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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 20:11:04 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 20:11:04 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/38762-8.txt b/38762-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2a08ad1 --- /dev/null +++ b/38762-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3953 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of How We are Fed, by James Franklin Chamberlain + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: How We are Fed + A Geographical Reader + +Author: James Franklin Chamberlain + +Release Date: February 5, 2012 [EBook #38762] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW WE ARE FED *** + + + + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Fritz Ohrenschall, Chuck Greif, +Julia Neufeld and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +Transcriber's note: + +Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + +Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). + +Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals. + + + + +[Illustration: Publisher's Mark] + + _HOME AND WORLD SERIES_ + + + HOW WE ARE FED + + A GEOGRAPHICAL READER + + BY + + JAMES FRANKLIN CHAMBERLAIN, ED.B., S.B. + DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL + LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA + + New York + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. + 1912 + + _All rights reserved_ + + COPYRIGHT, 1903, + BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. + + Set up, electrotyped, and published June, 1903. Reprinted + January, June, August, 1904: July, 1905; January, 1906; + August, December, 1907; September, 1909; August, 1910; + August, 1911; June, 1912. + + + Norwood Press + J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Co. + Norwood, Mass., U. S. A. + + + + +PREFACE + + +In the ordinary course of events, most individuals take some part in the +manifold industries which engage the mind and the hand of man, by which +alone our present-day civilization can be maintained. These great world +activities touch the daily life of _every_ member of society, whether +child or adult, worker or idler. + +A chain of mutual dependence, too often unrecognized, binds together the +members of the human family, whether they belong to the same community +or dwell on opposite sides of the earth. The links of this chain are +made up of the articles which constitute our daily food, our clothing, +homes, fuel, light, our means of communication and transportation, and +only by continuous coöperation are they kept together. + +The highest motive in education is to present the conditions which will +lead to the most complete living; to build up the best possible members +of society; to develop character. An individual who does not understand +the life of which he finds himself a part, cannot be in full sympathy +with its conditions and hence cannot be of the most service to himself +or to others. Only to the extent that education and life follow the same +general course, can each be truly successful. Far too little is done in +our schools to acquaint children with their relations to the great +industrial and social organization of which they are members. Even grown +persons have, as a rule, a very indefinite knowledge of these relations. + +It is a recognized principle that our knowledge of geography has its +foundation in our knowledge of the home. The natural connecting link +between the immediate surroundings and the outside world is the _present +daily life of the home_. Through the industries seen in the community, +the commodities in general use, and the history of their creation and +supply, the pupil acquires an insight into the life about him as well as +into that of other parts of the world. He also realizes the great truth +that the world and its people are in intimate touch with _him_. In this +way he is led back and forth along the routes which civilization has +followed in its progress, which it also follows to-day, as mankind clasp +hands across oceans and continents. Thus the remote and abstract become +immediate and concrete. Facts are seen in a setting of reason, and a +logical and interesting basis for the study of physical, climatic, and +human conditions is furnished. + +This study begins with the commodities in constant use and finally +encompasses the whole world, but always with the home as the base of +operations. It will create a knowledge of the interdependence of +individuals, communities, and nations, and a genuine respect for the +work of the hands and for the worker. The importance of this respect is +not likely to be overestimated. Without it a true democracy cannot long +exist. + +Reading should not only serve for the acquisition and the expression of +the thought contained in the printed page; it should, in addition, +stimulate to _new_ thought--to independent power in reasoning. On this +account questions are inserted which the pupil is left to answer. These +are suggestive of a much larger number, which should be worked out by +the teacher. Too many of the questions found in books do not "stimulate +thought" or "independent power in reasoning." They are purely +informatory and not at all formative. + +No attempt has been made to treat every article of food. Those in most +general use, as well as those which will best serve to develop a +knowledge of geographical conditions and of man's relation to man, have +been chosen. + +A given industry is pursued in somewhat different ways in different +places. It has not been thought wise to describe each modification in +these pages. For example, the method of handling wheat in California is +different from that employed in Minnesota. The value of the work will be +increased if the teacher will bring out these points. + +_All places mentioned should he definitely located_, both as to position +on the map or globe and with reference to the home. When developed from +the standpoint of direct, personal interest, a knowledge of the +location of places as well as of other facts mentioned is most likely to +be retained. + +The illustrations used have been very carefully selected for their +_teaching value_. They give a clearness to mental pictures which can be +derived only through observation of that which the illustrations +symbolize. Much experience in the use of geographical illustrations has +shown that pupils need to be directed in their examination of them. To +secure the best results they must be made the centers of +thought-developing questions. + +Thanks are due the Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company of +Minneapolis, the Swift Packing Company of Chicago, the Walter Baker +Company of Dorchester, the United Fruit Company of New Orleans, and Dr. +Charles U. Shepard of Pinehurst Plantation, for the excellent +illustrations furnished by them. + + JAMES FRANKLIN CHAMBERLAIN. + +STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, + LOS ANGELES, March, 1903. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + THE PAST AND THE PRESENT 1 + + THE STORY OF A LOAF OF BREAD 7 + + HOW OUR MEAT IS SUPPLIED 18 + + MARKET GARDENING 32 + + DAIRY PRODUCTS 41 + + BUTTER MAKING 44 + + CHEESE 50 + + THE FISHING INDUSTRY 54 + + OYSTER FARMING 64 + + A RICE FIELD 70 + + HOW SUGAR IS MADE 77 + + BEET SUGAR 84 + + MAPLE SUGAR 87 + + WHERE SALT COMES FROM 91 + + MACARONI AND VERMICELLI 99 + + ON A COFFEE PLANTATION 104 + + THE TEA GARDENS OF CHINA 113 + + A CUP OF COCOA 120 + + A CRANBERRY BOG 131 + + THE COCOANUT ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC 139 + + A BUNCH OF BANANAS 146 + + HOW DATES GROW 155 + + THE ORANGE GROVES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 165 + + A VISIT TO A VINEYARD 174 + + NUTTING 184 + + A WALNUT VACATION 187 + + CHESTNUTS 193 + + A BAG OF PEANUTS 195 + + ASSORTED NUTS 201 + + A STRANGE CONVERSATION 206 + + + + +HOW WE ARE FED + + + + +THE PAST AND THE PRESENT + + +Long, long ago people did not live as we do to-day. Their homes were +very different from ours, for they were made of the skins of wild +animals, of the limbs and bark of trees, or of tall grasses. There were +no stoves, chairs, tables, or beds in their houses. Instead of lamps, +gas, or electricity, a fire on the dirt floor or in front of the house, +furnished the light. + +The clothing of these people was as simple as their homes. It was made +of skins and furs in cold countries and in warm countries of braided +grasses and the fibers of certain plants. You may be sure that tailors +and dressmakers were not consulted as to the latest styles, for the +styles did not change and there were neither tailors nor dressmakers to +talk to. Each family made its own clothing, and there was not a sewing +machine to be found. + +How would you like to use a bone for a needle? Sometimes, instead of +sharpened bones, long thorns were used. The sinews of the deer, or of +some other animal, usually furnished the thread. + +When the people were in need of food, they went into the forest and +gathered roots, nuts, and fruits. Wild animals were killed by means of +such weapons as bows and arrows and spears, and fish were caught in the +lakes and streams. + +The food was not cooked as ours is; for, as I have told you, there were +no stoves. Sometimes the meat was broiled over the fire, sometimes baked +in a hole filled with ashes and coals, but it was often eaten raw. It +was not easy to have a variety of food, and there were times when it was +very difficult to obtain anything. When food was abundant, the people +feasted, and when it was scarce, they were often hungry. How would you +like to wait for your breakfast while your father went to the woods or +to the river in search of something to eat? + +When the meals were prepared, they were not neatly served as yours are, +but each person took his portion and sat on the ground while he ate it. + +[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Indians at Dinner.] + +All of this seems very strange to you, I know. If you live in the city, +you are accustomed to seeing the butcher, the baker, the milkman, and +the grocer call every day. There are stores where people can buy +whatever they want to eat, drink, or wear. You wonder how any one could +live in such a way as I have described, but there _are_ people who live +in this fashion to-day, although you have never seen any of them. They +are _uncivilized_. Where do you think they are to be found? When people +live in this way, it takes most of their time to provide themselves with +the things that are necessary to life. They have little opportunity to +improve their ways of living and of thinking. + +Civilized people divide their work. Some provide food, some make +clothing, some build houses, and some furnish fuel. Each one does his or +her part. In this way, you see, they learn to do their work better and +better, because each gives much time and thought to one kind of work. +This plan gives each one time to study and to learn something about the +world and its people. Think how much better our homes, our clothing, and +our food are, than are those of uncivilized people, and how many other +advantages we have. + +[Illustration: FIG. 2.--White People at Dinner.] + +It is only possible to live as we do, when each one works for others as +well as for himself. If any one fails to do his part, the rest must +suffer until some one is found to take his place. It is to prepare +yourself to do _your part_ in some useful work for others, that you are +going to school day by day. You do not now know just what that work is +to be, but I want you to remember that _all_ honest work is noble. It is +not so important _what work_ you do, as it is that you should do your +work _well_. No matter what your work may be, you can carry sunshine in +your face and helpfulness in your heart. If you do this, you will be +known and loved. Hard work, coarse clothes, and lack of money can never +hide these things, neither will the finest of clothing cover a selfish +or untruthful nature. + +Let us look at this dinner table loaded with good things to eat and +drink. There are bread, butter, meat, vegetables, milk, tea, fruits, and +other things. You see at once that many persons must have worked to +provide this food, for only a small part of the work was done in the +kitchen. If these things could but speak, they might tell you stories as +wonderful as fairy tales. They have been gathered here from the fertile +plains of the West, from the sunny South, from Brazil, from the islands +of the Pacific Ocean, from far-off China, and even from the waters of +the sea. + + + + +THE STORY OF A LOAF OF BREAD + + +In the dark granary of a farmer's barn in North Dakota once lived a +modest family of grains of wheat. The bright, warm days of the summer +time, during which they had been placed in this dark room, soon grew +shorter and cooler. The swallows, whose mud nests were in the rafters +overhead, told the wheat brothers that winter was coming, and then flew +away to the balmy southland. + +Soon biting winds and blinding snow came sweeping over the level land. +Sometimes the farmhouse was almost hidden under the drifts, and the +farmer had to shovel out a path to the barn, so that he could feed the +horses and cattle. By and by the days grew warmer, the snow disappeared, +and the birds returned one by one. The farmer and his men got out their +plows and harrows, and prepared the soil for the seeds soon to be +planted. + +The wheat was now shoveled into sacks and taken to the fields. Here it +was placed in great machines drawn by horses, which scattered it evenly +over the land and at the same time covered it with soft soil. The men +whistled and sang as they worked, and blackbirds, bluebirds, and larks +flew back and forth, singing and searching for bugs and worms, as well +as for the shining kernels of wheat. + +The wheat was not content to remain underground, but kept trying to push +itself out into the world. One night there came a warm shower, and the +next morning what looked like tiny, green blades of grass appeared all +over the field. + +All through the spring and summer the wheat kept growing, and finally +there appeared at the ends of the stalks clusters of kernels, just like +those which the farmer had planted. Some of these kernels had produced +families of twenty or thirty. These clusters are called _heads_. + +[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Harvesting Wheat in Southern California.] + +As the south wind passed over the field it brought the wheat messages +from Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and other states, telling of +relatives who were already turning golden in the summer sunshine. One +day some of the kernels thought they heard a voice from California. Do +you think they did? + +The grain in some of the fields was called _winter wheat_. This was +because the grain had been sown the autumn before, and had remained in +the ground all winter, covered by a blanket of snow. Why was it sown in +the fall? The wheat of which I am telling you was called by the farmer +_spring wheat_. + +Soon machines, each drawn by several horses, appeared. They cut the +waving grain, and bound it up in bundles called _sheaves_. These were +set up in double rows to dry, and afterward put into another machine +which separated the kernels from the stalks, which were now called +_straw_. This work the farmer calls _threshing_. See if you can find out +how this used to be done. + +After threshing, the wheat was put into sacks and taken to the nearest +railroad station. Freight cars then carried it across the level prairies +to the beautiful city of Minneapolis, built beside the Falls of Saint +Anthony. What river is this city on? Of what use are the falls? + +There are tall buildings called _elevators_ here in which the wheat was +stored for a time. Before being put into the elevators it was examined +and _graded_. As there was wheat from many farms it could not be kept +separate, so each farmer was told how much he had, and how it graded. + +[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Threshing Wheat in Southern California.] + +Some time after this the wheat was taken to one of the great mills to be +ground into flour. The largest of these mills manufactures about +fifteen thousand barrels of flour every day. This is the largest flour +mill in the world. + +When the kernels reached the mill, they were put into machines called +_separators_, to be separated from all companions such as grass seed, +mustard seed, and wild buckwheat. They were then placed in an iron box +in which brushes were revolving rapidly, and were _scoured_ to free them +from fuzz and dirt. Those that were very dirty were washed. + +[Illustration: FIG. 5.--The Flour Mills in Minneapolis.] + +[Illustration: FIG. 6.--The Largest Flour Mill in the World.] + +The kernels were _steamed_, in order that the coating, called _bran_, +might not break into small pieces. This is called _tempering_. The +kernels now thought that their trials were over, but they were mistaken. +Soon they found themselves being _crushed_ between rollers. After they +came out they were _sifted_, and then run between other rollers. This +was repeated six times, and each time the flour was a little finer, for +the rollers were closer together. The flour was then run through tubes +of flannel. These took out whatever dust it contained. It was then +ground still finer. The flour was then put into sacks or barrels, which +were marked for shipment to other parts of the country. + +Only the wheat intended for the very best grade of flour is treated as +carefully as this was. + +What industry does the use of barrels bring in? + +[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Grinding Wheat.] + +From the mills the flour was sent to many parts of the land to supply +stores, bakeries, hotels, and homes. Some of it found its way to the +bakery near your home. The bakers, in their clean suits of white, +weighed the flour which they were going to use, and then added a +certain amount of water to it. Some yeast and salt were added also. This +mixture they called _dough_. You have seen your mother mix or _knead_ +dough, I am sure. The bakers did not do the kneading with their hands, +but by means of machinery made for this purpose. + +[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Bolting Flour.] + +When the dough had been thoroughly kneaded it was left to _rise_. It is +the yeast that causes the rising. This makes the bread light and spongy. +It was then cut into loaves and placed in the oven. The ovens in the +bakery are very much larger than those in your kitchen stove, for many +loaves are baked at once. When a nice shade of brown appeared on the +loaves, the bakers took them out of the oven by means of long shovels. +Soon the delivery wagons came and were loaded with the fresh bread to be +delivered to stores and homes. This loaf was just left at the door and +is still warm. + +So, you see, a loaf of bread has quite a history. I have told you the +life story of this one from the time of its grandparents, who were +raised on the plains of North Dakota. Would it not be interesting to see +each of the people who have had something to do with its production, and +to make the journey which the wheat and the flour made? You can do both +in your thoughts. + + + + +HOW OUR MEAT IS SUPPLIED + + +Ramon lived in a plain, one-story house, built in the shade of some +cottonwood trees that fringed each side of a small river in the eastern +part of Colorado. A wide veranda extended entirely around the house, but +there were very few flowers and no lawn. I am afraid you would not think +it a very pleasant place for a home. + +Not far from the _ranch house_, as it was called, were the barn and the +_corrals_. A corral is a yard with a strong, high fence about it, in +which cattle or horses may be placed. On the bottom land beside the +stream, there was a corn and an alfalfa patch, besides one containing +some potatoes and garden vegetables. + +During most of the year the stream was quite shallow, and flowed quietly +over its bed, but when heavy rains occurred it rose rapidly, spreading +over much of the bottom land and carrying so much clay with it that it +was almost the color of coffee. + +Except along the river, not a tree was in sight from Ramon's home, and +it was many miles to the nearest house. For hundreds of miles both north +and south, there stretched a vast plain. Little was to be seen but sand, +grass, and sagebrush. I had almost forgotten the prairie dogs, which +scamper across the plain or sit up straight and motionless on a little +mound of sand beside their burrows. They watch you closely, not moving +unless they regard you as a dangerous creature, when, quick as a flash, +they disappear. + +The rainfall is very slight in this part of the country, being less than +twenty inches a year. On this account there is little attention paid to +farming, but instead, the settlers own great herds of cattle as well as +many horses. Ramon's father is one of the _cattlemen_ of Colorado. He +owns more than ten thousand head of cattle, and some of the cattlemen +own twice that number. Of course such great herds of cattle must have +much land to graze on. Some of the land is owned by the government and +any one may use it. Everywhere fences are far apart. These great +pastures are called _ranges_. + +Ramon's life is not much like yours. His home is far from schools, +churches, stores, or railroads. He seldom sees strangers, but he enjoys +long rides on his own pony, _Prince_. Sometimes he goes with his father +and at other times he takes a gallop with one of the "cowboys" who herd +the cattle. + +The "cowboys" almost live in the saddle. They are out in all kinds of +weather and are not boys at all, but strong, hardy men. They wear +broad-brimmed hats, and carry long ropes called lassos or _lariats_, +with which they catch the cattle. + +Where there are so many herds they sometimes get mixed up. On this +account each cattleman marks or _brands_ his animals. These brands may +be the initial letter of the owner's name, or they may be in the form of +a horseshoe, a cross, a circle, or a crescent. + +Each spring and fall the cowboys gather the cattle together. This is +called "rounding up" the cattle. They are then counted and the calves +born since the last "round up" are branded. In the fall, in addition to +this work, animals are selected for the market. Why is the fall a better +time for this than the spring? + +[Illustration: FIG. 9.--Branding Cattle.--Point to the Lariats.] + +The cowboys, mounted upon their swift, strong ponies, single out the +animals that have never been branded, and swinging their lassos over +their heads, they throw them with such skill that the loop settles over +the head or about the leg of the one wanted. As soon as the rope +tightens, the pony braces its forefeet firmly and the animal is finally +thrown to the ground. It is then branded with a hot iron and allowed to +go. Ramon used to feel very sorry for them until his father explained +that it hurt them very little, for only the skin was burned. + +Sometimes the cattle selected to be sold, are not quite fat enough for +the market. They are then taken farther east into the _corn belt_ and +fed for a time. + +When they are shipped directly from the range to the market, they are +driven to the nearest railroad and put into yards beside the track. They +are then made to walk up an incline with high railings ending at the +open doors of a cattle car. The animals are arranged so that the first +faces one side of the car, the second the other, and so on. This is done +so that the cattle cannot hook one another, and also that they may be +fed and watered on the way from a long iron trough which is fastened to +each side of the car. + +The great cattle markets of the United States are Omaha, Kansas City, +and Chicago. Find these cities. + +One day when Ramon was about fourteen years old, his father told him +that he was going to take a train load of cattle to Chicago and that he +might go with him. It was a happy time for Ramon, you may be sure, for +he was very anxious to see some of the wonderful sights his father had +told him about. + +At last the day when they were to start on their journey arrived. The +afternoon before, the cowboys had driven the cattle to the railroad so +as to load them early in the morning. Soon after breakfast Ramon kissed +his mother and his little sister good-by, and he and his father rode off +across the level plain. + +Finding the cattle already loaded in the cars, Ramon and his father were +soon seated in the _caboose_, rolling over the miles of railroad which +connected them with Chicago. Whenever the train stopped for a few +minutes, they took a long stick and went from car to car making the +cattle that had lain down get up, so that they might not be injured by +the others. + +When bedtime came, they made their beds on the benches along each side +of the caboose, which are covered with cushions. As they had brought +blankets with them, they were fairly comfortable. + +Ramon did not sleep very soundly the first night. The engine shrieked +from time to time, and the car rocked and jolted so that he was afraid +of falling from his bed. + +The next day they reached a part of the country where great cornfields +waved in the breeze. The leaves had already turned brown, and golden +ears of grain peeped out from the ends of the husks. There were stubble +fields, too, where wheat and oats had been harvested. + +[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Bird's Eye View of Union Stock Yards, Chicago.] + +The country became more thickly settled as they went on, and the towns +were nearer together. Streams were more common, and grass and timber +more abundant. The young traveler wondered why this was so. Can you +tell? + +Early in the morning of the fourth day the train reached Chicago. After +much switching and backing the cars were run into the Union Stock Yards, +and the cattle were unloaded. + +Ramon was thoroughly bewildered by what he saw and heard. Men were +shouting and cracking whips; others were riding up and down the alleys +that separate the yards; dogs were barking and turning the animals this +way and that, and gates were swinging back and forth. + +The cattle were weighed and examined to see if they had any disease, and +were then placed in charge of a _commission merchant_ to be sold. Buyers +come to the yards and bargain with these commission merchants. When an +unusually large number of cattle come in, the prices are likely to fall; +when few arrive, the prices rise. + +When the cattle had been yarded, Ramon's father said that they would go +and have breakfast. In the afternoon they visited the "yards," and the +slaughter and packing houses. The "yards" cover about a square mile of +territory. They are divided into countless pens or small yards, +containing sheds, feeding racks, and watering troughs. + +Ramon asked how many cattle were unloaded in these yards daily. His +father handed him a copy of the _Chicago Live Stock World_, and at the +top of the first column he read that on the day previous there had been +received 18,500 cattle, 35,000 hogs, and 18,000 sheep. He was told that +sometimes the receipts are much larger than this and sometimes not so +large. + +[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Dressing Beef.] + +They followed the bodies of the cattle from the slaughterhouses where +they are dressed, into the cooling rooms. These are simply great +refrigerators. Wagons come to the cooling rooms and haul loads of the +meat to butcher shops, hotels, and depots. Within a few hours it finds +its way to smaller cities and towns in all directions. A great deal of +meat is shipped even to Europe. Why does not Europe produce its own +meat? + +[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Cooling Beef.] + +When the meat has thoroughly hardened in the cooling rooms, it is sent +to the curing rooms, where it is cut up and packed. Each person here +does his particular work from morning until night. + +Ramon learned, to his surprise, that every part of the animal is used. +Hair, hide, horns, hoofs, teeth, bones, and even blood, are made use of. + +[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Splitting Backbone of Hogs.] + +Most of the hogs which enter the great meat-packing cities are raised in +the corn belt. + +The sheep need much pasturage, and so the largest flocks are found in +the Western and Southwestern states. A single herder may take care of +several thousand sheep. His faithful companions and helpers are +intelligent shepherd dogs. After a great flock of sheep has fed on an +area, hardly a green thing is left. The people in the part of the West +where there is little rainfall, object to the pasturing of sheep around +the head waters of streams, because when the vegetation is removed the +water runs off too quickly. + +[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Curing Pork in Salt.] + +In the evening our friends watched the men, women, and children march +out of the "yards." They were told that not less than thirty-five +thousand persons were employed in the various establishments. There is +but one city in Colorado which contains so many people. + +[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Chopping Sausage Meat.] + +As they sat at breakfast next morning, Ramon wondered how many of the +people of Chicago were eating steaks from cattle which he had seen on +his father's ranch. The thought was a new one to him. His trip had shown +him that the cattlemen who lived and worked on those far-away plains +were doing their part in supplying people all over our country with +meat. Their lonely life, with all of its disadvantages, now had a new +meaning for him, and he went back to his Western home content with it, +yet very glad to have had this glimpse of another side of life. + +[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Packing Poultry.] + + + + +MARKET GARDENING + + +Think of the immense quantities of fruits and vegetables that are used +daily on the tables of a great city such as New York or Chicago. As we +travel up and down the streets of any great city, we see rows of +buildings, sometimes built in solid blocks and sometimes a little +distance apart. Some have trees and small lawns in front of them; others +are without even this touch of nature. Nowhere, except in the outskirts, +do we find gardens. + +_These people depend upon others to furnish them with their vegetable +food._ + +Now let us make some excursions into the region surrounding one of these +cities. For miles and miles we see on every hand _truck farms_ or +_market gardens_. The main business of those who live in these districts +is to furnish food for the people of the city, so that the latter may +devote their time to their various occupations. + +We see growing potatoes, cabbages, tomatoes, beans, peas, squashes, +turnips, onions, sweet corn, celery, melons, and many other things. +Usually all of these will be found in one garden, but sometimes the +farmer raises only a few kinds, or perhaps but one. + +Market gardening is very common in Germany, Holland, Italy, China, and +in other densely populated countries. Therefore we often find people who +have come from these countries to America engaged in this business. +Chinese gardeners are seldom seen in the East, but on the Pacific coast +they raise most of the vegetables used in the cities and towns. + +In the early spring, before the ground is warm enough to make seeds +grow, the gardener starts his plants in "hotbeds." These are long wooden +boxes, or frames, without bottoms, covered with glass. They are usually +placed on the south side of some building or high fence. The glass +covers allow the warm sunshine to enter the "beds" freely, but they +prevent the rapid escape of the heat. You see now why they are called +"hotbeds." They are like small greenhouses. + +A little later in the spring the fields are thoroughly cultivated and +the plants transplanted. Of course only the vegetables desired for the +early market are started in this way. What advantage is there in having +the vegetables ready for the market very early in the season? + +Vegetable farming is not easy work, although it is a pleasure to see +things grow day by day as you care for them, and as nature supplies her +sunshine and her rain. The fields must be cultivated almost constantly, +to keep the soil loose, as well as to remove the weeds. Much of the +weeding has to be done by hand, which is tedious work. + +We want our vegetables fresh every morning; and as the truck farms are +at some distance from the city, the farmer must load up his wagon the +night before. Of course much produce is sent to the cities on trains, +but where farmers live near enough to deliver it themselves, their crops +are more profitable to them. Why? + +[Illustration: FIG. 17.