green ^[[bamboo]] stems. When these are dry the writing shows white against the green stem.  Records, legends, and a vast literature are preserved in this way. Stems furnish fiber for cordage and paper. There are many kinds of bamboo. No one species can be said to be the most important.