Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c40.215

v3.c40.215

Grasses.—Grasses are numerous, but unless accompanied by botanical illustration, their description would possess little interest. There is the gigantic *siwan*, or *siun*, classically known as the *kusa*, and said to have originated the name of Kusa, the second son of Rama, and his race the Kachhwaha. It is often eight feet in height; when young, it serves as provender for animals, and when more mature, as thatch for the huts, while its roots supply a fibre, converted by the weavers into brushes indispensable to their trade. There is likewise the *sarkanda*, the *dhaman*, the *duba*, and various others; besides the *gokhru*, the