--A Market Scene.] + +Everything is put in readiness before dark; and while others are still +in bed, the farmer mounts his wagon to start toward the sleeping city. I +have often ridden ten or fifteen miles on such a load before the stars +faded away. + +It is a novel experience. At first the night seems strangely still, but +soon you are able to distinguish many voices coming from various places. +The frogs croak from the ponds by the roadside; crickets and locusts +send their shrill notes from grass and tree; a night owl startles you by +his dismal hoot; the lamps of the fireflies gleam, then disappear only +to shine out again a little farther on. + +At last a faint glow appears in the eastern sky, which grows brighter +and brighter until the shining face of the sun is pushed above the +horizon. Do you not think such a ride would be more enjoyable than a +street car ride? + +In the cities there are market places where produce from the country is +taken. In Chicago there is a very busy street where much of the buying +and selling is done. Study the picture carefully. Here the buyers from +hotels, restaurants, and stores, as well as the men who wish to peddle +the produce from house to house, go for their daily supplies. There are +also commission merchants whose stores are on this street. They sell the +produce for those who ship it to the city by train. + +We go to the stores and get what we want each day, or the peddlers bring +it to the door. You see how necessary it is to have special workers to +supply us with the different kinds of food. We consider it very +important that we should have vegetables and fruits fresh daily. The +work of supplying us with this food is very important. Remember that +those who till the soil are entitled to as great respect as are those +who do not work with their hands. Contact with nature makes men and +women better, and many of the noblest souls that the world has known +have lived in the country and plowed, planted, and harvested the +products of the soil. + +[Illustration: Market Scene. Chicago.] + +[Illustration: Market Scene. New York.] + + + + +DAIRY PRODUCTS + + +Uncle Ben lives on a dairy farm in the western part of New York State. +It is a beautiful _rolling_ country with cultivated fields, woodland, +and pastures, and here and there a sparkling stream winding its way +through the lowlands. The farmhouses are large and well built, and are +surrounded by grand old maple, beech, and elm trees. Most of the barns +are painted red with white trimmings. + +There are many dairy farms in the neighborhood. Some of the farmers send +their milk to the towns to be used directly, some sell it to creameries, +and some to cheese factories. + +Last summer I spent my vacation on Uncle Ben's farm, and Cousin Frank +and I had happy times, you may be sure. + +Every day, just before sundown, we went to the pasture for the cows. +There were about twenty-five of them, and they always seemed perfectly +contented after the long day of feasting on rich grass and clover. + +After we drove them into the barnyard Uncle Ben helped us fasten them in +their _stanchions_ in the barn. Then the men brought the bright pails +and cans to begin milking. Cousin Frank and I always helped, although he +can milk much faster than I. Some of the cows gave but two or three +quarts, while others gave as many gallons. + +We strained the milk into cans holding eight gallons each, and put them +into tanks of water to cool. After milking was finished we turned the +cattle into the barnyard for the night. + +In the morning we commenced milking about sunrise. After breakfast the +cans were loaded into a spring wagon and Uncle Ben drove to the depot. +Here they were put on the "milk train," which took them to the city. + +Many other people sent milk on this same train. It was sent to bakeries, +to hotels and restaurants, and to milkmen, who delivered it from house +to house. Usually the milkmen put the milk into pint or quart bottles +for people who like to have it in that form. Uncle Ben told us that +much of the milk that is sent to New York City is bottled before it is +sent. The bottling is done by machinery. He also told us that, because +of the great importance of having pure milk, there are, in all cities, +inspectors who carefully examine the milk and report to the Board of +Health. The cows also are inspected, and if any are sick, they are +usually killed. + +Each evening some one drove to the depot again to get empty cans which +the milk train had brought home. These were always carefully washed in +hot water before being used again. + + + + +BUTTER MAKING + + +One day, after I had been on the farm about a week, Uncle Ben took Frank +and me to the _creamery_. A creamery is a place where the milk and cream +are separated and butter is made. + +We found several wagonloads of milk being unloaded. The milk was weighed +as it was received, for it is sold by weight. + +The milk was then strained into a large galvanized iron tub, from which +a pipe carried it into a circular machine called the _separator_. The +separator revolves rapidly, throwing the milk, which is heavier than the +cream, to the outer edge, where it passes through small holes into a +compartment by itself. The cream rises along the center and passes +through another set of openings into a special compartment. A pipe +carries it to a large vat, while another pipe conveys the milk to large +tanks. + +Uncle Ben told me that when people make their own butter, they must wait +for the cream to _rise_ on the milk. The cream is then skimmed off, and +the milk is called _skimmed milk_. Although the milk in the creamery is +not skimmed, the same name is used for it. + +I asked if the skimmed milk was used for anything. Uncle Ben gave me a +cupful of it to taste. It was very good. He then told me that the +separator takes out only the part needed in making butter, leaving all +of the sugar. I did not know before that milk contains sugar. + +The farmers take home loads of this milk to feed it to their hogs. For +each hundred pounds of milk delivered, they get back seventy-five pounds +of skimmed milk, besides the pay for their cream. + +The creamery man told me that he made from four to six pounds of butter +from one hundred pounds of milk. + +The cream remains in the large vat about twenty-four hours before it is +churned. The churn, as you see by the picture, is a great barrel made +to revolve by machinery. It takes from thirty-five minutes to one hour +to churn. The man told me that I might look at the book in which he kept +the record of the churning. I saw that he made from two hundred fifty to +six hundred pounds of butter at a churning. He said that some churns +would produce more than one thousand pounds at a churning. + +Not all of the cream is made into butter. There is left in the bottom of +the churn a liquid called _buttermilk_. This is drawn off, and the +butter is washed and _worked_ before being taken out of the churn. The +working is done by means of paddles in the churn. It continues for six +or eight minutes and squeezes the liquid out of the butter. + +While the butter is being worked, it is salted. Some of the butter is +unsalted, but most of it is salted. When butter is made in the home, it +must be churned by hand. Only a few pounds at a time can be made in this +way. + +When the butter was taken out of the churn, the men packed it solidly in +wooden boxes about two feet square and four inches deep. The bottom +of each box consisted of strips as wide as a _square_ of butter. These +were held together by a clamp, and the sides were hooked to the bottom +and to one another. When the butter is to be cut into squares, these +sides are removed and zinc ones take their places. In these there are +slits running from top to bottom. Through these slits a wire saw is run, +and so the butter is quickly cut into one or two pound squares. The +butter is then wrapped in fancy papers upon which the name of the butter +or of the creamery is stamped. + +[Illustration: A Separator.] + +[Illustration: A Churn.] + +Of course some of the butter is packed in wooden tubs and shipped in +that form. This butter is a little cheaper than that put up in squares. + + + + +CHEESE + + +I was so much pleased with my visit to the creamery, that Uncle Ben +promised to show me how cheese is made. So one morning just after +breakfast he, Cousin Frank, and I started out. After a pleasant ride of +about five miles we reached the factory. + +The first process here was the same as that at the creamery. After the +milk was weighed it was run into great zinc-lined vats. There were four +of these in the factory, each of which held about five thousand pounds. + +Uncle Ben explained that the milk must _curdle_ before cheese can be +made. In order to make it curdle quickly, a little less than a pound of +a substance called _rennet_ was put into each vat. + +A man worked at each vat with a long wooden rake, stirring the milk +constantly. I saw a glass tube standing in the milk and asked what it +was. Uncle Ben told me to look at it closely. I saw that it was a +thermometer, and that it registered eighty degrees. A little while after +I looked again, when it showed a temperature of ninety degrees. The milk +is kept warm, so as to help it to curdle quickly. + +In about an hour I could see the curd very plainly, but the men kept on +stirring and cutting it. Presently one of them carried a piece of the +curd to a table. He heated a small iron rod and touched it with the +curd. When he pulled the curd away, little threads were drawn out to the +length of half an inch or more. This he called the "acid test," which +showed that the curd was in the right condition to be made into cheese. + +Of course only a part of the milk had turned into curd; the rest was +_whey_, that was drawn off and run into tanks. Each man who had +delivered one hundred pounds of milk was given a check for seventy-five +pounds of the whey. It is fed to hogs. About two hours from the time +that the milk was put into the vats, the whey was drawn off. + +One of the men now took a long knife and cut the curd into oblong cakes. +These he frequently lifted and turned over. After continuing this for +about twenty minutes, the pieces of curd were put into a small mill, +placed on a board over the vat, and the curd was chopped into strips +from one to six inches long and from one-half an inch to an inch thick. +Salt was scattered over the mass by one man, while another pitched it +about with a three-pronged wooden fork. The man told me that he used +three pounds of salt to each thousand pounds of milk. + +Next, a piece of cloth was placed on a board about sixteen inches +square. Two circular metal frames or bands, about six inches high, were +fitted one within the other and placed on the cloth. The frame was +filled with curd, covered by a cloth, and another set placed on top of +it until there were five. They were then put on a table directly under a +block which was fastened to a screw. By turning the screw the block was +pressed against the top board, and so each frame of curd was pressed. I +saw the whey running out as the squeezing went on. The superintendent +told us that the curd would be left in the press until the next day. + +We were then taken into the room where the cheese "ripens." Here we saw +large racks reaching nearly to the ceiling, filled with double rows of +cheeses. The smallest ones weighed but three pounds, while the largest +weighed fifty pounds. It may take but a few days and it may take many +months to "ripen" a cheese. It depends upon the flavor wanted. The man +said that in England "strong" cheese is generally liked, while in our +country "mild" cheese is preferred. + +I asked how much cheese five thousand pounds of milk would make, and was +told that it would make between four and five hundred pounds. + +On the way home Uncle Ben told us that although our country is a great +dairy country, we import certain kinds of cheese from Europe. He told us +how the Swiss people pasture their cattle on the steep mountain sides, +and that in every little mountain valley cheese is made, some of which +finds its way over the mountains and across the sea to the United +States. + + + + +THE FISHING INDUSTRY + + +Have you ever stood by the side of a stream and watched the fish dart +from one shadow of overhanging rock into another, or swim lazily at the +bottom of some deep pool? How gracefully they move and turn! How like +water jewels they flash as the sunlight falls upon them! + +Most streams and lakes, like the ocean, contain fish. So we have +fresh-water and salt-water fish. There are a few bodies of water so full +of salt that fish cannot live in them. Do you know of any such bodies of +water? + +Most of the fish used as food come from the ocean. In this, and in most +other countries, there are many men who do nothing but fish, in order +that other people may be supplied with this sort of food. They do not +depend upon hook and line alone, but use nets also. + +Nets are great sacks made of cord, knotted or woven together in such a +way as to leave spaces or _meshes_. These meshes are not big enough to +allow large fish to escape. Sometimes the fishermen go out in rowboats +some distance from shore and then throw the net into the water. Corks or +floats keep the upper edge of the net near the surface, while weights +hold the lower edge on the bottom. Ropes are fastened to each end, and +so it is drawn toward the shore. How the fishermen wish that they could +see to the bottom of the restless water and know what their harvest is +to be! When the boats have almost reached the shore, horses are +sometimes driven into the water and hitched to the ropes. At last the +net is dragged out upon the sands and the uncertainty is past. + +[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Drying Nets.] + +Look! Within the folds of the net is a countless number of fishes, each +jumping, squirming, wriggling, trying to get back to its ocean home. +They are of many sizes, shapes, and colors. Those not good for food, +together with the smallest ones, are thrown back into the water. + +Sometimes a net called a "dip-net" is dropped from a fishing schooner +and drawn about a "school" of fish. I have seen many barrels of fish +brought up at one time in this way. + +The fishermen keep a close watch for the appearance of these "schools," +you may be sure. Whales and dolphins pursue them, and gulls and +cormorants circle overhead, for they, too, are fishers. Their +appearance helps the men to tell where the "schools" are. There is a +great rush for the fishing grounds when they are sighted. The +white-sailed schooners skim over the waters almost like a flock of +birds. + +[Illustration: FIG. 19.--A Fishing Schooner.] + +Large quantities of fish are caught by a method called _trawl fishing_. +This may be carried on miles from the shore. How do you suppose it is +done? To a very long and strong line, many shorter ones, each with a +hook at the end, are attached. These lines, to which large buoys are +fastened, are left in the water for several hours, and then fishermen in +flat-bottomed boats called _dories_ row out from the schooner and +examine them. The lines are then reset and the fish taken to the +schooner to be dressed. This is a common method of catching codfish, +which is carried on during summer and winter alike. Storms and fogs are +likely to occur while the men are out in their little boats, making +their work full of danger as well as of hardship. + +[Illustration: FIG. 20.--Splitting Codfish.] + +Many of the fish are packed in ice and sold fresh, while others are +cured on the boats or on shore. Some of the fishing schooners carry +great quantities of salt when they start out on a trip. The fish are +dressed and packed in this. Sometimes they are packed in brine, and +along the shores of some countries they are strung on poles to dry. + +Codfish are dried in great quantities along the New England coast by +placing them on frames made of strips of wood and raised a little above +the wharf, so that the air can circulate freely. When the skin and bones +are removed and the flesh cut into strips, it is called "shredded" +codfish. + +The principal food-fish are the cod, mackerel, herring, halibut, shad, +salmon, sardines, and whitefish. Whitefish are caught in the Great +Lakes. To this list the lobster may be added, although it is not a fish. + +A common method of catching lobsters is to sink a box made of lath to +the bottom, where they crawl about on the rocks. A fish head is placed +in the box for bait. The lobsters crawl in and are likely to remain +until the box is examined. + +[Illustration: FIG. 21.--Drying Codfish.] + +Lobster steamers, fitted up with tanks containing salt water, run from +Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to Boston and New York. Here those not +wanted are placed on cars containing similar tanks and sent to interior +cities. In this way fresh lobsters are served thousands of miles from +where they were caught. + +A lobster that would cost us from twenty-five to seventy-five cents +brings the fisherman not more than ten cents. + +Along our New England coast there are many towns engaged extensively in +fishing. Portland, Gloucester, Boston, and Provincetown are among the +number. Gloucester is the most important fishing town in the United +States. From it fishing schooners go as far as Newfoundland, Greenland, +Iceland, and even to the coast of Ireland. There are also important +fisheries on the Pacific coast, from San Francisco to Alaska. Here the +salmon are taken in great numbers. They weigh from twenty to one hundred +pounds. The fish are canned and shipped to all parts of the country. +Besides being caught in nets and traps and on lines many are caught in +"fish wheels." These are fastened to the stern of a boat and revolve in +the water. The fish are caught in pockets and dropped in the boat as the +wheel brings them up over it. + +There are very extensive fisheries along the shores of the British Isles +and on the western coast of Europe. Fishing is the chief industry in +the towns along the coast of Norway. The air is full of the odor of +fish, while drying fish, nets, and boats are everywhere in sight. + +Although the supply of fish in the ocean is very great, it is +diminishing, especially near the shore. Most countries now pay +considerable attention to the raising of both fresh and salt water +fishes, and they have passed laws regulating fishing. Eggs are hatched +in great _hatcheries_, from which the young fish are taken where they +are most needed. + +The great ocean is free to all to sail over or fish in at will. There is +a narrow strip along the shore three miles wide, which belongs to the +country which it borders. The men of other countries are not allowed to +fish there. + +The fisherman is a brave and sturdy man. His life is full of danger. He +battles constantly with the winds and the waves. Fogs may hide the sharp +rocks which seem to wait for a chance to destroy his little vessel. +Sometimes icebergs or great ocean steamers sink his boat and he is never +seen again. + +When storms are raging and night has settled over sea and land, and +angry waves are dashing themselves into foam against the shore, the +mothers, wives, and children look anxiously from their cottage windows +toward the sea, and pray that their loved ones may return to them in +safety. + + + + +OYSTER FARMING + + +It sounds strange to speak of farming in the ocean, but there are many +and large oyster farms all along our coast. Some of these farms are +covered by water all of the time and some are uncovered when the tide is +low. Oyster farms are far more profitable than are those upon which corn +and wheat are raised. + +This is a new industry in our country because civilized people have not +lived here very long, but it is a very old one in some parts of the +world. As long ago as the seventh century a Roman knight raised oysters +for the market, and it is said that the business made him very wealthy. + +You will understand better about the cultivation of oysters, if I tell +you first how they live and grow in their natural homes. + +Except during the first few days of their lives, oysters are prisoners. +They cannot move about freely from place to place as fishes and most +animals can, but they are attached to rocks, to the shells of their dead +relatives, and to other objects. How, then, do you suppose they get +their food? They grow in immense numbers, and they crowd one another +more than people do in the tenement houses in our great cities. In fact +most of them are soon crowded out, and they die, leaving room for the +rest to grow upon their empty homes. In this way the oyster beds spread +out. + +These oyster beds are not found in very deep water, but rather along the +shore, generally near the mouth of some river. As I have told you, they +often live where they are uncovered when the tide goes out. You can see +from this that it is not very difficult to gather oysters, so that, +partly on this account, man has used them for food for ages. + +When the Pilgrim Fathers landed on the shores of New England, they found +that the Indians used oysters very commonly. All along the coast were +great heaps of the shells. At the very first Thanksgiving dinner given +in America, oysters were served. + +Oysters used to be so plentiful on these natural beds that they were +very cheap. In some places where the winter weather was cold enough to +freeze the water along the shore, people cut holes in the ice and +gathered them by means of long-handled rakes. + +In a single year an oyster will produce more than a million young ones. +Just think of it! If all of this family grew up, they would fill a room +fourteen feet in each dimension. + +These young oysters are _very_ small. They are called "spat." Most of +them are drifted away by waves and currents, or devoured by larger sea +animals. The few that escape soon attach themselves to some object, so +getting a chance to begin the battle of life. + +If oysters are caught at all times of the year it does not give them a +chance to produce their young, and this, as well as catching the young +ones themselves, has destroyed many of the natural beds. In order to +keep up the supply of this food men commenced oyster farming. You see +how our daily needs and desires lead to the establishment of great +industries. + +The oyster farmer prepares his farm in various ways. He places clean +oyster shells, stones, trays, bundles of sticks, and other things on the +bottom, so that the oysters may find something to which to attach +themselves. Then he places the young oysters or "spat" on these objects. +When trays are used, several are placed one upon another and bound +together by means of a chain. These trays are taken up from time to time +in order to gather the oysters that are ready for market. + +Stones are sometimes piled on the bottom and the "spat" are placed in +the crevices between them. Often stakes are planted in a somewhat +circular form. Cords are attached to the stakes, to which bundles of +sticks are fastened in such a way as to keep them a little above the +bottom. Young oysters attach themselves to these sticks, which may be +drawn up when the proper time comes. + +Shells are used more commonly than other things. They are taken from the +restaurants and hotels to the farms in boat loads, to be scattered over +the bottom. + +The young oysters grow at very different rates. In two years they may +grow to be six inches in length, or it may take several years to reach +that size. They grow more rapidly on the artificial beds, and are better +in quality also. The starfish is one of the greatest enemies of the +oyster, large numbers of which it destroys every year. + +During the fishing season the oyster men go to the beds in their boats +and scoop the oysters up from the bottom. This is called dredging. The +scoops with their loads of oysters are drawn to the deck of the boat by +machinery. Sometimes the oysters are gathered by means of long tongs. + +As the oysters are usually in clusters, these have to be broken up. For +this purpose a sort of a hammer known as a _culling iron_ is used. The +oysters are broken apart and sorted. Sometimes the oyster man makes +three grades and sometimes four. + +Oysters are not the only things drawn up in the dredge. Starfish, +lobsters, and various kinds of fishes are gathered in. The starfish are +killed and the rest thrown back. + +The oysters are heaped up in great piles on the deck of the boat. Sacks +and barrels are filled with them, and many car loads are shipped daily +from the cities near the fishing grounds. Chesapeake Bay is the center +of the oyster industry in our country. Find it. There are oyster beds, +however, all along both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts. + +Great quantities of oysters are canned near where they are caught. +Getting them out of their shells is not an easy matter. For this purpose +a knife is used. This work is called in the South "shucking oysters." +Canning oysters is an important industry in the city of Baltimore. Have +you ever seen cans of oysters that came from there? + + + + +A RICE FIELD + + +When you do not feel quite satisfied with your breakfast, dinner, or +supper, and think that there should be a greater variety of food on the +table, just come with me and we will visit some of the boys and girls of +far-away China. What do you suppose _their_ chief article of food is? +Rice. Rice in the morning, rice at noon, and rice at night. Rice from +the beginning to the end of the year. In the poorer families a bit of +dried fish and some vegetables are usually eaten with it. Those who can +afford such things have bits of preserved ginger, mushrooms, and barley +cakes with the rice. Of course the rich people have other things to eat, +but most of the people of China are poor. + +In the fertile portions of China the people live very close together. +Gardens take the place of farms. Workmen often receive no more than ten +cents a day. On this account they cannot afford the variety of food +that we have, but must be content with whatever is cheap and nourishing +for their labor. If the rice crop were to fail, the Chinese would +suffer. You will see how important this food is to them, when I tell you +that they are forbidden by law to sell rice to other countries. + +Perhaps you are wondering where the rice that we use in this country +comes from. Rice is grown in great quantities in Japan, Corea, +Indo-China, Ceylon, India, the Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands, and in +our Gulf states. + +Rice is the chief food of one half the people of the world. Although we +raise large quantities, we produce only about one half of what we use. +It is a kind of grain which will not thrive on the fertile Western +prairies where corn, oats, and wheat grow. It needs a warm climate and a +great deal of water. For this reason the rice fields are found on the +marshy lands near the coast, and by the banks of rivers, where they can +be easily flooded. Some rice is raised on the uplands, but not so +successfully as on the lowlands. + +Canals are dug from the streams through the farms, and from these +smaller ditches branch off so as to reach all parts. They are so +arranged that the farmer can turn the water on or off whenever he +wishes. On some of the farms, wells furnish the water to the canals. + +[Illustration: FIG. 22.--A Rice Field.--Observe the Canal.] + +In the Gulf states the fields are plowed in the winter, and the rice is +sown between the first of April and the middle of May. Sometimes the +seed is sown broadcast, as wheat is, and sometimes it is planted in +regular drills or trenches about twelve inches apart. + +The Japanese sow the seed in gardens, and when the plants are eight or +ten inches high, they are pulled up and transplanted to the fields. The +men work right in the water, for the fields are flooded at the time. + +In our country the farmer floods the field as soon as the seeds are +planted, allowing the water to remain five or six days. When the young +blade of rice is a few inches high, the field is again flooded. After +the second leaf appears on the stalk, the water is turned on and left +for twenty or thirty days. After the land dries the crop is hoed. The +fields are irrigated from time to time, until about eight days before +the harvest, which generally occurs in August. + +When full grown, the stalks are from one to six feet in height, with +long, slender leaves. The kernels grow much as those of wheat and oats +do. + +On account of the fields being so wet, rice, in most countries, is cut +by hand. In China and Japan small curved sickles are used, and the +grain is bound up in very small bundles. In Louisiana and some other +parts of the South, regular harvesters are used. They have very broad +wheels. Why? + +After the grain has been bound into bundles, these are set up in double +rows to dry. This is called _shocking_ the rice. The grain is then put +through a thrashing machine, to separate it from the straw. + +[Illustration: FIG. 23.