p.17

17

All grasses have woody fibers (Pl. 1 fig. 4, d, e, f.) in their structure, which serve to facilitate the circulation of the sap, and to give strength to the stem. Some have only a few such fibers and are called herbaceous, while others (like the cane) are almost wholly made up of [woody] such tissue and are called woody grasses.

But the woody stems of grasses do not grow by the annual deposition of an external layer as in ordinary trees of this climate, as may be seen by examining the section of a cane. The usual explanation of the growth of such woody stems as given in books seems quite unsatisfactory. It is difficult to understand how they continue to [grow] enlarge by an inside growth (Endoginous) without causing the exterior to burst open, as is the case with the bark of an oak.

Plants absorb their food only in a liquid or gaseous state.
Those portions of a plant that can be consumed by fire are called organic (Ox Hyd. Carb. Nit) -(88 to 99 pr ct)
What remains (the ashes) is called inorganic (1 to 12 prct)