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89.-KNOWLEDGE.

It is the true result or consequence of knowledge to make men humble; for, the more they read, they find how little they do know. The wisdom and goodness of the true and good, who have lived before us upon the earth, is treasured up in books. Moreover, to gain knowledge, one must take pains; and taking pains is to our mind, what ploughing and sowing is to a field.

90.-HAPPINESS.

The great cause of happiness is contentment. If I am always complaining of my life, of my work, or of my not having things which I wish for, I cannot be happy. Now, every one may better himself and make himself happier, by steady attention to his duty: but no one ever yet was any the better for being discontented. A quiet life is the happiest.

PART IV. 91.-WHEAT.

Wheat is the grain from which bread is mostly made. In this country, two kinds of wheat are cultivated. They are called, from the seasons in which they are sown, Spring Wheat and Winter Wheat. Spring wheat is the least hardy of the two kinds, and is a smaller grain than winter wheat.

The produce of this plant is from twenty-four to twenty-eight bushels for every acre; but, where land is richly manured, it has been known to yield more than forty. We read in the Bible, in the Book of Ruth, that wheat was cultivated in Syria, more than three thousand years ago. In the same book we are told of the gleaning of the fields by the poor, after the reapers had finished their work.

92.-BARLEY.

In this country, barley is sown in the spring. It thrives best in dry seasons. Each grain ends in a long beard, or spike, which is broken off in threshing. More than 30,000,000 bushels of barley are yearly consumed in this country in brewing beer, for which it is prepared by turning it into malt. This is done by steeping the barley in water until it has become soft and swollen; it is then laid out to ferment for some days; afterwards dried hops are added to it, and so beer is made. Barley was formerly much used for food, and is sometimes mixed with wheat flour in making bread. Pearl barley and Scotch barley are barley freed from the husk by a mill.

93.-OATS.

Oats are much more grown in the northern than in the southern counties. This grain differs much from wheat and barley; the grains growing in a loose cluster round the stem, and not in a close

ear.

It is the hardiest of all the grains that are cultivated in Great Britain. In Scotland, oat-meal forms a large portion of the food of the inhabitants. Although not so nutritious as wheat, oats are a very wholesome article of food. About fifty or sixty bushels are the usual produce of an acre. In the southern parts of this island, they are mostly used as food for horses. When coarsely ground, they are called groats, and are used in making gruel.

94.-RICE.

No grain supports the life of so large a number of persons as rice. The inhabitants of India, China, and a large part of America subsist upon it. It is light, wholesome, and easily digested. In India, two crops of rice are grown every year; and the produce of an acre is from thirty to sixty bushels at each crop. Very large quantities are imported into England. The rice plant is found to grow best in low open grounds, through which rivers pass, as it requires moisture. In Europe, it is cultivated in parts of Italy and in Greece; but the best rice comes from Carolina, and from the northern provinces of India. 95. THE POTATO.

This root was not known in Great Britain before the reign of King James the First, when it was first brought from America by Sir Walter Ralegh. began to be commonly cultivated in the middle of

It

the eighteenth century. It is now grown to an extraordinary extent, and may be called one of the necessaries of life. Early potatoes should be planted in the beginning of March. Those which are to be kept for use during the winter months, should be taken up in the month of October. It is a good thing to sow turnips, carrots, and parsnips, in case part of the crop of potatoes should fail.

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This vegetable is the produce of a plant originally a native of the East; but now cultivated generally in all temperate climates. It grows to the height of about two or three feet. The coarser kind of beans are used for the food of horses, for which purpose they are split, or crushed, and mixed with cut hay, chaff, or oats. The broad, or Windsor beans, grown in our gardens, are said to have been first brought to England from Holland, in the reign of King William the Third. Beans are planted about the beginning of March. The stalks of this plant, when dead, should be heaped up and used for manure.

97. THE PEA.

Peas are the produce of a climbing plant, the flowers of which are sometimes white, but at other times coloured. Each flower is succeeded by a pod, dividing, when ripe, into two parts, both of which

have a row of seeds, or peas. A rich sandy soil is best fitted for the pea. Some kinds are used fresh and young, and are called green peas. The ripe, dried peas, when split and separated from the skin, are used for making soup. They are very nutritious. This vegetable was first cultivated in England in the reign of Henry the Eighth.

98. THE TURNIP.

Turnips have been cultivated in England from very early times. They are supposed to have been first introduced by the Romans, to whom the culture of this plant was well known. In times of famine, this vegetable has been much used as a substitute for corn. The hardiest sort of turnips are the Swedish, which are largely employed in feeding cattle. The finer sorts, grown in our gardens, do not contain so much nourishment as carrots or parsnips. The Maltese golden turnip is considered the finest with which we are acquainted.

99. THE CARROT.

The wild carrot is a native plant in this country. The carrot, having been cultivated in our gardens, has become a very useful and most nutritious vegetable. Some poor and industrious people who came from Flanders, and settled in Kent, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, first brought it to perfection. The large white or Belgian carrot is

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