--Harvesting Rice.] + +Rice kernels are covered by a husk. Before the husk is removed the grain +is often called _paddy rice_. Removing the hulls or husks is called +_hulling_. The hulling machine is a long tube into one end of which the +rice is poured. Within the tube are ribs which revolve rapidly. As the +kernels pass between these the hulls are taken off. + +If you were passing through a Chinese village, you might hear sounds +like those produced when a man pounds with a mallet on a great piece of +timber. On searching for the sounds, you would find that they came from +the rice mill. The mill consists of a portion of a log hollowed out and +placed upright. In the hollow a quantity of rice is held. A piece of +timber, fastened to a pivot, extends in a horizontal position with one +end over the mill. To this end another timber is fastened in an upright +position. A Chinaman gets on to the end of the long timber which is +farthest from the mill. This raises the end with the upright. He then +jumps off and the upright falls, striking upon the rice. In this way the +hulls are worn off. + +After hulling, the grain is carefully screened, in order to remove the +hulls, the broken and very small kernels, and the _rice flour_. This +latter makes good cattle food. + +Perhaps you have noticed that rice kernels have a bluish appearance. +This is not natural, but is the result of polishing. The polishing +removes much of the best part of the grain, but the rice sells for a +higher price simply on account of its appearance. + +The polishing machine is cylindrical or drum-like in shape. Moosehide or +sheepskin is tacked to the cylinder. It is made to revolve rapidly, so +that the kernels are polished as they pass over the skin. After being +polished the kernels are run through screens and sorted. The rice is +then put up in barrels or sacks and shipped. + + + + +HOW SUGAR IS MADE + + +[Illustration: FIG. 24.--Sowing Sugar Seed.] + +This picture represents one of the beginnings of the great industry of +sugar making. The small objects which you see in the trenches are pieces +of sugar cane. These "cuttings," as they are called, are covered with +soil. They soon sprout, and from them grow the tall, waving fields of +cane, which resemble cornfields. The canes are taller than cornstalks, +however. How high do you think those shown in the picture are? + +In about ten months after planting the cane is ready to cut. In the +Southern states this work usually begins about the middle of October. + +[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Cutting Sugar Cane.] + +The canes are jointed, as cornstalks are, and the spongy substance +between the joints is filled with a sweet juice. It is from this juice +or sap that cane sugar is made. I have seen children chew pieces of the +cane, and enjoy it as you do candy; for this use it is sometimes sold in +stores in the South. + +[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Loading Cars with Sugar Cane.] + +After the canes are cut they are hauled to the mill or sugarhouse on +wagons. On the large plantations _tram cars_ sometimes run right into +the fields. + +At the mill the canes are run between heavy rollers, which squeeze out +the sap. Sometimes as many as seventy-five pounds of sap are obtained +from one hundred pounds of cane. The crushed stalks are used in the mill +for fuel, and the ashes are returned to the land to fertilize it. + +When the juice is first pressed out, it is not at all clear in color. It +is then placed in great vats or kettles and heated. This heating causes +the water which is in the sap to evaporate, and it also brings some of +the impurities to the top, where they are skimmed off. When the +evaporating has been finished, there are two products, molasses and +brown sugar. + +The sugar must next be refined. For this purpose it is usually sent to +cities outside of the sugar belt. There are great refineries in New +Orleans, San Francisco, St. Louis, Chicago, and other cities. + +When the _raw sugar_, as it is called, reaches the refinery, which is +generally a tall building, it is taken to the top story and dissolved in +hot water. It then passes through bags which act as _filters_, and +through a great cylinder which contains burned bones, known as +_bone-black_. You remember that I told you that the bones of the cattle +were saved. This is one of the uses to which they are put. When the +liquid comes out of this bone filter it is a perfectly clear sirup, +which is then crystallized. + +[Illustration: FIG. 27.--A Sugar Mill.] + +You know that we buy refined sugar in three forms: granulated sugar, +loaf sugar, and pulverized sugar. When granulated sugar is wanted, the +crystals are placed in a great drum, which revolves until they are +thoroughly dried in the right form. To make loaf sugar, the crystals are +pressed into molds, then dried, and cut into the size desired. In +powdered sugar they are simply ground to a powdered condition. + +Think how much labor is required to produce sugar, and yet you can buy +it for five cents a pound. + +There are great fields of sugar cane in the Gulf states, in Cuba, in the +Hawaiian Islands, in the East Indies, in India, and in other warm, moist +parts of the world. We buy a great deal of sugar from Cuba, and from the +Hawaiian Islands. To what city do you think the sugar from the Hawaiian +Islands is sent? + + + + +BEET SUGAR + + +Although the cane fields of the moist, hot countries yield great +quantities of sugar, there are other sources from which this useful +product comes. In the year 1747 a German scientist discovered that sugar +can be made from beets, and now about two thirds of our supply come from +these plants. + +The sugar beet is not just like the plant of the same name which we +raise for table use. It is white, and sometimes weighs as much as ten or +fifteen pounds. Beets do not need so much water nor so much heat as +sugar cane, so they can be raised in Germany, France, Austria, Russia, +and other countries, as well as in California, Utah, and Nebraska, in +our own land. + +In some parts of California there are fields of beets stretching for +miles. The seeds are planted in rows, which, after the plants have come +up, are thinned. In four or five months from the time the seeds are +planted, the beets are ready to harvest. + +On most of the large _ranches_ the beets are dug by machinery. Men then +move back and forth in the fields, cutting off the leaves and a little +of the upper part of the beet, for this contains too much mineral matter +to be of value in making sugar. The workmen use large knives, and they +walk on their knees. + +The beets are now taken to the factory in wagons, or, if it is far away, +they are sent on trains. When the loads of beets reach the factory, they +are weighed. The teamsters then drive up an inclined plane to a plank +roadway. There are generally several of these. On each side of the road +or platform are deep V-shaped trenches with wooden sides, in which +streams of water run. When the wagon has reached the right spot, the +platform upon which it rests is raised in a slanting position, and the +beets fall into the trench. + +A basket full of beets is taken from each load and tested, to see how +much sugar they contain, for this determines the price to be paid. + +The stream of water in the trench carries the beets along, just as they +would be carried in a brook. This, you see, is a quick and easy way of +washing them. + +The streams of water carry the beets into the factory, where they are +cut up into strips by machinery. The juice is then washed out in vats +containing warm water, and is boiled down in great tanks. The raw sugar +is refined much as the cane sugar is. After the sugar has been dried, it +is run through spouts into sacks held open to catch it as it comes out. +One hundred pounds are put into each sack. One workman sews the sacks up +and another wheels them to the wareroom. Train loads are carried away to +be distributed in the parts of our country that do not produce sugar. + + + + +MAPLE SUGAR + + +You would enjoy helping to make some maple sugar, I am sure, so let us +make a trip to the woods of Vermont or New York, where maple sugar is +made from the sap of the sugar-maple tree. + +You will need your cap and mittens, as the sugar season is the early +spring, when there is yet snow on the ground. Besides, some of the work +is done at night, and you will not wish to miss that. + +The owner of the "sugar bush" bores holes into the trees a short +distance from the ground, into which he slips small spouts, called +"spiles." + +[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Tapping a Tree.] + +This is called _tapping_ the trees. Underneath the spout a pail is +placed. During the day the sap trickles out and runs into the pail. +During the colder hours of the night the sap flows slowly, if at all. +Sometimes it is so cold that little sap runs for two or three days at a +time. + +[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Oxen hauling Sap.] + +The sap is collected in barrels and drawn on sleds to the camp or place +where it is to be boiled down. This is done in great pans called +_evaporators_, which may be five or six feet wide, and fifteen feet +long. They are divided into sections, and these are connected by means +of little openings. + +The sap flows into one end of the evaporator and follows a zigzag path +through the different sections. By flowing slowly over so large a +surface, evaporation goes on rapidly and the sap is changed to sirup by +the time it has finished its journey. + +The sirup is put up in cans, or boiled down into sugar, which is molded +into small cakes, and brings a high price. + +[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Sap-yoke and Pails for gathering Sap.] + +"Sugaring off," as the boiling down of the sap is called, is quite an +event. Often a number of people will be invited to go to the sugarhouse +and take part in the operation. + +Before the modern evaporator came into use "sugaring off" always +occurred at night. This was necessary, because during the day the sap +buckets had to be attended to. The young people would sing songs, tell +stories, and eat sugar. + +Some of the "sugar bushes" contain but a few trees and some contain one +or two thousand or even more. A tree will yield from one to six pounds +of sugar during a season. + +Our country produces great quantities of sugar every year, but we use so +much that we have to buy much more than we manufacture at home. It was +not always in such common use, however, because people in olden times +did not understand how to make it cheaply. + +Long, long ago sugar was used only as a medicine. Don't you wish that +all medicine to-day was as good as sugar? About seven hundred years ago +an Italian nobleman died and left to his relatives, among other things, +_six pounds of sugar_. His will caused considerable comment among the +people, who said that no one family should be allowed to have so much +sugar in its possession. + + + + +WHERE SALT COMES FROM + + +The Arab, journeying over the yellow sands, riding upon the back of his +faithful "ship of the desert," often looks longingly for some sign of +water to cool his parched lips. The sailor may ride upon the beautiful +blue waters of the ocean in his white-winged ship; but although there is +nothing but water to greet his eyes, he cannot drink it, for it is +bitter to the taste. + +If you were to place a quantity of ocean water over a fire and evaporate +it, there would remain a white substance. This is common salt. You see +that it is as necessary to provide fresh water when one wishes to cross +the ocean, as it is if one is going to cross the desert. + +Most streams and lakes contain _fresh_ water, so you will wonder why the +waters of the ocean are briny. The rocks and soil of the earth contain +salt, and the streams wash it from the land. Each one carries so little +that we do not notice it, but they have worked so steadily and so long, +that they have carried a great amount to the sea. None of it can escape, +so the ocean gets more and more briny. + +No healthy person would ever think of eating salt alone as a food, and +yet our food would taste very unsatisfactory without it. Farmers supply +their cattle and horses with salt, and wild animals search for it in the +forests, and lick it from the soil with their tongues. + +Salt is so important to us that I want to tell you about some of the +ways in which men obtain it. + +Sometimes sea water is placed in great vats and evaporated. This leaves +the salt, which is then refined. You know that the sun's heat causes the +waters of a shallow pond to evaporate during warm weather. Shallow +basins are often scooped out along the coast, and the waters which fill +them are then shut off from the larger body. In time the water +evaporates, and the salt, which has formed in thin layers, is +collected. + +I said that most lakes are fresh-water bodies. There are some, however, +that are _very_ salty. Great Salt Lake is one of these. Streams flow +into it, but none flows out. If you were to bathe in the waters of this +lake, you would find that your body would not sink. + +I have seen great piles of glistening salt along the shore of Great Salt +Lake which had been obtained by evaporation. A railroad runs beside the +lake, and the salt is loaded upon the cars to be hauled away. When the +people first settled in Utah, they used to drive to the lake in wagons +to get a supply of salt. + +Although the ocean and a few lakes contain immense quantities of this +useful article, we get most of our supply from other sources. + +In the western part of New York State, at some distance below the +surface of the earth, there is a thick layer of salt. Wells are drilled +down to this; water is pumped into them, and then pumped out again as +brine. This brine is evaporated in large pans made of iron, two quarts +of brine yielding about a pound of salt. + +In China salt has been obtained in this way for hundreds and even +thousands of years. Though they had little machinery to work with in +those days, yet by patient, steady effort, they drilled wells two +thousand and even three thousand feet in depth. From twenty-five to +forty years were required to drill some of these wells. Those who +commenced them knew that they were not likely to enjoy the fruits of +their labor and that others must get the benefit of what they did. What +does this show about these people? What benefits are you receiving from +what others have done? + +Salt is also mined as coal and iron are. This is called _rock salt_. It +is obtained in Germany, Poland, Austria, India, the United States, and +in many other countries. + +One of the most interesting salt fields of the world is in the +southeastern part of California. It is on the Colorado Desert, near the +Colorado River. This was once a part of the ocean floor and the rocks +contain much salt. Water seeping through the earth dissolves the salt +and brings it to the surface at this place. What happens to the water? + +[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Harvesting Salt, Salton, California. Is there +any Water in this Field?] + +[Illustration: FIG. 32.--Loading Cars with Salt. Salton, California.] + +This salt field covers an area of about one thousand acres, to a depth +of from one to eight inches. You can see by the picture that it looks +more like a field of snow and ice than one of salt. The bright sunlight +is reflected from its surface with such power that it hurts one's eyes. + +A great plow drawn by a steam engine moves over this dazzling field, +and throws the salt up in furrows. It is then piled up, loaded on to +cars, and taken to sheds, where it is purified. Indians and Japanese do +most of the work. + +In order to purify the brines they are boiled in iron pans and treated +in various ways to make them fit for table use. When evaporation is +rapid, the salt crystals are quite small, but slower evaporation +produces larger ones. Rock salt is dissolved in water and then +evaporated. To get the finest of salt, the crystals must be ground. When +salt is to be used for other purposes than to season food, not so much +pains are taken. Name other uses of salt. + +In olden times, when salt was not so easily obtained as it is to-day, it +was regarded in some countries as a luxury. This seems strange, does it +not? At one time the Chinese made it into little cakes, stamped the +image of the emperor upon it, and used it as money. In Arabia those who +together ate food which had been salted, believed that this established +a special bond of friendship between them. This led to the old saying, +"There is salt between us." + + + + +MACARONI AND VERMICELLI + + +Have you ever wondered as you have looked at the hollow sticks of +macaroni in the stores or as you have eaten them at the table, how they +were made in that way, and what they were made of? + +In Italy macaroni is a very important article of food, and its use is +rapidly increasing in our own country. For a long time it was not made +outside of Italy, where the city of Genoa was the center of the +industry. Locate this city. Do you know what great man was born there? +Now macaroni and vermicelli are made in other countries. There are a few +factories in the United States, but most of what we use still comes from +Italy. + +In making these foods only the best hard wheat is used. + +After grinding the wheat, the bran is taken out and the flour is placed +in a large wooden tub. Water is added, and the two are mixed by hand +for a few minutes. In this tub a marble wheel about five feet in +diameter and eighteen inches in thickness is fastened in an upright +position. This wheel weighs about a ton. + +After the flour and water have been mixed, the wheel is set in motion by +machinery, and it slowly circles around in the tub, pressing the dough +under it. + +A man keeps walking in front of the wheel, moving the dough from the +edges of the tub and placing it directly in the path of it. This work of +pressing the flour into a paste continues for a little more than half an +hour. + +The wheel is then stopped and the paste, which is quite stiff, is cut +into cakes about a foot square and from one to three inches in +thickness. + +These are put into an iron cylinder heated by steam. In the bottom of +the cylinder is a copper plate filled with holes having the centers +filled. A cover fitted to a great screw which turns by machinery is +placed on top. This slowly, but steadily, presses the paste downward. +It is thus forced through these openings, and of course comes out in the +form of round, hollow pipes. + +[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Drying Macaroni in Italy.] + +As these pipes issue from the cylinder, they are straightened out on a +wooden tray or platform, and with a large, sharp knife cut into lengths +of about three feet. They are then taken to a drying room and spread on +wire frames covered with oiled paper. Here they are left for about five +days, after which they are placed in boxes and are ready to ship. + +The only difference between macaroni and vermicelli is that the pipes +of vermicelli are very small and are not hollow. + +When vermicelli is wanted, two plates are placed on the bottom of the +press. The under one is of iron and contains holes about one inch in +diameter. The upper one is of copper and contains _groups_ of very small +openings. There are sometimes eighty of these openings in a group. When +the plates are screwed together, the groups of small holes are directly +above the larger openings. + +As the paste is pressed, it passes through the little holes and then +issues from the larger ones; this keeps each little group of pipes +somewhat apart from the others. + +Saffron is added to the paste to color it, and the great golden mass is +quite a pretty sight as it steadily lengthens. + +The workman cuts off six or seven feet of it at a time; and holding it +above his head with one hand, he shakes it out with the other, as one +might shake the folds of a piece of silk. The pipes tangle up very +little. They are cut into lengths of about eighteen inches. + +It is then taken to the drying room and spread out on the trays just as +the macaroni is. A handful of the vermicelli is taken at a time, and by +a peculiar twist of the arm it is placed on the paper in a form +something like that of the letter _n_. After drying for five days it is +packed and shipped. + + + + +ON A COFFEE PLANTATION + + +Juan and Lupe live in a beautiful valley where palm and banana trees +wave their broad leaves in the breeze. It is never cold there, so that +many kinds of plants and flowers grow out of doors which we do not see +in our country except in greenhouses. On clear days they can see lofty +mountains far to the westward, which sometimes wear caps of white. + +Juan is fourteen years old and Lupe is twelve. Their skin is much darker +than yours, and they have bright black eyes and black hair. Their father +owns a great coffee plantation in Brazil, not far from the city of Rio +Janeiro. + +There are many men, women, and children employed on the plantation, and +Juan and Lupe enjoy roaming about from place to place and watching them +at their work. + +In the nursery they see men planting the coffee seeds in the rich soil. +There are some plants that have just come up, and some that are ready +to transplant. They are set out in rows, six or eight feet apart each +way, and sometimes more. + +[Illustration: FIG. 34.--A Coffee Nursery.] + +The trees would grow much taller than those you see in the picture, if +they were not kept pruned. Do you know why they are prevented from +growing tall? Whenever you look at a coffee plantation, you see the dark +green foliage of the tree, which is an evergreen. Lupe is very fond of +the blossoms. They are clear white and very fragrant. + +A tree will yield a small amount the second year after planting, but it +will not produce a full crop for five or more years. Two pounds is a +good average crop for a tree. + +[Illustration: FIG. 35.--Picking Coffee.] + +The children like to watch the pickers as they go from tree to tree. +Many of them are about their own age. Some carry a sack slung over the +shoulders, and others carry baskets or pails. The _berries_ must be +picked by hand, for they do not all ripen at once. They are dark +scarlet in color and look a little like cranberries. A good picker +gathers about three bushels in a day. The pickers are given a check +every time they fill a basket. Sometimes Juan tends to this work, and he +enjoys it very much. At the end of each week the pickers are paid +according to the number of checks they have. + +[Illustration: FIG. 36.--Coffee Berries.] + +Within the berry are two kernels or seeds, with their flat sides +together. These are called "coffee beans." It is these beans from which +the drink is made. + +The picking is but a small part of the work of preparing coffee for the +market. The first operation is removing the pulp. This used to be done +by tramping on the berries, but now it is done in a better way. + +The berries are thrown into a large tank filled with water, which +carries them through a pipe to the pulping machine. This machine removes +the pulp and separates the beans. + +Next the beans are carried to a second tank, where they remain for about +twenty-four hours, to wash off a sticky substance which covers the shell +of the bean. + +If you have ever put beans or peas into a basin of water, you have +noticed that nearly all of them sink, while a few float. These latter +are the poor ones. This is the way in which the good and bad coffee +beans are separated. A pipe carries off the seeds that float on the +surface of the water. + +The beans are dried on cement floors upon which they are spread. This +drying takes a long time. Before sunset each day the coffee must be +carried under shelter, for the dew injures it. While they are drying, +the workmen stir them. Sometimes artificial heat is used, but this is +expensive. Juan's father has a watchman whose duty it is to guard the +coffee at night, for it is very valuable. + +Each bean is covered by a strong shell, or hull, which has to be +removed. The soaking has loosened this, and so it comes off easier than +it otherwise would. Juan and Lupe often watch the wheels of the huller +as they turn, moved by patient oxen. + +There are two wheels set upright over a circular box, into which the +coffee is put. As it passes between the wheels and the bottom of the +box, the hulls are removed. Underneath the hull is a thin skin, which is +also taken off. + +In some countries people want the coffee dyed or colored. A bluish color +is given to it by coating the wheels of the hulling machine with lead. + +The hulls are separated from the beans in a winnowing machine, and the +coffee is then sorted. Often this is done by hand. The beans are spread +out on a table, and girls and boys, and sometimes grown persons, sort +it into several grades. + +[Illustration: FIG. 37.--Sorting and sacking Coffee.] + +Juan's father has this work done by machinery. The coffee is put into a +cylinder, in the bottom of which there are holes of different sizes by +which it is graded. + +The last process is to sack the coffee and send it by railroad to Rio +Janeiro. Of course it is neither roasted nor ground until it reaches its +destination. + +We do not produce coffee in our country, but we are the greatest coffee +drinkers in the world. A large part of our supply comes from Brazil. +Trace the course of the ship from Rio Janeiro to New York. Juan has +often done this, and his father has promised to take him with him +sometime, when he goes with a cargo of coffee. + +You naturally think that coffee of different names must come from +different countries, or at least from different trees. This is not +always the case. Several brands may come from the same tree. The name +depends partly upon the size and the general appearance of the beans. + +Coffee is a native of the far East, but it has gradually been +transplanted to other countries, until it is now very extensively used. +Brazil, Central America, Mexico, the West Indies, the Hawaiian Islands, +Java, Ceylon, and Arabia are coffee-raising countries. + +In 1551 coffee found its way to the city of Constantinople; in 1652 it +had reached London; and in 1720 it was planted in the West Indies. You +see it worked its way westward rather slowly. + +Several hundred years ago, coffee was very expensive, so that only the +rich could afford to use it. Instead of drinking it at home, people went +to "coffeehouses," where it was served. To these "coffeehouses" men +brought whatever news they had heard and told it to one another. In this +way these places served about the same purpose that newspapers do now. + + + + +THE TEA GARDENS OF CHINA + + +At the bottom of the teapot you will find some leaves. Spread one of +them out carefully. You can see that it was once long and slender, a +little like willow leaves. It may have grown in some garden in far-away +China, for we get a great deal of tea from that country. + +I have told you how close together the people live on the fertile plains +of eastern China. There is so little room that many live on boats on the +rivers and in the harbors. On this account their farms are not so large +as ours. + +The tea trees in the gardens are about five or six feet high. If they +were allowed to, they would reach a height of twenty-five feet; but they +are kept trimmed for the same reasons that the coffee trees are pruned. + +The trees are raised from seeds, and are generally planted on land which +slopes toward the south. What advantage is this? + +In about three years after planting, the first crop of leaves can be +gathered. In China they are usually gathered four times each year, and +the trees continue to yield for twenty-five or thirty years. + +When the leaves are picked, they are full of sap or juice, and so have +to be dried. The drying is usually done on trays made of bamboo. While +they are drying, they are rubbed and rolled between the palms of the +hands, so that they may dry more quickly and evenly. + +Next the leaves are placed, a few at a time, in iron pans over a +charcoal fire. They are left in these but a short time, for they are +hot. This process is called "firing." Sometimes the leaves are "fired" +but once, and sometimes twice. + +The tea is then spread out, and broken bits of stems are removed. Some +of the tea growers place the tea in baskets which are suspended over +slow fires, for drying. + +If you were to look into some of the _tea-hongs_ or houses where tea is +cured and packed, you would find the tea dried in a very curious +fashion. + +[Illustration: FIG. 38.--Picking Tea. "Pinehurst," South Carolina.] + +In one of the rooms you would see several Chinamen rolling and tossing +balls about with their bare feet. The balls are about the size of +footballs and are partly filled with tea. Although it looks like play, +it is hard work. As the balls are tossed about, the tea leaves are given +their rounded or twisted appearance. From time to time the workers stop +and tie the bags up more closely at the neck. This method is used in +making _gunpowder tea_. + +Black and green teas are not different varieties, but are produced by +different methods of handling. + +In the great tea-hongs there are professional _tasters_,--that is, men +who do nothing but sip tea from small cups, so as to grade it and fix +its value. This is considered a very particular line of work and +requires an educated taste. + +The ocean atmosphere has a bad effect on tea, so that the very finest +grades are seldom sent across the sea. When tea is to be shipped by +water, it is placed in boxes lined with a sort of sheet lead. This +protects the tea greatly. Most of the tea sent to the United States +lands at San Francisco. Why? How does it get to other parts of our +country? + +Great quantities of tea are pressed into the form of bricks and sent +over mountains and across deserts into Russia. + +This is called "brick tea." The Russians are great tea drinkers, and +whenever any one calls in Russia, tea is served. They call their teapot +a _samovar_. + +Better tea is obtained from Ceylon and India than from China. In these +countries Europeans have charge of most of the tea farms, and they have +carefully studied the cultivation and handling of tea. + +There is a little tea raised in our own country in the state of South +Carolina. It is very fine in quality and people are willing to pay a +high price for it. Some of it has been sold for five dollars a pound. + +When tea was first brought into Europe, it was regarded as a great +luxury, just as coffee was. People paid as much as fifty dollars a pound +for it. It is said that some of the tea raised to-day for the royal +family of China, is worth a hundred dollars a pound. + +Many people in this country do not enjoy a cup of tea unless they have +milk and sugar in it. The Chinese do not use either in their tea. In +Russia it is quite common to draw the tea through a lump of sugar held +between the teeth. + +You know that tea parties are very common. The most celebrated tea party +ever held was called the "Boston Tea Party." See what you can find out +about it. + + + + +A CUP OF COCOA + + +On the eighteenth day of June, in the year 1771, this notice appeared in +the _Essex Gazette_ of Massachusetts:-- + + "AMOS TRASK, + + At his House a little below the Bell-Tavern in + + DANVERS, + + Makes and sells Chocolate, + + which he will warrant to be good, and takes Cocoa to grind. Those + who may please to favor him with their Custom may depend upon being + well served, and at a very cheap Rate." + +This seems to have been the first notice of the manufacture and sale of +cocoa and chocolate in our country. What is peculiar about the notice? + +In those days the raw product was brought to Massachusetts by the +Gloucester fishermen. They obtained it in the West Indies in exchange +for fish and other things which they took there. + +When the Spanish soldier, Cortez, conquered Mexico in 1519, he found +that the people of that country were very fond of a drink which they +called "chocolatl." It was served to their ruler, Montezuma, in a cup of +gold. When the Spaniards went home, they of course introduced the drink +into their own country. For a long time it was very expensive and was +not commonly used outside of Spain, for the Spaniards kept the secret of +its preparation. + +Cocoa and chocolate are products of the seeds of a tree called the cacao +tree. It is a tropical tree and grows in both the Old and the New World. + +Although the cacao tree grows wild, it is also cultivated in orchards +much like fruit orchards which you have seen. The trees are seldom more +than twenty feet high, but they are rather inclined to spread out. They +require some shade, and so other trees are often planted between the +rows to shade them. The trees begin to bear when five or six years old, +and continue to yield for forty years. There are generally two chief +harvests each year, but the fruit is ripening all of the time. + +The blossoms, which grow in clusters, are small and pink or yellow in +color. They grow directly from the branches or the trunk of the tree. + +[Illustration: FIG. 39.--Cocoa Pods and Leaves. + +(Permission of WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +In about four months after the tree has blossomed, you will find dark +yellow or brown pods hanging from it. These look a little like ripe +cucumbers, but they are more pointed at one end and are grooved or +fluted. These pods are from six inches to a foot or more in length, with +a rather thick, tough rind. + +[Illustration: FIG. 40.--Native Cocoa Pickers. Ceylon. (Permission of +WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +How do you think the pods are gathered? They are cut off by men carrying +long poles, sometimes of bamboo, to the ends of which knives are +fastened. Only the ripe pods are cut off and collected in a heap under +the tree. They are left in these heaps for about twenty-four hours, +when they are cut open and the seeds are gathered in baskets. + +The seeds are called "beans." There are five rows of them, about the +size of almonds, within the pink pulp of the fruit. When fresh they are +white, but when dried they are brown. If you taste one, you will find it +bitter. + +You have often seen on packages of chocolate, as well as on the cans of +breakfast cocoa, the picture of a young woman carrying some chocolate +upon a tray. It is the picture of a beautiful girl who once served +chocolate in the old city of Vienna. Her name was Anette Baldauff, and +she married a rich count and "lived happily ever after." It is said that +a painting of her hangs upon the walls of the great art gallery in +Dresden. Point out the cities I have mentioned. + +The seeds are carried from the orchard to the sheds, where they are +prepared for market. Here they go through a process of fermentation or +"sweating." For this purpose they are placed in a covered box, or they +may even be covered with earth. This is called "claying." Now the seeds +must be dried. They are spread out on platforms, raised a little above +the ground, so that the air can circulate underneath. You notice that +the roofs do not cover them just now, for their only purpose is to keep +off the dew and the rain. They are fastened to frames which have wheels +under them. During the day they are not used, but at night they are +rolled over the cocoa. + +[Illustration: FIG. 41.--Drying Cocoa Seed. Ceylon. + +(Permission of WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +The cocoa is stirred by workmen using long shovels or rakes, so that it +may dry quickly and evenly. Once a day the beans are shoveled into heaps +and the workmen tread upon them with their bare feet, as you see. This +is called "dancing the cocoa." + +After the seeds have dried for about two weeks they are nearly the color +of red bricks. They are put up for shipment in canvas sacks holding one +hundred and fifty pounds each. The name of the plantation is usually +stamped upon the outside. Guayaquil exports more cocoa than any other +city. Find it. A great deal comes from the island of Trinidad, and from +the northern part of South America. + +When the "beans" have reached their destination, they must be cleaned, +to rid them of dust and dirt collected on the way. They are then placed +in a great revolving cylinder and roasted. You remember that when coffee +is roasted it brings out a pleasant odor called its _aroma_. The same is +true of cocoa. The roasting also helps to loosen a shell which surrounds +the seed. The shell is next removed and the "beans" are then crushed. + +The Mexicans used to crush the seeds on a large stone, hollowed out on +top. This they called a "matate." + +[Illustration: FIG. 42.--Grinding Cocoa. + +(Permission of WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +The crushing is now done by machinery. The broken bits of the cocoa are +called "cocoa nibs." When the cocoa is ground to a powder, it is put +into strong bags and pressed. This pressure removes a part of an oily +substance known as "cocoa butter." Remember, then, that cocoa is the +meal or flour made from the crushed seeds from which some of the oil has +been removed. Chocolate differs from cocoa in that none of this oil is +removed in making it. + +[Illustration: FIG. 43.--Moulding Cocoa. + +(Permission of WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +You have often seen the words "sweet chocolate" on the labels. This is +made by adding a quantity of pulverized sugar to the "plain" or "bitter" +chocolate. Sometimes vanilla beans are added. + +[Illustration: FIG. 44.--Cooling Cocoa. + +(Permission of WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +The pasty mass known as chocolate must be molded. When the proper amount +has been placed in each of several metal molds which rest on a table, +they are made to rock or shake, and this causes the chocolate to assume +the right shape. The molds are then taken to the cooling room, where +they are placed on frames, one above another, in long rows. Girls and +women wrap the cakes of chocolate in the wrappers specially prepared for +them, after which they are packed in boxes ready for shipment. + +At Dorchester, Massachusetts, on the Neponset River, is situated the +largest establishment for the manufacture of cocoa and chocolate in +America. It is interesting to know that on the very spot where these +great mills now stand, was built, in 1765, the first one of the kind in +this country. + + + + +A CRANBERRY BOG + + + WAREHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, Dec. 10, 1901. + +DEAR FRANK: How surprised you will be to learn that I am now a country +boy. We left Boston early last spring, and came out here to go into the +business of cranberry raising. It seemed very strange at first to travel +along country roads, or through woods and fields, instead of upon the +cement walks of our city streets, but we all think the country +delightful. + +A cranberry farm is a marsh or a bog, so you will see that the vines +need a great deal of water. There are both wild and cultivated bogs. +Those that are cultivated are provided with a system of ditches, so that +they can be flooded from time to time. It is a good deal like irrigation +in Southern California, I suppose. We flood the bogs to prevent the +berries from freezing, as well as to furnish the vines with water. I +will tell you more about that by and by. + +Father wanted a larger bog than the one he first bought, so, soon after +we came, he got another small piece of marsh land which joins it on the +west, and started vines on it. + +You know that willows, rosebushes, grapevines, and many other plants +will grow from _cuttings_. It is the same with cranberry vines. The +lower end of each cutting is pressed into the soil, and it soon begins +to grow. They are set in rows about fourteen inches apart. One of our +neighbors, who was starting a bog at the same time, cut the vines into +pieces an inch or two long, and scattered them over the ground. He then +harrowed them in. The vines multiply just as strawberry plants do, by +putting out _runners_. + +They tell us that our new bog will produce a crop in three years. Do you +have to wait that long for a crop of oranges? + +By the middle of June our bog was in full blossom. The flowers are quite +small and their color is a little like that of the flesh. I read an +interesting thing about them the other day. It seems that the berries +used to be called "craneberries," because people thought that the +blossoms, just before they opened fully, "resembled the neck, head, and +bill of a crane." By dropping the _e_, we got the present name. + +[Illustration: FIG. 45.--A Cranberry Bog. Showing the Young Vines.] + +During our harvest time, which lasted from the middle of September to +the last of October, we were very busy. We did not commence to go to +school until the berries were picked. You see, frost may occur and spoil +the crop, so that everybody works as fast as possible until the harvest +is over. Father had about twenty pickers some of the time, besides our +own family. + +[Illustration: FIG. 46.--Cranberry Pickers at Work. Notice how the Bog +is divided into Rows by Means of Cords.] + +When we were ready to begin picking, father took some twine and +stretched it back and forth across the bog, fastening it to small +stakes. This divided the field into rows. Each picker was given a row, +and he was not allowed to change until it was finished. + +At first it seemed great fun to get down on the ground and strip off the +bright berries, but when one does this day after day it gets pretty +tiresome. It must be easy to pick oranges, because you can stand up +while you work. + +Father paid the pickers twelve cents a pail. It takes about three +pailfuls to make a bushel. I averaged about one dollar and a half each +day. I bought a suit of clothes and all of my books for the year, and +have considerable money left. Some of the pickers who were quite small +did not earn very much. Do you recognize Jennie? She worked a part of +every day. + +Twice during the picking season there was a sharp frost, but we saved +the crop. + +The government sends out a Weather Map every day. Our teacher gets one, +and there is one tacked up in the post office every morning. These maps +tell what kind of weather to expect, and father watches them closely. +When he saw that frost was likely to occur, he and the men opened the +gates which hold back the water, in order to flood the part of the bog +where we had not picked. The vines were buried nearly two feet beneath +the surface of the water. Father says the water cools so slowly that its +temperature is much above that of the surface of the ground or the air +near it, so the berries do not get frost-bitten. Soon after sunrise the +water was drawn off, and the next day the bog was dry enough for the +pickers to work. + +[Illustration: Fig. 47.--A Young Worker. Notice how the Berries are +picked.] + +I wonder if the Weather Bureau is of any use to farmers in California. I +know that the sailors watch for the flags which tell when storms are +coming, that they may not go to sea if a violent storm is expected. +Father says very many lives and much property are saved every year in +this way. + +[Illustration: FIG. 48.--Winnowing and Barreling Cranberries.] + +I have not told you what we do with the cranberries after they are +picked. Of course we cannot help gathering some leaves and twigs with +the berries, and these must be taken out. For this purpose the berries +are put into a winnowing machine. I will send you a picture of one. As +the man turns the crank, wooden fans within turn rapidly, blowing out +the leaves, twigs, and dirt. The berries drop through a screen and run +out of a spout into a barrel, as you see. We then put them into crates +or barrels for sale. Father tells me that cranberries are shipped from +our country to Europe, because those raised here are much better than +the European berries. + +There are great quantities of cranberries raised in this part of +Massachusetts. I have been reading lately that they are produced in New +Jersey, on Long Island, in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Canada, and +some other sections. From what I have read, I guess they are not raised +in Southern California. Wouldn't it seem strange if you were to eat +berries raised on our bog, three thousand miles away? + +Now I want you to tell me about the orange groves of Southern +California, for none of us have ever seen an orange growing. + +I wish you all a very "Merry Christmas" and a "Happy New Year." + + Your loving friend, + + WILL. + + + + +THE COCOANUT ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC + + +Imagine yourself on a great ocean steamship, gliding over the blue water +of the Pacific Ocean toward the Samoan Islands. Among the first things +that you will see as you near the shores of these islands will be tall, +slender, graceful trees, rising without a branch to a height of thirty +to eighty feet. At the top is a sort of crown, composed of long, +drooping leaves. These beautiful trees lean out over the water and toss +their leaves in the strong and steady breeze from the ocean. They seem +to nod a friendly greeting to you as you approach, and to wave a loving +farewell to you as you sail away. These trees are the cocoanut palms. +They grow on all of the tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean, in the +West Indies, and along the shores of most warm countries, but never far +from the sea. + +When the cocoanut falls into the water, it is rocked and tossed by the +waves and drifted about by the currents, but it is safe within its +shell, for the salt water cannot penetrate this. When it finally comes +to rest upon some strange shore, it is ready to give to the world +another cocoanut palm, if the climate is like that from which it sailed. +In this way nature has helped the trees to become widely distributed. + +There are cocoanut plantations as well as wild groves of the trees. When +a plantation is to be established, the planter selects the ripest nuts +and dries them for several weeks. They are then planted, and by and by a +little palm springs from the small end of the nut and the roots from the +large end. When the young trees are from six months to two years old, +they are transplanted in rows thirty or forty feet apart. They begin to +bear nuts in about five years, but they do not yield a full crop for +fifteen or twenty years. Do you think that a poor man could afford to go +into the business of cocoanut raising? + +[Illustration: FIG. 49.--A Cocoanut Grove.] + +As you see in the picture, cocoanuts grow in clusters. You notice +also that they grow close to the stem instead of at the ends of the +branches. They do not all ripen at once, but nuts may be picked at +almost any time. A tree will produce from fifty to one hundred nuts each +year. If you were to go into an apple, a peach, or a cherry orchard, you +could easily pick the ripe fruit. Gathering cocoanuts is quite a +different matter, however. Let us observe this shiny-skinned Samoan boy +and see how he picks them. He fastens a short piece of rope in the form +of a loop to each foot. Letting one of the loops catch on a rough place +on the bark of the tree he places the hollow of his foot against it, +clasps the trunk with his hands, and raises himself a little. Then the +other loop is fastened a little higher up, and he raises himself again. +In this way he finally reaches the nuts. With a knife he cuts off the +ripe ones, which fall to the ground and are then piled up. They are then +placed in baskets which are hung from a pole and carried on the +shoulders of two men or are loaded on to donkeys and taken to the shed. + +The ripe cocoanut is a valuable article of food just as it is picked +from the tree. It contains also a milk which is a nourishing drink. Most +of the cocoanut sent to other countries, however, is in a form known as +_copra_. + +At the shed the hard shell, which covers the meat, is split open by +means of an ax. The meat is removed with a knife and is then spread out +on mats to dry. This dried cocoanut is copra. + +The inhabitants of these cocoanut islands live in a much more simple +style than we do, and the cocoanut tree supplies many of the things that +they use daily. + +Let us examine the home of a native Samoan. The frame and posts of the +house are made of the slender trunks of the cocoanut palm, while the +roof is covered with its leaves instead of with shingles. The cups, +bowls, dippers, and many other household utensils are made of the +shells. If a whole shell is wanted, the "eyes" are pushed in, the milk +is used, and ants are allowed to eat the meat. These make excellent +water bottles. Baskets, curtains, and twine, are made from the fiber of +the leaves, and the bark is used for fuel. + +From the copra an oil is pressed which is used in the manufacture of +soap. It makes a perfectly white soap that will float on the water. It +is also used to furnish light, and the people rub it on their bodies to +prevent sunburn. The sap of the tree is made into sugar, vinegar, and a +liquor. + +While in our country the cocoanut is important chiefly to bakers and +confectioners, in these far-away islands it is the most useful of +plants, and one of the chief articles of food. Would you not like to +visit the cocoanut islands and learn more of their interesting people? + + + + +A BUNCH OF BANANAS + + +Every day, as you walk along the streets you see great bunches of +bananas hanging in front of fruit and grocery stores. You find them at +the corner fruit stand, and peddlers carry them from house to house. + +Although bananas are so common now and so cheap that all can afford to +eat them, this was not so when your grandparents were children. In those +days the fruit was regarded as quite a luxury, for there were few people +engaged in carrying it from its tropical home to the cities of our +country. Now many small but swift ships, called "fruiters," carry on +this business. They get their cargoes of fruit in the West Indies or +Central America, and within a week after sailing they are unloading at +New Orleans, Baltimore, New York, or Boston. If the number of bananas +which reach our country each year were equally distributed, each person +would receive twenty-five. + +[Illustration: FIG. 50.--A Banana Tree.] + +Let us get aboard that wonderful train upon which all may travel free of +cost, which runs equally well upon land and water. We step off right in +the center of a banana plantation on the island of Jamaica. + +Yes, these are banana trees all about you. See how long and broad the +leaves are and how gracefully they droop! Some of them are ten or +fifteen feet long; almost as long as the trees are tall. The trees, you +see, are simply stalks from which the leaves unroll. Here you can see +some just starting out. They are rolls of bright green, pointing upward, +each starting from the center of the stalk. No, the leaves were not torn +in that way by the pickers. The wind sometimes whips them into ribbons, +for they are very tender. + +These stalks growing from the base of the main stem are called "suckers" +here; in Costa Rica they are called "bits." You remember that there are +no seeds in bananas. It is these "suckers" that are planted when a +farmer wants to start a plantation. They are set out when two or three +feet high and within a year they bear fruit. What did I tell you about +the length of time required for the cocoanut to bear? + +It is but four years since the trees in this plantation were single +"suckers," standing about fifteen feet apart. Now there are several +stalks grouped about each parent plant, and the beautiful leaves, +touching overhead, form shaded aisles of green. + +[Illustration: FIG. 51.--A Banana Plantation.] + +Of course a great number of "suckers" are not allowed to grow together. +Keeping these cut down is called "cleaning the plantation." + +Now let us examine the fruit on this tree beside us. You see that the +great cluster or bunch is made up of smaller bunches. These are called +"hands," and each banana is spoken of as a "finger." Let us count the +"hands" in this bunch. This is an unusually large one, for it contains +thirteen. Nine "hands" make a _full bunch_. As you see, there are from +ten to twenty "fingers" in a "hand." Buyers will seldom take bunches of +less than six "hands." + +Here come the fruit cutters to help get a cargo for the "fruiter" we saw +at anchor. + +Yes, the bananas are green, I know, and they are always green when +gathered. They will ripen in the storehouses when they reach the United +States. + +No, it is not a waste to cut down the stalks, for they die after bearing +their fruit, and the smaller stalks about them will soon yield. Some of +these stalks, you see, have but one bunch and some have two or three. +How odd the bunches look with the "fingers" all pointing upward! + +The banana leaves which the men are wrapping about the bunches are to +protect the fruit. It bruises very easily and great quantities are lost +on this account. They are not always wrapped, however. + +When the fruit reaches the vessel, it is carefully inspected; and if not +in just the right condition, it is refused. The bunches which are +accepted, are taken into the hold of the ship and packed closely +together. The planter receives for these from ten to thirty-five cents a +bunch. Just think of buying eight or nine dozen of bananas for ten +cents! + +[Illustration: FIG. 52.--Loading a Small Boat with Bananas to be taken +to the "Fruiter" in the Harbor.] + +The men will not stop work until the ship is loaded. It may take +twenty-four hours, and it may take twice that long, for a "fruiter" will +carry from fifteen to twenty thousand bunches of fruit. + +In some parts of Central America, where there are no harbors, the +planters float the fruit down the streams in canoes. The vessels anchor +at some distance from the shore, and the bananas are taken out in boats +called _dories_. They are hoisted up to the deck of the ship by means of +pulleys, and then packed in the hold. The thousands of bunches which are +bruised in handling are thrown into the sea. + +While the northern ports get most of their supply of bananas from the +West Indies, the Pacific coast states are supplied from Central America. +The "fruiters" unload at New Orleans into trains, which carry the fruit +to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other places. Banana trains also run +from New Orleans to St. Louis, Chicago, and other parts of the country. + +The fruit ships have great pipes or ventilators, which carry the cool, +fresh air from the sea down into the hold. Sometimes when they reach +port it is so cold that the bananas cannot be taken out for a few days. +Wagons are loaded with the fruit at the wharves, and it is taken to +warehouses where it gradually turns yellow. I am sure you have seen +loads of the green fruit on the streets. + +[Illustration: FIG. 53.--A "Fruiter" taking a Cargo of Bananas.] + +When the wholesale merchant sells the fruit, he often incloses each +bunch in the rough material of which gunny sacks are made, and then puts +a light, circular frame, made of strips of wood, over it. This, you see, +protects the bananas. The grocer or fruit man takes hold of the frame +without danger of mashing the fruit, lifts the bunch, and hangs it upon +a hook. The frame and sacking are then removed. + +Bananas grow in the tropical parts of Asia and Africa and on many of the +islands of the Pacific Ocean. They are also raised in Florida, and they +ripen in sheltered places in Southern California. + +You have seen both yellow and red bananas. The red ones usually bring +the higher price, but they do not keep well and are not so extensively +raised as the yellow ones. + +The banana is an important article of food. It is much more nourishing +than potatoes or even good, white bread. A flour or meal can be made +from the fruit by drying it and then grinding. + + + + +HOW DATES GROW + + +Three thousand years before the shepherds followed the star to the +manger at Bethlehem, the beautiful date palm was cultivated beside the +banks of the Euphrates and the Nile rivers. The date was the bread of +the people who lived in these fertile valleys, and it is an important +article of food in northern Africa, Arabia, and Persia to-day. + +Look at a map of northern Africa, and you will see that the great Sahara +covers a large part of it. Here and there across the drifting sands wind +caravan routes, traveled by camels ridden by strangely dressed men. +These routes lead to beautiful garden spots called _oases_. Here are +wells and springs, with little streams flowing in the shade of fig, date +palm, and other trees. The people who dwell within these groves beside +the cooling waters look out upon the desert as the inhabitants of an +island might look upon the boundless sea. Find some of these oases and +learn why they are fertile. The people who live in these oases depend +upon dates for their living. The dreary journey from the coast to the +interior is made to procure quantities of this fruit, which are wanted +by the outside world. + +If you were to make a journey in a desert country, you would find that +you could not carry such articles of food as you would have if you +remained at home. The sunshine beats down fiercely, the springs and +wells are far apart, and the patient animals must not be overloaded. The +chief article of food carried is the date. A mass is packed together +until it is so hard that pieces are chopped off with a hatchet when they +are wanted. + +Like the cocoanut palm, the date palm rises to a great height, sometimes +fifty or sixty feet, without branches. It ends in a crown of beautiful +feathery leaves which droop downward. These leaves may be ten or fifteen +feet long. Many of them stand edgewise. Unlike most trees, the trunk +does not steadily increase in size, and you can tell nothing as to +the age of the tree by its diameter. + +[Illustration: FIG. 54.--Date Palms loaded with Ripe Fruit, Biskra, +Algeria. (Year Book U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1900.)] + +In its wild state many shoots spring from the base of the tree. These +may grow as high as the parent stalk, so that in time a jungle or +thicket is formed. + +The flowers, which are clear white, grow in clusters. There are from six +to twenty of these clusters on a tree, each of which produces a bunch of +dates. The female tree bears the fruit. The blossoms are pollinated both +by the wind and by man. + +There are from ten to fifteen pounds of dates in a bunch. A tree will +average from one hundred to two hundred pounds each year, although trees +have been known to yield six hundred pounds. The trees yield when from +four to eight years old, and continue to bear for a century. + +The dates, green at first, later in the year a yellowish brown, are, +when ripe, amber or black in color. + +The trees require a very dry, hot climate, but moist soil. Long, long +ago, this saying was common among the Arabs, "The date palm, the queen +of trees, must have her feet in running water and her head in the +burning sky." + +Although there are lovely date palm trees on the grounds of many +California homes, few of them bear fruit. The temperature must average +from eighty to ninety degrees for a considerable time in the summer, in +order to mature it. What is the average summer temperature in your +locality? + +If an ordinary tree is frost-bitten, it recovers and soon puts out a new +growth; but if the crown of the date palm be frozen, the tree dies. + +When the Moors went to Spain, in the eleventh century, they introduced +this valuable tree which the mission fathers several hundred years later +brought to Mexico and to Southern California. + +How would you like to try to climb a date palm tree? Although they look +so smooth and are without branches, the natives of the desert climb them +without any help whatever. The trunk is always somewhat rough, and this +makes it possible to ascend them. + +[Illustration: FIG. 55.--Date Palm Trees.] + +Not all of the dates in a bunch ripen at once, so they are usually +picked by hand and only the ripe ones selected. Sometimes, however, the +bunches are cut off. Some dates contain so much sap that the bunches +must be hung up to allow it to drain off before they can be shipped. +This sap is called _date honey_, and is saved. They are sent to the +coast towns in bags or boxes called _frails_. Where dates are to be sold +in small quantities, they are repacked in the small boxes such as you +have seen. + +You know that dates are very sweet, and it is no wonder that they are, +for they contain from fifty-five to sixty per cent of sugar. + +The trees are often tapped, and the sap which flows out is made into +sugar. Vinegar and a liquor called _arrack_ are also made from it. The +leaves of the tree are made into bags and mats; from the stones a drink +is made which takes the place of coffee. From the leafstalks baskets are +made, while the trunk furnishes material for houses and for fences. + +If the dates could speak, they could tell us many wonderful stories of +the far East, of the river boats on the Nile, of the drifting sands +which come so close to the river's banks, of the caravans creeping over +the desert toward the green oases and then fading out of sight, bearing +loads of this food to the countries where it is not produced. + + + + +THE ORANGE GROVES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA + + + PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, Jan. 4, 1902. + +DEAR FRIEND WILL: I was very glad to receive your letter, and much +surprised to know that you are living on a farm. I am glad that you +described the raising of cranberries, for I did not know much about it +before. When I told my teacher about getting the letter, she asked me to +read it in the geography class and to show the pictures. I asked our +grocery-man where he gets his cranberries, and found that some of them +came from Wareham. + +You are having cold weather now, I know. Is the skating good? I have not +seen ice as thick as window glass since we came to California, except +that delivered by the iceman. Just now there is a beautiful covering of +snow on the mountains a few miles north and east of town. Just think of +picking roses and callas with snow in plain sight! The snow never +remains more than a day or two on these mountains. + +Soon after we came to Pasadena, father bought an orange grove of +twenty-five acres. We are picking the fruit now. People began to pick +oranges several weeks ago, and the work will continue all winter. + +Orange trees are planted about twenty feet apart, but the groves do not +look as apple orchards do in the East, for no grass is allowed to grow +in them. + +The best orange section is east of here, near Redlands and Riverside, +but some good fruit is raised near Pasadena also. + +Father keeps our trees pruned down rather low, so that it is easier to +pick the oranges than it would be if they were allowed to grow very +tall. + +Orange raising is like cranberry growing in one way--the land must be +irrigated in each case. Here the water is piped from the mountain +streams and from tunnels. We form basins about ten feet square around +each tree and fill them with water. Most of our irrigating is done +during the summer, as the winter is our rainy season. _You_ would not +call it a very rainy time. Our average is about twenty inches for the +whole year. + +The trees in our grove have been set out about six years, and they are +bearing nicely now. Orange trees begin to bear when they are four years +old; so, you see, we have to wait a little longer for a crop than you do +for a crop of cranberries. It costs a good deal to start an orange +grove. Trees cost from one dollar to one and one-half dollars each at +the nurseries. A few years ago they sold for twenty cents each. + +I wish that you could see the trees when they are in full blossom, and +also when they are loaded with the golden fruit. I am going to put some +orange blossoms into the envelope, but I am afraid they will not reach +you in very good condition. They are very fragrant, and you can smell +their perfume some distance from a tree in blossom. + +To-day we picked about two hundred and fifty boxes of oranges. We always +speak of _picking_ them, although they are not picked, but cut. You +see, if they were picked off, the part where the stem pulled off would +soon begin to decay. + +We take a wagon load of fruit boxes, and, while father drives slowly +between the rows of trees, I throw them off. + +[Illustration: FIG. 56.--Picking Oranges in California.] + +Each picker carries a sack slung over one shoulder, and as fast as he +cuts off an orange, he drops it into the sack. The sacks are emptied +into the boxes, and these are loaded on to the wagon. Father pays five +cents a box for picking, and a good picker will gather about forty boxes +in a day. + +We sell most of our oranges to fruit companies. These companies pack and +ship the fruit. At the packing houses the oranges are placed in tubs of +water and scrubbed with small brushes. Many women, girls, and boys work +at this. The washing is to take off dirt, and also _scale_. + +[Illustration: FIG. 57.--Grading and Packing Oranges.] + +After the oranges are washed, they are placed in a sort of trough which +is highest at the end near the tub. They roll down this trough to the +_grader_. This is a machine so arranged that the oranges pass through +different openings according to their size, and come out sorted. + +In the warehouse close by they are wrapped and packed. Chinamen often do +this work. Each orange is wrapped in a separate piece of paper, which +has the brand of the company stamped upon it. It is then packed firmly +in a box. A certain number of oranges of each grade fill a box, +ninety-six of the largest grade, and about two hundred of the smallest. +Those which are too small, as well as the imperfect oranges, are +rejected. These are called _culls_. Sometimes these are sold for a low +price, and sometimes they are thrown away by wagon loads. + +After the boxes are filled, they are placed in special fruit cars and +hurried to St. Louis, Chicago, New York, Boston, and other cities. + +Yes, the Weather Bureau is of great help to fruit growers. Of course we +have very little winter here, but oranges will not endure much cold. The +mercury falls below the freezing point but a few times each season. On +New Year's Day the temperature here was fifty-eight degrees. I looked up +the Boston temperature for the same day and found that it was only four +degrees above zero. When the Bureau predicts a sharp freeze, the farmers +build small fires in their orchards, or turn on a good deal of water. +The fires are built in small wire baskets. They make a smudge instead of +a flame. The people in the raisin districts watch the weather reports +pretty closely, for rain injures the drying grapes. + +Growers have to _spray_ or _fumigate_ the trees to destroy the scale +that I spoke of which is a great enemy of the orange, to kill the +insects, and to wash off dirt. This is sometimes done by putting a great +piece of canvas over the tree, forming a sort of tent which prevents the +fumes from escaping. It was found that the ladybugs would eat the scale +and so they were brought into California from the East. They do a great +deal of good, but still we have to spray the trees. + +Orange trees are raised from the seed, and the trees produced in this +way are called _seedlings_. By _budding_, a fruit much better than the +oranges grown on the seedling tree has been produced. There were five +acres of seedlings in our grove, and father budded the trees. He cut +off the limbs rather close to the trunk of the tree. Then he slipped +buds from _navel_ trees into cuts made through the bark in the end of +each limb left on the tree. He then wound cord tightly about the limb +and put on some wax. After a time a new growth started out where these +buds were placed. These new branches will bear much improved fruit. + +We have a very fine variety of oranges called Washington Navels. Trees +of this variety were obtained by our government from Brazil. Two of +these were brought to Riverside, a town about seventy-five miles east of +Pasadena, and planted on a ranch belonging to a Mr. Tibbits. They did +well, and all of the trees of this variety in Southern California were +obtained from these two through budding. These trees are still living. + +California and Florida are the two important orange-growing states of +our country. Father says the industry is much older in Florida than in +our state. Florida growers can ship their fruit to market much cheaper +than we can. It costs us ninety cents for each box. + +Mexico, the West Indies, Italy, southern France, and Spain are also +orange producers. These countries have the advantage of cheap labor, +father says. + +I wish that you could visit us. We would have fine times, I am sure. + +The next time I write I will tell you about some of the other fruits +raised in California. + + Your sincere friend, + FRANK. + + + + +A VISIT TO A VINEYARD + + + PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, Oct. 1, 1902. + +DEAR FRIEND WILL: Last week father went to Fresno, which is about three +hundred miles northwest of here, in the San Joaquin valley. He took me +with him, and we visited some of the great vineyards and raisin-packing +establishments near and in that city. + +Raisins are simply dried grapes. Although there are many countries where +grapes grow, there are few where raisins are made. Dew, fog, and rain +injure the fruit, so that the San Joaquin valley, with its dry, hot +atmosphere, is well adapted to this industry. + +There are a great many different kinds of grapes but only the green +variety is used in making raisins. The raisin grapes are called +_muscats_. If the grapes are left on the vines long enough, they become +raisins. I have picked some pretty good raisins from the vines. Of +course by being spread out, they dry quicker and more evenly. + +The sugar that you find on and in the raisins is not put there by the +people who dry the grapes. It comes from the juice of the grape. + +Grapevines grow from both roots and cuttings. Of course cuttings are the +cheaper. Often they may be had for the asking. Many think that it is +better to set out rooted vines than cuttings. + +They are planted in rows from six feet apart to twelve or fifteen feet. +During the first year the young vines will grow several feet. In the +fall, when the flow of the sap has been checked by frost, the vines are +pruned. A vineyard in California looks quite different from one in the +East. During the winter it is simply so many rows of stumps several +inches in thickness and one or two feet high. During the summer the +branches grow from these stumps and produce their beautiful clusters of +grapes, only to be cut off in the fall or winter. + +The trimmings are generally burned in the vineyard at the same time that +they are cut off. A sort of furnace made of sheet iron is fastened +between two wheels and drawn by horses up and down between the rows. A +man pitches the cuttings into it, and they burn as it moves along. + +In the early summer men go through the vineyards sprinkling a coating of +sulphur on the vines. This is to prevent mildew, which damages the fruit +very much. + +During the last half of August and September the grapes are picked. +Sometimes the harvest continues into October. Most of the grapes had +been gathered when we visited the vineyards. + +When the juice of the grapes is one fourth sugar, they are ready to +pick. The grower generally tells the condition by the taste and color of +the fruit, although there are instruments for determining the amount of +sugar. + +Like oranges, grapes are cut from the vines and not picked. We saw great +companies of Chinamen going through the vineyards cutting off the +beautiful clusters. These they placed on shallow, wooden trays to dry. +In a week or two, when the upper side of the clusters is pretty well +dried, the grapes are turned. We saw the workmen place an empty tray, +upside down, over the filled one. Then, holding the two together, they +turned them over, and the grapes dropped into the tray that had been +placed on top. + +[Illustration: FIG. 58.--Picking Grapes.--Notice the Mountains in the +Background.] + +[Illustration: FIG. 59.--Drying Raisin Grapes.] + +During this drying time the people watch the reports of the Weather +Bureau. In some places flags are displayed when rain is expected. As a +rule the grape season is over before the rains begin. + +When the grapes are taken from the trays, they are placed in boxes +holding about one hundred pounds each. These are called _sweat boxes_. +Here the driest grapes absorb some of the moisture from the others, and +the mass becomes more uniform. + +[Illustration: FIG. 60.--A Vineyard after being Pruned.] + +After the drying process has been finished, the stems are rather +brittle. To make them softer and easier to handle, the grapes are next +placed in a cool room and left there for a time. + +After visiting some of the vineyards, we drove to one of the great +packing establishments in Fresno. These packing houses are nearly always +in the cities and towns, because there help can be easily obtained. The +packing house that we visited employs four hundred people, mostly girls +and women. + +The raisins are first placed on wooden or metal frames the size of a +raisin box. These are called _forms_, and the packers are paid according +to the number of forms filled. When these are filled, the raisins are +carefully transferred to the boxes. + +A box of raisins weighs twenty pounds, but there are half boxes and +quarter boxes put up also. A paper is placed on the bottom of each box, +and over the raisins another is placed. On top of this there is a fancy +paper on which the name of the packer is stamped. + +In most establishments there are three grades of raisins, Imperial +Clusters, London Layers, and the loose and imperfect stems. + +Sometimes a second crop of grapes is gathered a little later in the +fall. Of course these do not dry so well because the days are shorter, +it is cooler, and rains sometimes occur. On this account they are dipped +in lye and then rinsed in water. The lye cracks the skin, and so the +juice evaporates more quickly. These are called Valencia raisins. There +is not a very good market for these, so that people do not dip them so +commonly now as they used to. + +We saw the machine where the raisins are _stemmed_. They pass from a +hopper into a space between two woven-wire cylinders. The inner one +revolves within the other. In this way the raisins are broken from the +stems. They are then run through a fanning mill which cleans them, and +they are finally graded by passing through screens having openings of +different sizes. + +Most of the seedless raisins are made from seedless grapes, but there +are machines for removing the seeds from the grapes which contain them. + +The superintendent of the packing house said that nearly all of the +raisins that we import come from Spain, and that they are exported +chiefly from the city of Malaga. + +The purple and other _wine grapes_ are taken to the wineries and sold by +the ton, to be made into wine. + +There are many other things that I should like to write about, but my +letter is a pretty long one now, so I will close. + + Your loving friend, + FRANK. + + + + +NUTTING + + +Have you ever gone into the woods on a beautiful autumn day? The bright, +warm sunshine floods the earth where the trees are far apart and sifts +down through the branches. All nature seems to invite you to lie down +under a tree and dream. It was on such a day that Rip Van Winkle fell +into his long sleep. + +How pretty the trees look in their fall suits of yellow, crimson, red, +and brown! What a rustling is made as your feet tread the carpet of +leaves! + +The breezes pass among the branches and whisper a message to the +bright-colored leaves. They understand and obey. Singly, in groups, and +in showers, they silently float downward. By night and by day they fall, +but soon this carpet will be changed for one of white. + +Listen! The leaves are not the only things that are falling. You can +hear the _thump_, _thump_ of nuts as they drop from their lofty perches +in the walnut and hickory-nut trees. + +Sit down quietly on that log and you will soon see the busy nut +gatherers. With their tails curled over their backs, they race up and +down the trees, or spring from branch to branch, carrying their precious +burdens to their homes in the hollows of trunk or limb. Now one sits up +straight, holding a nut between his paws, and turning it slowly as he +cracks and eats it. If he sees you, he whisks out of sight, or scolds +you from a safe place far above the ground. + +When the winter winds are whistling through the leafless trees, and +snows are drifting over the ground, these little nut gatherers feast to +their hearts' content. + +The squirrels do not gather all of the nuts. Children and grown people +enjoy nutting. When there are not enough nuts on the ground, the men and +boys climb the trees to shake them off. Then everybody hunts among the +leaves for the treasures. + +Some of the most important nuts are walnuts, hickory nuts, hazelnuts, +almonds, chestnuts, Brazil nuts, pecans, and peanuts. + +Many of the hickory nuts fall out of their coverings bright and clean. +Walnuts generally have to be _shucked_, and the juice stains the hands +almost black. + +As hazelnuts grow on bushes, they can be easily picked. They usually +drop out of their burs after there have been a few frosts. + +Many nuts are gathered in the woods, but in some places the trees are +cultivated just as fruit trees are. + +We usually eat nuts between meals, or as a dessert. They are not simply +dainties, but are very valuable articles of food. In some countries the +poor people depend upon them for food. + +In almost any city of our country are to be found the nuts that I have +mentioned, with perhaps several other kinds. These have come from +different states, some from Canada, some from Brazil, and some from +Spain. + +I am sure you will enjoy gathering nuts of different kinds, so let us +set out on a nutting expedition. + + + + +A WALNUT VACATION + + +How would you like to have your school close for two weeks, so that you +could gather walnuts? Every year many of the boys and girls of Southern +California are given a vacation just for this purpose. It is called the +"walnut vacation," and occurs in the month of October. + +These children do not take their baskets and go off to the woods where +they can romp and play, watch the squirrels, and gather beautiful autumn +leaves. They gather nuts from the trees which their parents own, for in +Southern California there are many walnut ranches or groves. You see the +vacation means a vacation for work instead of for play. + +Walnut trees are set out in rows just as apple trees are, but their +roots and branches extend to such a distance from the trunks that they +need to be about twice as far apart. + +The walnut harvest, which begins about the first of October, is a busy +time. Men, women, boys, and girls may be seen in the groves, shaking the +nuts from the trees, picking them up, and putting them into sacks. + +[Illustration: FIG. 61.--A Walnut Grove.] + +The men shake the trees, and there is a shower of nuts to the earth. Do +not go under the branches now unless you want to be pelted. A single +tree has been known to yield three hundred pounds of nuts in a season. + +When the trees have been given a good shaking, there are still some nuts +clinging to the branches. These are obtained by shaking the limbs +separately, by means of long poles, to the ends of which wire hooks are +fastened. As all of the nuts do not ripen at the same time, the trees +are sometimes gone over two or three times. + +Now the boys, girls, and women go to work filling pails and baskets and +emptying them into sacks, for they can do this work as well as men. + +Usually the nuts drop out of their covering or _shuck_ when they strike +the ground; but if they do not, the _shuck_ must be removed. Sometimes +the covering is cut off. If you handle the nuts with your bare hands, +they will be stained almost black, and you will have to let the color +wear off. + +The days are bright and warm, and this sort of nutting becomes rather +tiresome before sundown. The work must be done and the vacation is not a +very long one, so each does his part cheerfully. + +When the nuts have been gathered, they are taken to the shed or place +where they are to be washed. Here they are poured into a large wire +cylinder which revolves in a tank filled with water. The machine is +turned by a horse walking round and round, and it both washes and grades +the nuts. The smaller ones pass through the meshes in the wire and are +called _second grade_. The larger ones are known as _first grade_. + +[Illustration: FIG. 62.--Washing, Drying, and Sacking Walnuts.] + +When the walnuts come out of the washer, they are spread out on shallow, +wooden trays to dry. Sometimes several thousand trays may be seen on +one ranch. They are loaded on to a small car and pushed to the part of +the field where they are wanted. + +If there is no foggy or cloudy weather, they will dry in about five +days, but if there is, it may take ten. + +After the nuts are thoroughly dried, the trays are placed on the car and +pushed to the _bleacher_. This is a large box made of tarred paper. It +is placed over the trays, and a quantity of sulphur is burned in it. +This is simply to whiten the shells, for they sell for a higher price +when they are bleached. Sometimes the nuts are whitened by dipping them +into a liquid preparation. + +The nuts are now sacked and marked, ready to ship. Soon after the boys +and girls have finished their "walnut vacation," the nuts are on their +way to the eastern part of the United States. + +Most of the walnuts raised in California have soft shells. Some have +such thin shells that they are called "paper shells." The walnuts that +grow in the woods of Indiana, Illinois, and other states have hard +shells. They are dark in color and are called _black walnuts_. The trees +are quite valuable, as the wood is used in making furniture. + + + + +CHESTNUTS + + +Let us go on a chestnutting expedition to the southern part of France. +We can gather the nuts in many of the states of our own country, but the +trip to a strange land will be enjoyed by all. + +The chestnut trees, many of which are very old, spread their branches to +great distances. The nuts, as you see, are inclosed in a _bur_ or coat +which covers the shell. There are generally two nuts in each bur. + +When _you_ eat chestnuts, you eat them as a sort of dainty, not as a +regular article of food. This is not the case in the home of Jean, the +boy who is helping his father fill those sacks. In his home, as in many +homes in southern Europe, the nuts form one of the chief articles of +daily food. + +In the winter Jean sells the freshly roasted nuts on a street corner in +the city of Lyons. He gets a good many pennies each noon from workmen +and poor people generally, who use them for their midday meal. He sells +ten nuts for a penny. + +This is not the only way in which they are eaten. Jean's mother boils +them with celery and mashes them as we do potatoes. The nuts are also +ground into a flour from which bread is made. They are often used in the +dressing for fowls. + +Confectioners use great quantities of chestnuts. In Lyons there are +establishments where as many as two hundred persons are employed in +preparing them. + +The nuts are first peeled, and then boiled in clear water, which removes +the thin coating next the kernel. They are then placed in a sirup +flavored with Mexican vanilla, in which they remain for about three +days. After draining, they are coated with vanilla or chocolate and +packed in attractive boxes. In this form they are worth forty-five or +fifty cents a pound. + + + + +A BAG OF PEANUTS + + +Last summer Harry's parents took him with them on a visit to Virginia. +Harry has always lived in New York City, and the country life of the +South was very interesting to him. + +They visited friends who live on a beautiful _plantation_, as the farms +in the South are called. A driveway lined with grand old trees leads +through the flower-studded lawn up to the retired manor house, whose +wide verandas completely circle it round. + +Beyond the house are the stables where work horses, driving horses, and +saddle horses are kept; and beyond these is the pretty little boathouse, +standing on the bank of a small river that winds its way through the +plantation. + +The morning after Harry arrived, his friend Bert asked him if he would +like to go across the river to see the men harvest peanuts. + +Now whenever Harry had wanted peanuts, he had always gone to a stand +and bought a sack. He had never thought about where they came from. He +had heard of shaking nuts from trees, so he supposed that they were +going to the woods. + +He was therefore much surprised when Bert took him to a field across the +river where men were plowing vines from the ground. + +"Do peanuts grow in the ground?" he asked. + +"Why, of course they do," answered Bert. + +"I thought that nuts grew on trees," said Harry. + +"Father says that the peanut is not a _real_ nut," replied his friend. +"He says they should be called _ground nuts_ or _ground peas_." He +pulled up one of the vines, and the boys threw themselves down under a +tree to examine it. + +When the small clods of soil clinging to the roots of the plant had been +removed, Harry saw a number of pods which he recognized as peanuts. + +Opening one of the pods, Bert took out the kernels. + +"These," said he, "are the _seeds_, and they are planted much as other +seeds are. + +"Before they are planted the shell must be removed, but we have to be +careful not to break the thin skin that covers the kernel. If that be +broken, the seed will not grow. + +"The kernels are planted about one foot apart, in rows that are, as you +see, about three feet apart. Sometimes they are planted by hand and +sometimes by machinery." + +"I wonder if peanuts are raised in the country around New York," said +Harry. + +"No, I think not," replied Bert, "for they are very easily killed by +frost. Great quantities are raised in North Carolina and in Tennessee. +Father says that the negroes of western Africa raised them long, long +before they were known in the United States. He says that they are a +very important article of food there, and that whole villages take part +in the planting and harvesting. + +"After the vines blossom," continued Bert, "a very strange thing +happens." + +"What is it?" asked Harry. + +"The flower stalks bend downward and push themselves right into the +soil, and on these the pods develop. If the stalks do not enter the +earth within a few hours after the flowers fall, they die." + +Harry now watched the plowing. The plows were drawn up and down the rows +and ran directly under the vines, lifting them out of the soil. After +they had been plowed out about two hours, men took them upon pitchforks +and piled them up. Harry noticed that some of the piles were covered +with corn fodder, and asked why this was. Bert told him that it was to +keep out the rain. + +"What happens to the nuts after the vines have been piled up?" said +Harry. + +"They remain in the piles fifteen or twenty days, and are then spread +out on the ground or hauled to the barn, where the nuts are picked off," +answered Bert. "Sometimes they are picked by hand and sometimes by +machinery. Let us go to the lower field; we have an earlier variety +there, and the nuts are being picked now." + +They found men, women, and children picking the pods one by one and +dropping them into baskets. These were emptied into sacks. Harry tried +to lift one of these, and was surprised to find it so heavy. Bert told +him that it weighed about one hundred pounds. + +"Do you burn the vines after the nuts are picked?" asked Harry. + +"No," said Bert, "they are fed to the cattle. We call the vines _peanut +hay_." + +Bert explained that his father sold the sacks of nuts to the factory, +where they were cleaned and sorted. + +The next day the boys went to town and visited the peanut factory. + +The nuts were first put through a machine which removed the dirt. They +were then polished and sorted into four grades. The poorest grade is +used in making peanut candy. The nuts were then sacked, and were ready +to be shipped to the North. + +Harry learned that an oil is made from the nuts which is used as olive +oil is used, and also that peanut butter is produced from them. He +found that many men were employed on plantations all through Virginia +and other states of the South, in raising the peanuts that are sold on +the streets of every city and town in our country. + + + + +ASSORTED NUTS + + +After the Thanksgiving dinner had been eaten, the nuts were passed, and +the children asked Uncle John to tell them something about a few of +them. + +"All right," said he. "You pick out the ones that you want to know +about." + +Frank handed him an almond. + +"This nut," said Uncle John, "came from sunny Spain. It grew not far +from the blue Mediterranean. Almonds are raised in most parts of +southern Europe and in the northern part of Africa. Ages ago they grew +in the Holy Land, and are mentioned in the Bible." + +"Do almonds grow in any part of our country?" asked Helen. + +"I think they grow in California," said Frank. + +"You are right," said Uncle John. "There are many almond orchards in the +southern part of the state. + +"An almond tree in full bloom is a beautiful sight. The blossoms are +white, tinted with pink, and as they appear before the leaves do, there +is nothing to hide them." + +[Illustration: FIG. 63.--Almond Trees in Full Bloom.] + +"Does the nut have a covering?" inquired Mary. + +"Yes," replied Uncle John. "When the nut is ripe, the shuck opens +gradually, and sometimes the nuts fall out. + +"When people have large orchards, they spread pieces of canvas under +the trees and then shake them or beat them by means of long poles. + +"The nuts that do not fall out of the shucks are obtained by opening the +shuck with a knife. The nuts are then dried, and are ready for market." + +As soon as Uncle John had finished, Mary handed him a hazelnut. "Please +tell about this one," said she. + +"I have often gone hazel nutting when I was a boy," said her uncle. +"Hazelnuts grow on bushes in thickets. They are six or eight feet high +and very slender. Baskets are sometimes made of them, and I have often +used them for arrows. + +"Sometimes the nuts grow singly, and sometimes in groups of two or +three. A bur covers the nut, which sticks very closely until it is ripe. +Then the nuts often fall out. + +"After I had gathered the hazelnuts, I used to spread them out on the +roof of the wood house to dry." + +"Nuts that look just like these are called filberts," said Helen. + +"Filberts are cultivated hazelnuts," replied Uncle John; "they are +larger than the wild ones." + +"I would like to know how this nut grows," said Helen, handing her uncle +a black nut shaped like a triangular prism. + +"This," said Uncle John, "came from Brazil, and is called a Brazil nut. +Do you know where Brazil is?" + +"It is in the northeastern part of South America," replied Helen. + +"The great Amazon River is in Brazil, and it flows through tropical +forests," said Mary. + +"Much of our coffee comes from Brazil," said Frank. + +Uncle John then told the children that Brazil nuts come from the +northern part of Brazil and from the Orinoco valley. + +Helen asked if they grow as walnuts and hickory nuts do. + +"No," answered her uncle, "they grow inside of a great case or shell. +There are from eighteen to twenty-five in one shell, which is nearly as +large as a man's head." + +"How are the nuts got out of the shells?" asked Mary. + +"When they fall, men break them open and take out the nuts," replied +Uncle John. "Most of them are sent down the Amazon to the city of Para +and from there shipped to the United States and other countries." + +None of the children knew where Para is situated, so they all went to +the library to look at the atlas. After they had located it, Uncle John +told them of his visit to the city and of the wonderful things which he +saw on a steamboat trip up the Amazon River. + + + + +A STRANGE CONVERSATION + + +One evening after I had been reading for some time, I went to the +kitchen to get a drink of water. That part of the house was dark and +quiet, and as I stepped through the doorway, I heard low, musical +voices, apparently in the pantry. I was very much surprised, you may be +sure, and I kept perfectly still, and listened. + +"Yes," said a voice, which I could barely hear, "I am a long way from +home indeed, and sometimes it makes me quite lonely when I think of it." + +"Tell us about your home, and how you lived," said another low voice. + +"Well," began the first speaker, "my name is _Pepper_. With twenty-five +or thirty brothers and sisters I grew in a cluster on a vine. We were +but a small part of the family, for there were similar clusters all over +our vine. We were about as large as peas, and grew somewhat after the +fashion of currants. + +"All about were other vines to which friends and relatives were +attached. Pepper vines are always anxious to get to the top, and so some +of these vines climbed trees and some twined themselves about poles, +which men had set in the ground for this purpose. Our vine was three or +four years old when we appeared on it." + +"How long did you live on the vine?" asked a voice that I had not heard +before. + +"Only a few months," replied Pepper. "You see, we had to make room for +another set of berries. Two sets appear each year for twenty years or +more. + +"Under the influence of the tropical sunshine and the warm rains we grew +day by day, and we were as happy as the butterflies and birds about us. +By and by we began to turn red. All of this time a _hull_ or coat was +forming on the outside of our bodies. + +"Before we became entirely red, workmen came to the field, and, by +rubbing us between their hands, separated us from the stems to which we +lovingly clung. + +"After having been picked, I was, with many others, placed upon a mat to +dry. These mats were all about us, each covered with berries. After +being thoroughly dried we were put into a mill and ground, and I became +what I am now, _Black Pepper_." + +"Are there other kinds of pepper?" asked some one. + +"Oh, yes," said Pepper, "there is _White Pepper_, and _Red_, or _Cayenne +Pepper_. Some of my friends were made into White Pepper. They were +soaked in limewater for about two weeks, and this, of course, softened +and wrinkled their hulls which had always fitted so nicely. This was bad +enough, but it was not the worst." + +"What happened next?" said several voices. + +"They were then," continued Pepper, "trodden under the bare feet of +dark-skinned men, and this rubbed off their hulls completely. After this +they were ground as we had been. + +"Cayenne Pepper is not a member of our family at all, although it has +the same name. I have looked up its genealogy, and I find that it +received its name from the city of Cayenne, in French Guiana, near which +it grows. It is in the form of bell-shaped pods, and grows on low, bushy +plants instead of vines. + +"The pods are green at first, but red when ripe. No doubt you have seen +strings of them hanging in the grocery store when you were on the +shelves. People sometimes use the pods as they are, but usually they are +dried, ground, mixed with yeast, and baked into flat cakes like +crackers. When these cakes are ground, Red, or Cayenne Pepper, is +produced. It is put up in little boxes just as we are. + +"Pepper used to be regarded as a great luxury," the speaker went on. +"Until the eighteenth century the Portuguese handled almost all of it. +It was not uncommon for rents to be paid with pepper. If any of you have +read ancient history, you know that when Alaric took Rome he demanded, +among other things, one thousand pounds of pepper as a ransom. + +"My home was in the East Indies," said Pepper, "but there are members +of our family living in the Philippines, India, Mexico, the West Indies, +and other tropical countries." + +"Your story is a very interesting one," said a voice, "and now, if you +care to hear it, I will tell something of my life." + +"Yes, do tell us," said several at once. + +"Very well, I will follow the example of our friend Pepper and introduce +myself at once. I am known as Ginger. I have relatives living in China, +in India, and in the western part of Africa, but I came from the West +Indies. The Ginger family is not like that of Pepper; it has no lofty +notions." + +Pepper seemed a little inclined to get angry, so Ginger hastened to say: +"I mean that our vines do not climb trees or poles, but run along the +ground. I was a _root_ and not a _fruit_." + +"When I was about a year old I, with countless friends, was dug from the +ground. We were cut from the vines and put into vats of scalding water." + +"That was _dreadful_," said Pepper. + +"We were treated in that way to prevent us from _sprouting_," continued +Ginger. "After being taken out of the water, we were thoroughly dried +and then ground. We were then put up in cans and boxes and sold as +_Black Ginger_. Others were scraped before being ground, and they were +then called _White Ginger_. + +"We were placed on board a great ship and finally landed at New York. +After remaining in a large store there for some time, I was brought to +the corner grocery, and so I found my way to this shelf. + +"I am gradually wasting away, and I shall not last a great while longer. +In my tropical home I seemed to be of no use to anybody, while now I am +called for frequently by the cook, and my services seem to be +appreciated, so I am happy." + +"To be of some real use in this world is the greatest joy of life," +remarked a strange voice. + +There was silence for a moment, and then Ginger said "May we not hear +from you, friend?" + +"Your stories almost make me believe that I am still in the land of my +birth," was the reply. + +There was a peculiar little rattle about the voice, which I recognized +at once as belonging to Cinnamon. + +"For several years I was rocked to and fro by gentle tropic breezes or +lashed about by storms. From my perch I could see beautiful flowers, +bright insects, and even serpents in the thicket at my feet. Birds of +brilliant plumage often perched upon me. My home was on the island of +Ceylon. + +"It is often said that where there is much bark there is no bite. In my +own case that is not so." + +"I do not understand," said Ginger. + +"Why," said Cinnamon, laughing, "I am _all_ bark, and I have +considerable bite, as those who have tasted me know. + +"I was taken from one of the smaller limbs of a cinnamon tree. I was +slipped within a larger piece of bark, for we each rolled up when +stripped from the limbs. A still larger piece was slipped over us and so +on until quite a bundle had been formed. Some were quite short, and some +were three feet in length." + + + + + STORIES OF CALIFORNIA + + BY + + ELLA M. SEXTON + + _With many illustrations_ + + Cloth 16mo $1.00 net + +"As a concise and interesting history of California, it deserves a place +in our schools and libraries, so that every child may read +it."--_Pacific Churchman._ + +"This volume comprises some excellent contributions to history, as it +certainly comprises some notable contributions to romance. The little +book is one which will appeal, therefore, to readers old and young. +Several of the stories explain in some degree the remarkable physical +characteristics of California, but the writer's chief aim has been to +unfold to children and their parents the life of bygone days."--_The +Outlook._ + + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK + BOSTON CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO ATLANTA + + + + + Tarr and McMurry's Geographies + + A New Series of Geographies in Two, Three, or Five Volumes + + By RALPH S. TARR, B.S., F.G.S.A. + CORNELL UNIVERSITY + + AND + + FRANK M. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: How We are Fed + A Geographical Reader + +Author: James Franklin Chamberlain + +Release Date: February 5, 2012 [EBook #38762] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW WE ARE FED *** + + + + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Fritz Ohrenschall, Chuck Greif, +Julia Neufeld and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i"> </a></span></p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii"> </a></span></p> + + +<p><br /><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii"> </a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 200px;"> +<img src="images/dec-front.jpg" width="200" height="73" alt="Publisher's Mark" title="Publisher's Mark" /> +</div> + +<p class="center"> +<i>HOME AND WORLD SERIES</i></p> + + +<h1><br /><br /><br />HOW WE ARE FED</h1> + +<h3>A GEOGRAPHICAL READER<br /> +<br /> +BY</h3> + +<h2><span class="smcap">JAMES FRANKLIN CHAMBERLAIN, Ed.B., S.B.</span></h2> +<p class="center">DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL<br /> +LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA<br /> +<br /><br /><br /> +New York<br /> +THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br /> +<span class="smcap">LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd.</span><br /> +1912</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv"> </a></span></p> +<p class="center"><i>All rights reserved</i></p> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1903</span>,<br /> +<span class="smcap">By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span>. +<br /><br /> +Set up, electrotyped, and published June, 1903. Reprinted<br /> +January, June, August, 1904: July, 1905; January, 1906;<br /> +August, December, 1907; September, 1909; August, 1910;<br /> +August, 1911; June, 1912.</p> + +<p class="center"><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Norwood Press<br /> +J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith Co.<br /> +Norwood, Mass., U. S. A.<br /> +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> +<h2>PREFACE</h2> + + +<p>In the ordinary course of events, most individuals +take some part in the manifold industries +which engage the mind and the hand of man, by +which alone our present-day civilization can be +maintained. These great world activities touch +the daily life of <i>every</i> member of society, +whether child or adult, worker or idler.</p> + +<p>A chain of mutual dependence, too often unrecognized, +binds together the members of the +human family, whether they belong to the same +community or dwell on opposite sides of the +earth. The links of this chain are made up of +the articles which constitute our daily food, our +clothing, homes, fuel, light, our means of communication +and transportation, and only by continuous +coöperation are they kept together.</p> + +<p>The highest motive in education is to present +the conditions which will lead to the most complete +living; to build up the best possible members<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span> +of society; to develop character. An +individual who does not understand the life of +which he finds himself a part, cannot be in full +sympathy with its conditions and hence cannot +be of the most service to himself or to others. +Only to the extent that education and life follow +the same general course, can each be truly successful. +Far too little is done in our schools to +acquaint children with their relations to the +great industrial and social organization of which +they are members. Even grown persons have, +as a rule, a very indefinite knowledge of these +relations.</p> + +<p>It is a recognized principle that our knowledge +of geography has its foundation in our knowledge +of the home. The natural connecting link +between the immediate surroundings and the +outside world is the <i>present daily life of the +home</i>. Through the industries seen in the community, +the commodities in general use, and the +history of their creation and supply, the pupil +acquires an insight into the life about him as +well as into that of other parts of the world. +He also realizes the great truth that the world<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span> +and its people are in intimate touch with <i>him</i>. +In this way he is led back and forth along the +routes which civilization has followed in its +progress, which it also follows to-day, as mankind +clasp hands across oceans and continents. +Thus the remote and abstract become immediate +and concrete. Facts are seen in a setting of +reason, and a logical and interesting basis for +the study of physical, climatic, and human conditions +is furnished.</p> + +<p>This study begins with the commodities in +constant use and finally encompasses the whole +world, but always with the home as the base of +operations. It will create a knowledge of the +interdependence of individuals, communities, and +nations, and a genuine respect for the work of +the hands and for the worker. The importance +of this respect is not likely to be overestimated. +Without it a true democracy cannot long exist.</p> + +<p>Reading should not only serve for the acquisition +and the expression of the thought contained +in the printed page; it should, in addition, stimulate +to <i>new</i> thought—to independent power in +reasoning. On this account questions are inserted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span> +which the pupil is left to answer. These +are suggestive of a much larger number, which +should be worked out by the teacher. Too +many of the questions found in books do not +"stimulate thought" or "independent power in +reasoning." They are purely informatory and +not at all formative.</p> + +<p>No attempt has been made to treat every +article of food. Those in most general use, as +well as those which will best serve to develop a +knowledge of geographical conditions and of +man's relation to man, have been chosen.</p> + +<p>A given industry is pursued in somewhat different +ways in different places. It has not been +thought wise to describe each modification in +these pages. For example, the method of handling +wheat in California is different from that +employed in Minnesota. The value of the work +will be increased if the teacher will bring out +these points.</p> + +<p><i>All places mentioned should he definitely located</i>, +both as to position on the map or globe +and with reference to the home. When developed +from the standpoint of direct, personal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span> +interest, a knowledge of the location of places +as well as of other facts mentioned is most +likely to be retained.</p> + +<p>The illustrations used have been very carefully +selected for their <i>teaching value</i>. They +give a clearness to mental pictures which can be +derived only through observation of that which +the illustrations symbolize. Much experience in +the use of geographical illustrations has shown +that pupils need to be directed in their examination +of them. To secure the best results they +must be made the centers of thought-developing +questions.</p> + +<p>Thanks are due the Pillsbury-Washburn Flour +Mills Company of Minneapolis, the Swift Packing +Company of Chicago, the Walter Baker +Company of Dorchester, the United Fruit Company +of New Orleans, and Dr. Charles U. Shepard +of Pinehurst Plantation, for the excellent +illustrations furnished by them.</p> + +<div class="signature"> +JAMES FRANKLIN CHAMBERLAIN. +</div> +<p><span class="smcap">State Normal School</span>,<br /> +<span class="smcap">Los Angeles</span>, March, 1903.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x"> </a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span></p> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + + + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> +<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right">PAGE</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Past and the Present</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Story of a Loaf of Bread</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">How our Meat is supplied</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Market Gardening</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Dairy Products</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Butter Making</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Cheese</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Fishing Industry</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Oyster Farming</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Rice Field</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">How Sugar is made</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Beet Sugar</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Maple Sugar</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Where Salt comes from</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_91">91</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Macaroni and Vermicelli</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">On a Coffee Plantation</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Tea Gardens of China</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Cup of Cocoa</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Cranberry Bog</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Cocoanut Islands of the Pacific</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Bunch of Bananas</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">How Dates grow</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Orange Groves of Southern California</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Visit to a Vineyard</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Nutting</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_184">184</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Walnut Vacation</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Chestnuts</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Bag of Peanuts</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_195">195</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Assorted Nuts</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">A Strange Conversation</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> +<h2>HOW WE ARE FED</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE PAST AND THE PRESENT</h2> + + +<p>Long, long ago people did not live as we do +to-day. Their homes were very different from +ours, for they were made of the skins of wild +animals, of the limbs and bark of trees, or of tall +grasses. There were no stoves, chairs, tables, or +beds in their houses. Instead of lamps, gas, +or electricity, a fire on the dirt floor or in front +of the house, furnished the light.</p> + +<p>The clothing of these people was as simple +as their homes. It was made of skins and +furs in cold countries and in warm countries of +braided grasses and the fibers of certain plants. +You may be sure that tailors and dressmakers +were not consulted as to the latest styles, for the +styles did not change and there were neither +tailors nor dressmakers to talk to. Each family<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> +made its own clothing, and there was not a +sewing machine to be found.</p> + +<p>How would you like to use a bone for a +needle? Sometimes, instead of sharpened bones, +long thorns were used. The sinews of the deer, +or of some other animal, usually furnished the +thread.</p> + +<p>When the people were in need of food, they +went into the forest and gathered roots, nuts, +and fruits. Wild animals were killed by +means of such weapons as bows and arrows +and spears, and fish were caught in the lakes +and streams.</p> + +<p>The food was not cooked as ours is; for, as +I have told you, there were no stoves. Sometimes +the meat was broiled over the fire, sometimes +baked in a hole filled with ashes and coals, +but it was often eaten raw. It was not easy +to have a variety of food, and there were +times when it was very difficult to obtain +anything. When food was abundant, the +people feasted, and when it was scarce, they +were often hungry. How would you like to +wait for your breakfast while your father<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> +went to the woods or to the river in search of +something to eat?</p> + +<p>When the meals were prepared, they were +not neatly served as yours are, but each person +took his portion and sat on the ground while +he ate it.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p3.jpg" width="450" height="352" alt="Fig. 1.—Indians at Dinner." title="Indians at Dinner" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 1.—Indians at Dinner.</span> +</div> + +<p>All of this seems very strange to you, I know. +If you live in the city, you are accustomed to +seeing the butcher, the baker, the milkman, and +the grocer call every day. There are stores<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> +where people can buy whatever they want to +eat, drink, or wear. You wonder how any one +could live in such a way as I have described, +but there <i>are</i> people who live in this fashion +to-day, although you have never seen any of +them. They are <i>uncivilized</i>. Where do you +think they are to be found? When people live +in this way, it takes most of their time to provide +themselves with the things that are necessary to +life. They have little opportunity to improve +their ways of living and of thinking.</p> + +<p>Civilized people divide their work. Some +provide food, some make clothing, some build +houses, and some furnish fuel. Each one does +his or her part. In this way, you see, they learn +to do their work better and better, because each +gives much time and thought to one kind of +work. This plan gives each one time to study +and to learn something about the world and its +people. Think how much better our homes, our +clothing, and our food are, than are those of +uncivilized people, and how many other advantages +we have.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p5.jpg" width="450" height="351" alt="Fig. 2.—White People at Dinner." title="White People at Dinner" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 2.—White People at Dinner.</span> +</div> + +<p>It is only possible to live as we do, when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> +each one works for others as well as for himself. +If any one fails to do his part, the rest +must suffer until some one is found to take his +place. It is to prepare yourself to do <i>your part</i> +in some useful work for others, that you are +going to school day by day. You do not now +know just what that work is to be, but I want +you to remember that <i>all</i> honest work is noble. +It is not so important <i>what work</i> you do, as it is +that you should do your work <i>well</i>. No matter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> +what your work may be, you can carry sunshine +in your face and helpfulness in your heart. If +you do this, you will be known and loved. +Hard work, coarse clothes, and lack of money +can never hide these things, neither will the +finest of clothing cover a selfish or untruthful +nature.</p> + +<p>Let us look at this dinner table loaded with +good things to eat and drink. There are bread, +butter, meat, vegetables, milk, tea, fruits, and +other things. You see at once that many persons +must have worked to provide this food, for +only a small part of the work was done in the +kitchen. If these things could but speak, they +might tell you stories as wonderful as fairy +tales. They have been gathered here from the +fertile plains of the West, from the sunny +South, from Brazil, from the islands of the +Pacific Ocean, from far-off China, and even +from the waters of the sea.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE STORY OF A LOAF OF BREAD</h2> + + +<p>In the dark granary of a farmer's barn in +North Dakota once lived a modest family of +grains of wheat. The bright, warm days of the +summer time, during which they had been +placed in this dark room, soon grew shorter +and cooler. The swallows, whose mud nests +were in the rafters overhead, told the wheat +brothers that winter was coming, and then flew +away to the balmy southland.</p> + +<p>Soon biting winds and blinding snow came +sweeping over the level land. Sometimes the +farmhouse was almost hidden under the drifts, +and the farmer had to shovel out a path to the +barn, so that he could feed the horses and cattle. +By and by the days grew warmer, the snow disappeared, +and the birds returned one by one. +The farmer and his men got out their plows +and harrows, and prepared the soil for the +seeds soon to be planted.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>The wheat was now shoveled into sacks and +taken to the fields. Here it was placed in great +machines drawn by horses, which scattered it +evenly over the land and at the same time +covered it with soft soil. The men whistled +and sang as they worked, and blackbirds, bluebirds, +and larks flew back and forth, singing +and searching for bugs and worms, as well as +for the shining kernels of wheat.</p> + +<p>The wheat was not content to remain underground, +but kept trying to push itself out into +the world. One night there came a warm +shower, and the next morning what looked +like tiny, green blades of grass appeared all +over the field.</p> + +<p>All through the spring and summer the wheat +kept growing, and finally there appeared at the +ends of the stalks clusters of kernels, just like +those which the farmer had planted. Some of +these kernels had produced families of twenty +or thirty. These clusters are called <i>heads</i>.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p9.jpg" width="500" height="285" alt="Fig. 3.—Harvesting Wheat in Southern California." title="Harvesting Wheat" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 3.—Harvesting Wheat in Southern California.</span> +</div> + +<p>As the south wind passed over the field it +brought the wheat messages from Minnesota, +Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and other states, telling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10"> </a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9"> </a></span> +of relatives who were already turning golden +in the summer sunshine. One day some of +the kernels thought they heard a voice from +California. Do you think they did?</p> + +<p>The grain in some of the fields was called +<i>winter wheat</i>. This was because the grain had +been sown the autumn before, and had remained +in the ground all winter, covered by a blanket +of snow. Why was it sown in the fall? The +wheat of which I am telling you was called +by the farmer <i>spring wheat</i>.</p> + +<p>Soon machines, each drawn by several horses, +appeared. They cut the waving grain, and +bound it up in bundles called <i>sheaves</i>. These +were set up in double rows to dry, and afterward +put into another machine which separated +the kernels from the stalks, which were +now called <i>straw</i>. This work the farmer calls +<i>threshing</i>. See if you can find out how this +used to be done.</p> + +<p>After threshing, the wheat was put into +sacks and taken to the nearest railroad station. +Freight cars then carried it across the level +prairies to the beautiful city of Minneapolis,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> +built beside the Falls of Saint Anthony. What +river is this city on? Of what use are the +falls?</p> + +<p>There are tall buildings called <i>elevators</i> here +in which the wheat was stored for a time. +Before being put into the elevators it was +examined and <i>graded</i>. As there was wheat +from many farms it could not be kept separate, +so each farmer was told how much he had, +and how it graded.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 550px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p12.jpg" width="550" height="328" alt="Fig. 4.—Threshing Wheat in Southern California." title="Threshing Wheat" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 4.—Threshing Wheat in Southern California.</span> +</div> + +<p>Some time after this the wheat was taken +to one of the great mills to be ground into +flour. The largest of these mills manufactures<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> +about fifteen thousand barrels of flour every +day. This is the largest flour mill in the +world.</p> + +<p>When the kernels reached the mill, they +were put into machines called <i>separators</i>, to +be separated from all companions such as grass +seed, mustard seed, and wild buckwheat. They +were then placed in an iron box in which +brushes were revolving rapidly, and were +<i>scoured</i> to free them from fuzz and dirt. +Those that were very dirty were washed.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 550px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p13.jpg" width="550" height="313" alt="Fig. 5.—The Flour Mills in Minneapolis." title="Flour Mills in Minneapolis" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 5.—The Flour Mills in Minneapolis.</span> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p14.jpg" width="500" height="405" alt="Fig. 6.—The Largest Flour Mill in the World." title="The Largest Flour Mill in the World" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 6.—The Largest Flour Mill in the World.</span> +</div> + +<p>The kernels were <i>steamed</i>, in order that the +coating, called <i>bran</i>, might not break into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> +small pieces. This is called <i>tempering</i>. The +kernels now thought that their trials were +over, but they were mistaken. Soon they +found themselves being <i>crushed</i> between rollers. +After they came out they were <i>sifted</i>, and then +run between other rollers. This was repeated +six times, and each time the flour was a little +finer, for the rollers were closer together. The +flour was then run through tubes of flannel. +These took out whatever dust it contained. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> +was then ground still finer. The flour was +then put into sacks or barrels, which were +marked for shipment to other parts of the +country.</p> + +<p>Only the wheat intended for the very best +grade of flour is treated as carefully as this was.</p> + +<p>What industry does the use of barrels bring in?</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p15.jpg" width="450" height="292" alt="Fig. 7.—Grinding Wheat." title="Grinding Wheat" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 7.—Grinding Wheat.</span> +</div> + +<p>From the mills the flour was sent to many +parts of the land to supply stores, bakeries, +hotels, and homes. Some of it found its way +to the bakery near your home. The bakers, in +their clean suits of white, weighed the flour<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> +which they were going to use, and then added +a certain amount of water to it. Some yeast +and salt were added also. This mixture they +called <i>dough</i>. You have seen your mother mix +or <i>knead</i> dough, I am sure. The bakers did +not do the kneading with their hands, but by +means of machinery made for this purpose.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p16.jpg" width="450" height="295" alt="Fig. 8.—Bolting Flour." title="Bolting Flour" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 8.—Bolting Flour.</span> +</div> + +<p>When the dough had been thoroughly +kneaded it was left to <i>rise</i>. It is the yeast +that causes the rising. This makes the bread +light and spongy. It was then cut into loaves +and placed in the oven. The ovens in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> +bakery are very much larger than those in +your kitchen stove, for many loaves are baked +at once. When a nice shade of brown appeared +on the loaves, the bakers took them out +of the oven by means of long shovels. Soon +the delivery wagons came and were loaded +with the fresh bread to be delivered to stores +and homes. This loaf was just left at the +door and is still warm.</p> + +<p>So, you see, a loaf of bread has quite a history. +I have told you the life story of this +one from the time of its grandparents, who +were raised on the plains of North Dakota. +Would it not be interesting to see each of the +people who have had something to do with its +production, and to make the journey which +the wheat and the flour made? You can do +both in your thoughts.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p> +<h2>HOW OUR MEAT IS SUPPLIED</h2> + + +<p>Ramon lived in a plain, one-story house, built +in the shade of some cottonwood trees that +fringed each side of a small river in the eastern +part of Colorado. A wide veranda extended +entirely around the house, but there were very +few flowers and no lawn. I am afraid you +would not think it a very pleasant place for a +home.</p> + +<p>Not far from the <i>ranch house</i>, as it was called, +were the barn and the <i>corrals</i>. A corral is a +yard with a strong, high fence about it, in +which cattle or horses may be placed. On the +bottom land beside the stream, there was a corn +and an alfalfa patch, besides one containing +some potatoes and garden vegetables.</p> + +<p>During most of the year the stream was +quite shallow, and flowed quietly over its bed, +but when heavy rains occurred it rose rapidly, +spreading over much of the bottom land and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> +carrying so much clay with it that it was almost +the color of coffee.</p> + +<p>Except along the river, not a tree was in +sight from Ramon's home, and it was many +miles to the nearest house. For hundreds of +miles both north and south, there stretched a +vast plain. Little was to be seen but sand, +grass, and sagebrush. I had almost forgotten +the prairie dogs, which scamper across the plain +or sit up straight and motionless on a little +mound of sand beside their burrows. They +watch you closely, not moving unless they +regard you as a dangerous creature, when, quick +as a flash, they disappear.</p> + +<p>The rainfall is very slight in this part of the +country, being less than twenty inches a year. +On this account there is little attention paid to +farming, but instead, the settlers own great +herds of cattle as well as many horses. Ramon's +father is one of the <i>cattlemen</i> of Colorado. +He owns more than ten thousand head of cattle, +and some of the cattlemen own twice that +number. Of course such great herds of cattle +must have much land to graze on. Some of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> +the land is owned by the government and any +one may use it. Everywhere fences are far +apart. These great pastures are called <i>ranges</i>.</p> + +<p>Ramon's life is not much like yours. His +home is far from schools, churches, stores, or +railroads. He seldom sees strangers, but he +enjoys long rides on his own pony, <i>Prince</i>. +Sometimes he goes with his father and at other +times he takes a gallop with one of the "cowboys" +who herd the cattle.</p> + +<p>The "cowboys" almost live in the saddle. +They are out in all kinds of weather and are +not boys at all, but strong, hardy men. They +wear broad-brimmed hats, and carry long ropes +called lassos or <i>lariats</i>, with which they catch +the cattle.</p> + +<p>Where there are so many herds they sometimes +get mixed up. On this account each +cattleman marks or <i>brands</i> his animals. These +brands may be the initial letter of the owner's +name, or they may be in the form of a horseshoe, +a cross, a circle, or a crescent.</p> + +<p>Each spring and fall the cowboys gather +the cattle together. This is called "rounding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> +up" the cattle. They are then counted and +the calves born since the last "round up" are +branded. In the fall, in addition to this work, +animals are selected for the market. Why is +the fall a better time for this than the spring?</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p21.jpg" width="450" height="269" alt="Fig. 9.—Branding Cattle.—Point to the Lariats." title="Branding Cattle" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 9.—Branding Cattle.—Point to the Lariats.</span> +</div> + +<p>The cowboys, mounted upon their swift, +strong ponies, single out the animals that have +never been branded, and swinging their lassos +over their heads, they throw them with such +skill that the loop settles over the head or about +the leg of the one wanted. As soon as the +rope tightens, the pony braces its forefeet firmly +and the animal is finally thrown to the ground.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> +It is then branded with a hot iron and allowed +to go. Ramon used to feel very sorry for them +until his father explained that it hurt them +very little, for only the skin was burned.</p> + +<p>Sometimes the cattle selected to be sold, are +not quite fat enough for the market. They are +then taken farther east into the <i>corn belt</i> and +fed for a time.</p> + +<p>When they are shipped directly from the +range to the market, they are driven to the +nearest railroad and put into yards beside +the track. They are then made to walk up an +incline with high railings ending at the open +doors of a cattle car. The animals are arranged +so that the first faces one side of the car, the +second the other, and so on. This is done so +that the cattle cannot hook one another, and +also that they may be fed and watered on the +way from a long iron trough which is fastened +to each side of the car.</p> + +<p>The great cattle markets of the United States +are Omaha, Kansas City, and Chicago. Find +these cities.</p> + +<p>One day when Ramon was about fourteen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> +years old, his father told him that he was going +to take a train load of cattle to Chicago and +that he might go with him. It was a happy +time for Ramon, you may be sure, for he was +very anxious to see some of the wonderful +sights his father had told him about.</p> + +<p>At last the day when they were to start on +their journey arrived. The afternoon before, +the cowboys had driven the cattle to the railroad +so as to load them early in the morning. +Soon after breakfast Ramon kissed his mother +and his little sister good-by, and he and his +father rode off across the level plain.</p> + +<p>Finding the cattle already loaded in the +cars, Ramon and his father were soon seated +in the <i>caboose</i>, rolling over the miles of railroad +which connected them with Chicago. +Whenever the train stopped for a few minutes, +they took a long stick and went from +car to car making the cattle that had lain +down get up, so that they might not be injured +by the others.</p> + +<p>When bedtime came, they made their beds +on the benches along each side of the caboose,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> +which are covered with cushions. As they had +brought blankets with them, they were fairly +comfortable.</p> + +<p>Ramon did not sleep very soundly the first +night. The engine shrieked from time to time, +and the car rocked and jolted so that he was +afraid of falling from his bed.</p> + +<p>The next day they reached a part of the +country where great cornfields waved in the +breeze. The leaves had already turned brown, +and golden ears of grain peeped out from the +ends of the husks. There were stubble fields, +too, where wheat and oats had been harvested.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p24.jpg" width="450" height="146" alt="Fig. 10.—Bird's Eye View of Union Stock Yards, Chicago." title="Union Stock Yards, Chicago" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 10.—Bird's Eye View of Union Stock Yards, Chicago.</span> +</div> + +<p>The country became more thickly settled as +they went on, and the towns were nearer together. +Streams were more common, and +grass and timber more abundant. The young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> +traveler wondered why this was so. Can you +tell?</p> + +<p>Early in the morning of the fourth day the +train reached Chicago. After much switching +and backing the cars were run into the Union +Stock Yards, and the cattle were unloaded.</p> + +<p>Ramon was thoroughly bewildered by what +he saw and heard. Men were shouting and +cracking whips; others were riding up and down +the alleys that separate the yards; dogs were +barking and turning the animals this way and +that, and gates were swinging back and forth.</p> + +<p>The cattle were weighed and examined to +see if they had any disease, and were then +placed in charge of a <i>commission merchant</i> to +be sold. Buyers come to the yards and bargain +with these commission merchants. When +an unusually large number of cattle come in, +the prices are likely to fall; when few arrive, +the prices rise.</p> + +<p>When the cattle had been yarded, Ramon's +father said that they would go and have +breakfast. In the afternoon they visited the +"yards," and the slaughter and packing houses.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> +The "yards" cover about a square mile of territory. +They are divided into countless pens or +small yards, containing sheds, feeding racks, +and watering troughs.</p> + +<p>Ramon asked how many cattle were unloaded +in these yards daily. His father handed him a +copy of the <i>Chicago Live Stock World</i>, and at +the top of the first column he read that on the +day previous there had been received 18,500 +cattle, 35,000 hogs, and 18,000 sheep. He +was told that sometimes the receipts are much +larger than this and sometimes not so large.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p26.jpg" width="450" height="298" alt="Fig. 11.—Dressing Beef." title="Dressing Beef" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 11.—Dressing Beef.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>They followed the bodies of the cattle from +the slaughterhouses where they are dressed, +into the cooling rooms. These are simply great +refrigerators. Wagons come to the cooling +rooms and haul loads of the meat to butcher +shops, hotels, and depots. Within a few hours +it finds its way to smaller cities and towns in +all directions. A great deal of meat is shipped +even to Europe. Why does not Europe produce +its own meat?</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p27.jpg" width="450" height="304" alt="Fig. 12.—Cooling Beef." title="Cooling Beef" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 12.—Cooling Beef.</span> +</div> + +<p>When the meat has thoroughly hardened in +the cooling rooms, it is sent to the curing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> +rooms, where it is cut up and packed. Each +person here does his particular work from +morning until night.</p> + +<p>Ramon learned, to his surprise, that every +part of the animal is used. Hair, hide, horns, +hoofs, teeth, bones, and even blood, are made +use of.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p28.jpg" width="450" height="309" alt="Fig. 13.—Splitting Backbone of Hogs." title="Splitting Backbone of Hogs" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 13.—Splitting Backbone of Hogs.</span> +</div> + +<p>Most of the hogs which enter the great meat-packing +cities are raised in the corn belt.</p> + +<p>The sheep need much pasturage, and so the +largest flocks are found in the Western and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> +Southwestern states. A single herder may +take care of several thousand sheep. His +faithful companions and helpers are intelligent +shepherd dogs. After a great flock of sheep +has fed on an area, hardly a green thing is +left. The people in the part of the West +where there is little rainfall, object to the +pasturing of sheep around the head waters of +streams, because when the vegetation is removed +the water runs off too quickly.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p29.jpg" width="450" height="302" alt="Fig. 14.—Curing Pork in Salt." title="Curing Pork" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 14.—Curing Pork in Salt.</span> +</div> + +<p>In the evening our friends watched the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> +men, women, and children march out of the +"yards." They were told that not less than +thirty-five thousand persons were employed in +the various establishments. There is but one +city in Colorado which contains so many people.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p30.jpg" width="450" height="309" alt="Fig. 15.—Chopping Sausage Meat." title="Chopping Sausage Meat" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 15.—Chopping Sausage Meat.</span> +</div> + +<p>As they sat at breakfast next morning, +Ramon wondered how many of the people of +Chicago were eating steaks from cattle which +he had seen on his father's ranch. The +thought was a new one to him. His trip +had shown him that the cattlemen who lived<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> +and worked on those far-away plains were +doing their part in supplying people all over +our country with meat. Their lonely life, +with all of its disadvantages, now had a new +meaning for him, and he went back to his +Western home content with it, yet very glad to +have had this glimpse of another side of life.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p31.jpg" width="450" height="303" alt="Fig. 16.—Packing Poultry." title="Packing Poultry" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 16.—Packing Poultry.</span> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p> +<h2>MARKET GARDENING</h2> + + +<p>Think of the immense quantities of fruits and +vegetables that are used daily on the tables of a +great city such as New York or Chicago. As +we travel up and down the streets of any great +city, we see rows of buildings, sometimes built +in solid blocks and sometimes a little distance +apart. Some have trees and small lawns in +front of them; others are without even this +touch of nature. Nowhere, except in the outskirts, +do we find gardens.</p> + +<p><i>These people depend upon others to furnish +them with their vegetable food.</i></p> + +<p>Now let us make some excursions into the +region surrounding one of these cities. For +miles and miles we see on every hand <i>truck +farms</i> or <i>market gardens</i>. The main business +of those who live in these districts is to furnish +food for the people of the city, so that the +latter may devote their time to their various +occupations.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>We see growing potatoes, cabbages, tomatoes, +beans, peas, squashes, turnips, onions, sweet +corn, celery, melons, and many other things. +Usually all of these will be found in one garden, +but sometimes the farmer raises only a few +kinds, or perhaps but one.</p> + +<p>Market gardening is very common in Germany, +Holland, Italy, China, and in other +densely populated countries. Therefore we +often find people who have come from these +countries to America engaged in this business. +Chinese gardeners are seldom seen in the +East, but on the Pacific coast they raise most +of the vegetables used in the cities and +towns.</p> + +<p>In the early spring, before the ground is +warm enough to make seeds grow, the gardener +starts his plants in "hotbeds." These are +long wooden boxes, or frames, without bottoms, +covered with glass. They are usually placed +on the south side of some building or high +fence. The glass covers allow the warm sunshine +to enter the "beds" freely, but they +prevent the rapid escape of the heat. You<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> +see now why they are called "hotbeds." They +are like small greenhouses.</p> + +<p>A little later in the spring the fields are +thoroughly cultivated and the plants transplanted. +Of course only the vegetables desired +for the early market are started in this way. +What advantage is there in having the vegetables +ready for the market very early in the +season?</p> + +<p>Vegetable farming is not easy work, although +it is a pleasure to see things grow day by day +as you care for them, and as nature supplies her +sunshine and her rain. The fields must be cultivated +almost constantly, to keep the soil loose, +as well as to remove the weeds. Much of the +weeding has to be done by hand, which is +tedious work.</p> + +<p>We want our vegetables fresh every morning; +and as the truck farms are at some distance from +the city, the farmer must load up his wagon +the night before. Of course much produce is +sent to the cities on trains, but where farmers +live near enough to deliver it themselves, their +crops are more profitable to them. Why?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p35.jpg" width="450" height="335" alt="Fig. 17.—A Market Scene." title="A Market Scene" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 17.—A Market Scene.</span> +</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36"> </a></span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>Everything is put in readiness before dark; +and while others are still in bed, the farmer +mounts his wagon to start toward the sleeping +city. I have often ridden ten or fifteen miles +on such a load before the stars faded away.</p> + +<p>It is a novel experience. At first the night +seems strangely still, but soon you are able to +distinguish many voices coming from various +places. The frogs croak from the ponds by the +roadside; crickets and locusts send their shrill +notes from grass and tree; a night owl startles +you by his dismal hoot; the lamps of the fireflies +gleam, then disappear only to shine out +again a little farther on.</p> + +<p>At last a faint glow appears in the eastern +sky, which grows brighter and brighter until +the shining face of the sun is pushed above the +horizon. Do you not think such a ride would +be more enjoyable than a street car ride?</p> + +<p>In the cities there are market places where +produce from the country is taken. In Chicago +there is a very busy street where much of the +buying and selling is done. Study the picture +carefully. Here the buyers from hotels, restaurants,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> +and stores, as well as the men who wish to +peddle the produce from house to house, go for +their daily supplies. There are also commission +merchants whose stores are on this street. +They sell the produce for those who ship it to +the city by train.</p> + +<p>We go to the stores and get what we want +each day, or the peddlers bring it to the door. +You see how necessary it is to have special +workers to supply us with the different kinds +of food. We consider it very important that +we should have vegetables and fruits fresh +daily. The work of supplying us with this +food is very important. Remember that those +who till the soil are entitled to as great respect +as are those who do not work with their hands. +Contact with nature makes men and women +better, and many of the noblest souls that the +world has known have lived in the country and +plowed, planted, and harvested the products +of the soil.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 448px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p39-1.jpg" width="448" height="322" alt="Market Scene. Chicago." title="Market Scene. Chicago." /> +<span class="caption">Market Scene. Chicago.</span> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p39-2.jpg" width="450" height="353" alt="Market Scene. New York." title="Market Scene. New York." /> +<span class="caption">Market Scene. New York.</span> +</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40"> </a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> +<h2>DAIRY PRODUCTS</h2> + + +<p>Uncle Ben lives on a dairy farm in the western +part of New York State. It is a beautiful +<i>rolling</i> country with cultivated fields, woodland, +and pastures, and here and there a sparkling +stream winding its way through the lowlands. +The farmhouses are large and well built, and +are surrounded by grand old maple, beech, and +elm trees. Most of the barns are painted red +with white trimmings.</p> + +<p>There are many dairy farms in the neighborhood. +Some of the farmers send their milk to +the towns to be used directly, some sell it to +creameries, and some to cheese factories.</p> + +<p>Last summer I spent my vacation on Uncle +Ben's farm, and Cousin Frank and I had happy +times, you may be sure.</p> + +<p>Every day, just before sundown, we went to +the pasture for the cows. There were about +twenty-five of them, and they always seemed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> +perfectly contented after the long day of feasting +on rich grass and clover.</p> + +<p>After we drove them into the barnyard Uncle +Ben helped us fasten them in their <i>stanchions</i> +in the barn. Then the men brought the bright +pails and cans to begin milking. Cousin Frank +and I always helped, although he can milk +much faster than I. Some of the cows gave +but two or three quarts, while others gave as +many gallons.</p> + +<p>We strained the milk into cans holding eight +gallons each, and put them into tanks of water +to cool. After milking was finished we turned +the cattle into the barnyard for the night.</p> + +<p>In the morning we commenced milking about +sunrise. After breakfast the cans were loaded +into a spring wagon and Uncle Ben drove to the +depot. Here they were put on the "milk train," +which took them to the city.</p> + +<p>Many other people sent milk on this same +train. It was sent to bakeries, to hotels and +restaurants, and to milkmen, who delivered it +from house to house. Usually the milkmen put +the milk into pint or quart bottles for people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> +who like to have it in that form. Uncle Ben +told us that much of the milk that is sent to +New York City is bottled before it is sent. The +bottling is done by machinery. He also told +us that, because of the great importance of having +pure milk, there are, in all cities, inspectors +who carefully examine the milk and report to +the Board of Health. The cows also are inspected, +and if any are sick, they are usually +killed.</p> + +<p>Each evening some one drove to the depot +again to get empty cans which the milk train +had brought home. These were always carefully +washed in hot water before being used +again.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> +<h2>BUTTER MAKING</h2> + + +<p>One day, after I had been on the farm about +a week, Uncle Ben took Frank and me to the +<i>creamery</i>. A creamery is a place where the +milk and cream are separated and butter is +made.</p> + +<p>We found several wagonloads of milk being +unloaded. The milk was weighed as it was +received, for it is sold by weight.</p> + +<p>The milk was then strained into a large galvanized +iron tub, from which a pipe carried it +into a circular machine called the <i>separator</i>. +The separator revolves rapidly, throwing the +milk, which is heavier than the cream, to the +outer edge, where it passes through small holes +into a compartment by itself. The cream rises +along the center and passes through another set +of openings into a special compartment. A pipe +carries it to a large vat, while another pipe +conveys the milk to large tanks.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>Uncle Ben told me that when people make +their own butter, they must wait for the cream +to <i>rise</i> on the milk. The cream is then skimmed +off, and the milk is called <i>skimmed milk</i>. Although +the milk in the creamery is not skimmed, +the same name is used for it.</p> + +<p>I asked if the skimmed milk was used for +anything. Uncle Ben gave me a cupful of it +to taste. It was very good. He then told me +that the separator takes out only the part +needed in making butter, leaving all of the +sugar. I did not know before that milk contains +sugar.</p> + +<p>The farmers take home loads of this milk to +feed it to their hogs. For each hundred pounds +of milk delivered, they get back seventy-five +pounds of skimmed milk, besides the pay for +their cream.</p> + +<p>The creamery man told me that he made +from four to six pounds of butter from one +hundred pounds of milk.</p> + +<p>The cream remains in the large vat about +twenty-four hours before it is churned. The +churn, as you see by the picture, is a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> +barrel made to revolve by machinery. It takes +from thirty-five minutes to one hour to churn. +The man told me that I might look at the book +in which he kept the record of the churning. I +saw that he made from two hundred fifty to +six hundred pounds of butter at a churning. +He said that some churns would produce more +than one thousand pounds at a churning.</p> + +<p>Not all of the cream is made into butter. +There is left in the bottom of the churn a liquid +called <i>buttermilk</i>. This is drawn off, and the +butter is washed and <i>worked</i> before being taken +out of the churn. The working is done by means +of paddles in the churn. It continues for six or +eight minutes and squeezes the liquid out of the +butter.</p> + +<p>While the butter is being worked, it is salted. +Some of the butter is unsalted, but most of it +is salted. When butter is made in the home, +it must be churned by hand. Only a few pounds +at a time can be made in this way.</p> + +<p>When the butter was taken out of the churn, +the men packed it solidly in wooden boxes about +two feet square and four inches deep. The bottom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48"> </a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47"> </a></span> +of each box consisted of strips as wide as a +<i>square</i> of butter. These were held together +by a clamp, and the sides were hooked to the +bottom and to one another. When the butter +is to be cut into squares, these sides are removed +and zinc ones take their places. In these +there are slits running from top to bottom. +Through these slits a wire saw is run, and so +the butter is quickly cut into one or two pound +squares. The butter is then wrapped in fancy +papers upon which the name of the butter or +of the creamery is stamped.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p47-1.jpg" width="450" height="304" alt="A Separator." title="A Separator." /> +<span class="caption">A Separator.</span> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p47-2.jpg" width="450" height="331" alt="A Churn." title="A Churn." /> +<span class="caption">A Churn.</span> +</div> + +<p>Of course some of the butter is packed in +wooden tubs and shipped in that form. This +butter is a little cheaper than that put up in +squares.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHEESE</h2> + + +<p>I was so much pleased with my visit to the +creamery, that Uncle Ben promised to show me +how cheese is made. So one morning just after +breakfast he, Cousin Frank, and I started out. +After a pleasant ride of about five miles we +reached the factory.</p> + +<p>The first process here was the same as that +at the creamery. After the milk was weighed +it was run into great zinc-lined vats. There +were four of these in the factory, each of +which held about five thousand pounds.</p> + +<p>Uncle Ben explained that the milk must +<i>curdle</i> before cheese can be made. In order to +make it curdle quickly, a little less than a +pound of a substance called <i>rennet</i> was put +into each vat.</p> + +<p>A man worked at each vat with a long +wooden rake, stirring the milk constantly. I +saw a glass tube standing in the milk and +asked what it was. Uncle Ben told me to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> +look at it closely. I saw that it was a thermometer, +and that it registered eighty degrees. +A little while after I looked again, when it +showed a temperature of ninety degrees. The +milk is kept warm, so as to help it to curdle +quickly.</p> + +<p>In about an hour I could see the curd +very plainly, but the men kept on stirring and +cutting it. Presently one of them carried a +piece of the curd to a table. He heated a small +iron rod and touched it with the curd. When +he pulled the curd away, little threads were +drawn out to the length of half an inch or +more. This he called the "acid test," which +showed that the curd was in the right condition +to be made into cheese.</p> + +<p>Of course only a part of the milk had turned +into curd; the rest was <i>whey</i>, that was drawn +off and run into tanks. Each man who had +delivered one hundred pounds of milk was +given a check for seventy-five pounds of the +whey. It is fed to hogs. About two hours +from the time that the milk was put into the +vats, the whey was drawn off.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>One of the men now took a long knife and +cut the curd into oblong cakes. These he frequently +lifted and turned over. After continuing +this for about twenty minutes, the pieces +of curd were put into a small mill, placed on a +board over the vat, and the curd was chopped +into strips from one to six inches long and from +one-half an inch to an inch thick. Salt was scattered +over the mass by one man, while another +pitched it about with a three-pronged wooden +fork. The man told me that he used three +pounds of salt to each thousand pounds of milk.</p> + +<p>Next, a piece of cloth was placed on a board +about sixteen inches square. Two circular metal +frames or bands, about six inches high, were +fitted one within the other and placed on the +cloth. The frame was filled with curd, covered +by a cloth, and another set placed on top of it +until there were five. They were then put on +a table directly under a block which was fastened +to a screw. By turning the screw the +block was pressed against the top board, and +so each frame of curd was pressed. I saw the +whey running out as the squeezing went on.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> +The superintendent told us that the curd would +be left in the press until the next day.</p> + +<p>We were then taken into the room where the +cheese "ripens." Here we saw large racks reaching +nearly to the ceiling, filled with double rows +of cheeses. The smallest ones weighed but +three pounds, while the largest weighed fifty +pounds. It may take but a few days and it +may take many months to "ripen" a cheese. +It depends upon the flavor wanted. The man +said that in England "strong" cheese is generally +liked, while in our country "mild" cheese +is preferred.</p> + +<p>I asked how much cheese five thousand pounds +of milk would make, and was told that it would +make between four and five hundred pounds.</p> + +<p>On the way home Uncle Ben told us that +although our country is a great dairy country, +we import certain kinds of cheese from Europe. +He told us how the Swiss people pasture their +cattle on the steep mountain sides, and that in +every little mountain valley cheese is made, some +of which finds its way over the mountains and +across the sea to the United States.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE FISHING INDUSTRY</h2> + + +<p>Have you ever stood by the side of a stream +and watched the fish dart from one shadow of +overhanging rock into another, or swim lazily at +the bottom of some deep pool? How gracefully +they move and turn! How like water jewels +they flash as the sunlight falls upon them!</p> + +<p>Most streams and lakes, like the ocean, contain +fish. So we have fresh-water and salt-water +fish. There are a few bodies of water so full of +salt that fish cannot live in them. Do you know +of any such bodies of water?</p> + +<p>Most of the fish used as food come from the +ocean. In this, and in most other countries, +there are many men who do nothing but fish, in +order that other people may be supplied with +this sort of food. They do not depend upon +hook and line alone, but use nets also.</p> + +<p>Nets are great sacks made of cord, knotted +or woven together in such a way as to leave<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> +spaces or <i>meshes</i>. These meshes are not big +enough to allow large fish to escape. Sometimes +the fishermen go out in rowboats some distance +from shore and then throw the net into the +water. Corks or floats keep the upper edge of +the net near the surface, while weights hold the +lower edge on the bottom. Ropes are fastened<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> +to each end, and so it is drawn toward the shore. +How the fishermen wish that they could see to +the bottom of the restless water and know what +their harvest is to be! When the boats have +almost reached the shore, horses are sometimes +driven into the water and hitched to the ropes. +At last the net is dragged out upon the sands +and the uncertainty is past.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p55.jpg" width="450" height="435" alt="Fig. 18.—Drying Nets." title="Drying Nets" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 18.—Drying Nets.</span> +</div> + +<p>Look! Within the folds of the net is a countless +number of fishes, each jumping, squirming, +wriggling, trying to get back to its ocean +home. They are of many sizes, shapes, and +colors. Those not good for food, together +with the smallest ones, are thrown back into +the water.</p> + +<p>Sometimes a net called a "dip-net" is +dropped from a fishing schooner and drawn +about a "school" of fish. I have seen many +barrels of fish brought up at one time in this +way.</p> + +<p>The fishermen keep a close watch for the +appearance of these "schools," you may be sure. +Whales and dolphins pursue them, and gulls and +cormorants circle overhead, for they, too, are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> +fishers. Their appearance helps the men to tell +where the "schools" are. There is a great rush +for the fishing grounds when they are sighted. +The white-sailed schooners skim over the waters +almost like a flock of birds.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p57.jpg" width="450" height="347" alt="Fig. 19.—A Fishing Schooner." title="A Fishing Schooner" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 19.—A Fishing Schooner.</span> +</div> + +<p>Large quantities of fish are caught by a +method called <i>trawl fishing</i>. This may be carried +on miles from the shore. How do you suppose +it is done? To a very long and strong line, +many shorter ones, each with a hook at the end,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> +are attached. These lines, to which large buoys +are fastened, are left in the water for several +hours, and then fishermen in flat-bottomed boats +called <i>dories</i> row out from the schooner and +examine them. The lines are then reset and +the fish taken to the schooner to be dressed. +This is a common method of catching codfish, +which is carried on during summer and winter +alike. Storms and fogs are likely to +occur while the men are out in their little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> +boats, making their work full of danger as +well as of hardship.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p58.jpg" width="450" height="358" alt="Fig. 20.—Splitting Codfish." title="Splitting Codfish" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 20.—Splitting Codfish.</span> +</div> + +<p>Many of the fish are packed in ice and sold +fresh, while others are cured on the boats or +on shore. Some of the fishing schooners carry +great quantities of salt when they start out on a +trip. The fish are dressed and packed in this. +Sometimes they are packed in brine, and along +the shores of some countries they are strung on +poles to dry.</p> + +<p>Codfish are dried in great quantities along the +New England coast by placing them on frames +made of strips of wood and raised a little above +the wharf, so that the air can circulate freely. +When the skin and bones are removed and the +flesh cut into strips, it is called "shredded" +codfish.</p> + +<p>The principal food-fish are the cod, mackerel, +herring, halibut, shad, salmon, sardines, and +whitefish. Whitefish are caught in the Great +Lakes. To this list the lobster may be added, +although it is not a fish.</p> + +<p>A common method of catching lobsters is to +sink a box made of lath to the bottom, where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> +they crawl about on the rocks. A fish head is +placed in the box for bait. The lobsters crawl +in and are likely to remain until the box is +examined.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p60.jpg" width="450" height="318" alt="Fig. 21.—Drying Codfish." title="Drying Codfish" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 21.—Drying Codfish.</span> +</div> + +<p>Lobster steamers, fitted up with tanks containing +salt water, run from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland +to Boston and New York. Here those +not wanted are placed on cars containing similar +tanks and sent to interior cities. In this way +fresh lobsters are served thousands of miles +from where they were caught.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>A lobster that would cost us from twenty-five +to seventy-five cents brings the fisherman not +more than ten cents.</p> + +<p>Along our New England coast there are many +towns engaged extensively in fishing. Portland, +Gloucester, Boston, and Provincetown are among +the number. Gloucester is the most important +fishing town in the United States. From it +fishing schooners go as far as Newfoundland, +Greenland, Iceland, and even to the coast of +Ireland. There are also important fisheries on +the Pacific coast, from San Francisco to Alaska. +Here the salmon are taken in great numbers. +They weigh from twenty to one hundred pounds. +The fish are canned and shipped to all parts of +the country. Besides being caught in nets and +traps and on lines many are caught in "fish +wheels." These are fastened to the stern of a +boat and revolve in the water. The fish are +caught in pockets and dropped in the boat as +the wheel brings them up over it.</p> + +<p>There are very extensive fisheries along the +shores of the British Isles and on the western +coast of Europe. Fishing is the chief industry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> +in the towns along the coast of Norway. The +air is full of the odor of fish, while drying fish, +nets, and boats are everywhere in sight.</p> + +<p>Although the supply of fish in the ocean is +very great, it is diminishing, especially near the +shore. Most countries now pay considerable attention +to the raising of both fresh and salt water +fishes, and they have passed laws regulating +fishing. Eggs are hatched in great <i>hatcheries</i>, +from which the young fish are taken where they +are most needed.</p> + +<p>The great ocean is free to all to sail over or +fish in at will. There is a narrow strip along +the shore three miles wide, which belongs to the +country which it borders. The men of other +countries are not allowed to fish there.</p> + +<p>The fisherman is a brave and sturdy man. +His life is full of danger. He battles constantly +with the winds and the waves. Fogs may +hide the sharp rocks which seem to wait for a +chance to destroy his little vessel. Sometimes +icebergs or great ocean steamers sink his boat +and he is never seen again.</p> + +<p>When storms are raging and night has settled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> +over sea and land, and angry waves are dashing +themselves into foam against the shore, +the mothers, wives, and children look anxiously +from their cottage windows toward the sea, and +pray that their loved ones may return to them +in safety.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span></p> +<h2>OYSTER FARMING</h2> + + +<p>It sounds strange to speak of farming in the +ocean, but there are many and large oyster +farms all along our coast. Some of these farms +are covered by water all of the time and some +are uncovered when the tide is low. Oyster +farms are far more profitable than are those +upon which corn and wheat are raised.</p> + +<p>This is a new industry in our country because +civilized people have not lived here very long, +but it is a very old one in some parts of the +world. As long ago as the seventh century a +Roman knight raised oysters for the market, +and it is said that the business made him very +wealthy.</p> + +<p>You will understand better about the cultivation +of oysters, if I tell you first how they +live and grow in their natural homes.</p> + +<p>Except during the first few days of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> +lives, oysters are prisoners. They cannot move +about freely from place to place as fishes and +most animals can, but they are attached to +rocks, to the shells of their dead relatives, and +to other objects. How, then, do you suppose +they get their food? They grow in immense +numbers, and they crowd one another more than +people do in the tenement houses in our great +cities. In fact most of them are soon crowded +out, and they die, leaving room for the rest to +grow upon their empty homes. In this way +the oyster beds spread out.</p> + +<p>These oyster beds are not found in very deep +water, but rather along the shore, generally near +the mouth of some river. As I have told you, +they often live where they are uncovered when +the tide goes out. You can see from this that +it is not very difficult to gather oysters, so that, +partly on this account, man has used them for +food for ages.</p> + +<p>When the Pilgrim Fathers landed on the +shores of New England, they found that the +Indians used oysters very commonly. All along +the coast were great heaps of the shells. At<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> +the very first Thanksgiving dinner given in +America, oysters were served.</p> + +<p>Oysters used to be so plentiful on these +natural beds that they were very cheap. In +some places where the winter weather was cold +enough to freeze the water along the shore, +people cut holes in the ice and gathered them +by means of long-handled rakes.</p> + +<p>In a single year an oyster will produce more +than a million young ones. Just think of it! +If all of this family grew up, they would fill a +room fourteen feet in each dimension.</p> + +<p>These young oysters are <i>very</i> small. They +are called "spat." Most of them are drifted +away by waves and currents, or devoured by +larger sea animals. The few that escape soon +attach themselves to some object, so getting a +chance to begin the battle of life.</p> + +<p>If oysters are caught at all times of the year +it does not give them a chance to produce their +young, and this, as well as catching the young +ones themselves, has destroyed many of the +natural beds. In order to keep up the supply +of this food men commenced oyster farming.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> +You see how our daily needs and desires lead +to the establishment of great industries.</p> + +<p>The oyster farmer prepares his farm in +various ways. He places clean oyster shells, +stones, trays, bundles of sticks, and other things +on the bottom, so that the oysters may find +something to which to attach themselves. Then +he places the young oysters or "spat" on these +objects. When trays are used, several are +placed one upon another and bound together +by means of a chain. These trays are taken +up from time to time in order to gather the +oysters that are ready for market.</p> + +<p>Stones are sometimes piled on the bottom +and the "spat" are placed in the crevices between +them. Often stakes are planted in a +somewhat circular form. Cords are attached +to the stakes, to which bundles of sticks are +fastened in such a way as to keep them a little +above the bottom. Young oysters attach themselves +to these sticks, which may be drawn up +when the proper time comes.</p> + +<p>Shells are used more commonly than other +things. They are taken from the restaurants<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> +and hotels to the farms in boat loads, to be +scattered over the bottom.</p> + +<p>The young oysters grow at very different +rates. In two years they may grow to be six +inches in length, or it may take several years to +reach that size. They grow more rapidly on +the artificial beds, and are better in quality also. +The starfish is one of the greatest enemies of +the oyster, large numbers of which it destroys +every year.</p> + +<p>During the fishing season the oyster men go +to the beds in their boats and scoop the oysters +up from the bottom. This is called dredging. +The scoops with their loads of oysters are drawn +to the deck of the boat by machinery. Sometimes +the oysters are gathered by means of long +tongs.</p> + +<p>As the oysters are usually in clusters, these +have to be broken up. For this purpose a sort +of a hammer known as a <i>culling iron</i> is used. +The oysters are broken apart and sorted. Sometimes +the oyster man makes three grades and +sometimes four.</p> + +<p>Oysters are not the only things drawn up in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> +the dredge. Starfish, lobsters, and various +kinds of fishes are gathered in. The starfish +are killed and the rest thrown back.</p> + +<p>The oysters are heaped up in great piles on +the deck of the boat. Sacks and barrels are +filled with them, and many car loads are +shipped daily from the cities near the fishing +grounds. Chesapeake Bay is the center of the +oyster industry in our country. Find it. There +are oyster beds, however, all along both the +Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.</p> + +<p>Great quantities of oysters are canned near +where they are caught. Getting them out of +their shells is not an easy matter. For this +purpose a knife is used. This work is called in +the South "shucking oysters." Canning oysters +is an important industry in the city of +Baltimore. Have you ever seen cans of oysters +that came from there?</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>A RICE FIELD</h2> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p> + + +<p>When you do not feel quite satisfied with +your breakfast, dinner, or supper, and think +that there should be a greater variety of food +on the table, just come with me and we will +visit some of the boys and girls of far-away +China. What do you suppose <i>their</i> chief article +of food is? Rice. Rice in the morning, rice +at noon, and rice at night. Rice from the +beginning to the end of the year. In the +poorer families a bit of dried fish and some +vegetables are usually eaten with it. Those +who can afford such things have bits of preserved +ginger, mushrooms, and barley cakes +with the rice. Of course the rich people have +other things to eat, but most of the people of +China are poor.</p> + +<p>In the fertile portions of China the people +live very close together. Gardens take the +place of farms. Workmen often receive no +more than ten cents a day. On this account<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> +they cannot afford the variety of food that we +have, but must be content with whatever is +cheap and nourishing for their labor. If the +rice crop were to fail, the Chinese would suffer. +You will see how important this food is to +them, when I tell you that they are forbidden +by law to sell rice to other countries.</p> + +<p>Perhaps you are wondering where the rice +that we use in this country comes from. Rice +is grown in great quantities in Japan, Corea, +Indo-China, Ceylon, India, the Philippines, the +Hawaiian Islands, and in our Gulf states.</p> + +<p>Rice is the chief food of one half the people +of the world. Although we raise large quantities, +we produce only about one half of what +we use. It is a kind of grain which will not +thrive on the fertile Western prairies where corn, +oats, and wheat grow. It needs a warm climate +and a great deal of water. For this reason the +rice fields are found on the marshy lands near +the coast, and by the banks of rivers, where they +can be easily flooded. Some rice is raised on +the uplands, but not so successfully as on the +lowlands.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>Canals are dug from the streams through the +farms, and from these smaller ditches branch +off so as to reach all parts. They are so +arranged that the farmer can turn the water +on or off whenever he wishes. On some of +the farms, wells furnish the water to the +canals.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p72.jpg" width="450" height="321" alt="Fig. 22.—A Rice Field.—Observe the Canal." title="A Rice Field." /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 22.—A Rice Field.—Observe the Canal.</span> +</div> + +<p>In the Gulf states the fields are plowed in +the winter, and the rice is sown between the +first of April and the middle of May. Sometimes +the seed is sown broadcast, as wheat is,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> +and sometimes it is planted in regular drills or +trenches about twelve inches apart.</p> + +<p>The Japanese sow the seed in gardens, and +when the plants are eight or ten inches high, +they are pulled up and transplanted to the +fields. The men work right in the water, for +the fields are flooded at the time.</p> + +<p>In our country the farmer floods the field as +soon as the seeds are planted, allowing the +water to remain five or six days. When the +young blade of rice is a few inches high, the field +is again flooded. After the second leaf appears +on the stalk, the water is turned on and left +for twenty or thirty days. After the land dries +the crop is hoed. The fields are irrigated from +time to time, until about eight days before the +harvest, which generally occurs in August.</p> + +<p>When full grown, the stalks are from one to +six feet in height, with long, slender leaves. +The kernels grow much as those of wheat and +oats do.</p> + +<p>On account of the fields being so wet, rice, +in most countries, is cut by hand. In China +and Japan small curved sickles are used, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> +the grain is bound up in very small bundles. +In Louisiana and some other parts of the +South, regular harvesters are used. They have +very broad wheels. Why?</p> + +<p>After the grain has been bound into bundles, +these are set up in double rows to dry. This +is called <i>shocking</i> the rice. The grain is then +put through a thrashing machine, to separate it +from the straw.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p74.jpg" width="450" height="176" alt="Fig. 23.—Harvesting Rice." title="Harvesting Rice" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 23.—Harvesting Rice.</span> +</div> + +<p>Rice kernels are covered by a husk. Before +the husk is removed the grain is often called +<i>paddy rice</i>. Removing the hulls or husks is +called <i>hulling</i>. The hulling machine is a long +tube into one end of which the rice is poured. +Within the tube are ribs which revolve rapidly.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> +As the kernels pass between these the hulls +are taken off.</p> + +<p>If you were passing through a Chinese village, +you might hear sounds like those produced +when a man pounds with a mallet on a great +piece of timber. On searching for the sounds, +you would find that they came from the rice +mill. The mill consists of a portion of a log +hollowed out and placed upright. In the hollow +a quantity of rice is held. A piece of +timber, fastened to a pivot, extends in a horizontal +position with one end over the mill. To +this end another timber is fastened in an upright +position. A Chinaman gets on to the end of the +long timber which is farthest from the mill. +This raises the end with the upright. He then +jumps off and the upright falls, striking upon +the rice. In this way the hulls are worn off.</p> + +<p>After hulling, the grain is carefully screened, +in order to remove the hulls, the broken and +very small kernels, and the <i>rice flour</i>. This +latter makes good cattle food.</p> + +<p>Perhaps you have noticed that rice kernels +have a bluish appearance. This is not natural,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> +but is the result of polishing. The polishing +removes much of the best part of the grain, +but the rice sells for a higher price simply on +account of its appearance.</p> + +<p>The polishing machine is cylindrical or drum-like +in shape. Moosehide or sheepskin is +tacked to the cylinder. It is made to revolve +rapidly, so that the kernels are polished as they +pass over the skin. After being polished the +kernels are run through screens and sorted. +The rice is then put up in barrels or sacks and +shipped.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p> +<h2>HOW SUGAR IS MADE</h2> + + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p77.jpg" width="450" height="276" alt="Fig. 24.—Sowing Sugar Seed." title="Sowing Sugar Seed" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 24.—Sowing Sugar Seed.</span> +</div> + +<p>This picture represents one of the beginnings +of the great industry of sugar making. The +small objects which you see in the trenches +are pieces of sugar cane. These "cuttings," as +they are called, are covered with soil. They +soon sprout, and from them grow the tall, waving +fields of cane, which resemble cornfields. +The canes are taller than cornstalks, however.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> +How high do you think those shown in the +picture are?</p> + +<p>In about ten months after planting the cane is +ready to cut. In the Southern states this work +usually begins about the middle of October.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p78.jpg" width="450" height="284" alt="Fig. 25.—Cutting Sugar Cane." title="Cutting Sugar Cane" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 25.—Cutting Sugar Cane.</span> +</div> + +<p>The canes are jointed, as cornstalks are, and +the spongy substance between the joints is filled +with a sweet juice. It is from this juice or +sap that cane sugar is made. I have seen +children chew pieces of the cane, and enjoy it +as you do candy; for this use it is sometimes +sold in stores in the South.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p79.jpg" width="500" height="279" alt="Fig. 26.—Loading Cars with Sugar Cane." title="Loading Cars with Sugar Cane" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 26.—Loading Cars with Sugar Cane.</span> +</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>After the canes are cut they are hauled to the +mill or sugarhouse on wagons. On the large +plantations <i>tram cars</i> sometimes run right into +the fields.</p> + +<p>At the mill the canes are run between heavy +rollers, which squeeze out the sap. Sometimes +as many as seventy-five pounds of sap are obtained +from one hundred pounds of cane. The +crushed stalks are used in the mill for fuel, and +the ashes are returned to the land to fertilize it.</p> + +<p>When the juice is first pressed out, it is not +at all clear in color. It is then placed in great +vats or kettles and heated. This heating +causes the water which is in the sap to evaporate, +and it also brings some of the impurities +to the top, where they are skimmed off. When +the evaporating has been finished, there are two +products, molasses and brown sugar.</p> + +<p>The sugar must next be refined. For this +purpose it is usually sent to cities outside of +the sugar belt. There are great refineries in +New Orleans, San Francisco, St. Louis, Chicago, +and other cities.</p> + +<p>When the <i>raw sugar</i>, as it is called, reaches<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> +the refinery, which is generally a tall building, +it is taken to the top story and dissolved in hot +water. It then passes through bags which act +as <i>filters</i>, and through a great cylinder which +contains burned bones, known as <i>bone-black</i>. +You remember that I told you that the bones +of the cattle were saved. This is one of the +uses to which they are put. When the liquid +comes out of this bone filter it is a perfectly +clear sirup, which is then crystallized.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p82.jpg" width="450" height="344" alt="Fig. 27.—A Sugar Mill." title="A Sugar Mill" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 27.—A Sugar Mill.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>You know that we buy refined sugar in three +forms: granulated sugar, loaf sugar, and pulverized +sugar. When granulated sugar is +wanted, the crystals are placed in a great +drum, which revolves until they are thoroughly +dried in the right form. To make loaf sugar, +the crystals are pressed into molds, then dried, +and cut into the size desired. In powdered +sugar they are simply ground to a powdered +condition.</p> + +<p>Think how much labor is required to produce +sugar, and yet you can buy it for five cents a +pound.</p> + +<p>There are great fields of sugar cane in the +Gulf states, in Cuba, in the Hawaiian Islands, +in the East Indies, in India, and in other warm, +moist parts of the world. We buy a great deal +of sugar from Cuba, and from the Hawaiian +Islands. To what city do you think the sugar +from the Hawaiian Islands is sent?</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p> +<h2>BEET SUGAR</h2> + + +<p>Although the cane fields of the moist, hot +countries yield great quantities of sugar, there +are other sources from which this useful product +comes. In the year 1747 a German scientist +discovered that sugar can be made from beets, +and now about two thirds of our supply come +from these plants.</p> + +<p>The sugar beet is not just like the plant of +the same name which we raise for table use. +It is white, and sometimes weighs as much as +ten or fifteen pounds. Beets do not need so +much water nor so much heat as sugar cane, +so they can be raised in Germany, France, +Austria, Russia, and other countries, as well +as in California, Utah, and Nebraska, in our +own land.</p> + +<p>In some parts of California there are fields +of beets stretching for miles. The seeds are +planted in rows, which, after the plants have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> +come up, are thinned. In four or five months +from the time the seeds are planted, the beets +are ready to harvest.</p> + +<p>On most of the large <i>ranches</i> the beets are +dug by machinery. Men then move back and +forth in the fields, cutting off the leaves and a +little of the upper part of the beet, for this contains +too much mineral matter to be of value in +making sugar. The workmen use large knives, +and they walk on their knees.</p> + +<p>The beets are now taken to the factory in +wagons, or, if it is far away, they are sent +on trains. When the loads of beets reach the +factory, they are weighed. The teamsters then +drive up an inclined plane to a plank roadway. +There are generally several of these. On each +side of the road or platform are deep V-shaped +trenches with wooden sides, in which streams +of water run. When the wagon has reached +the right spot, the platform upon which it rests +is raised in a slanting position, and the beets +fall into the trench.</p> + +<p>A basket full of beets is taken from each +load and tested, to see how much sugar they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> +contain, for this determines the price to be +paid.</p> + +<p>The stream of water in the trench carries the +beets along, just as they would be carried in a +brook. This, you see, is a quick and easy way +of washing them.</p> + +<p>The streams of water carry the beets into the +factory, where they are cut up into strips by +machinery. The juice is then washed out in +vats containing warm water, and is boiled down +in great tanks. The raw sugar is refined much +as the cane sugar is. After the sugar has been +dried, it is run through spouts into sacks held +open to catch it as it comes out. One hundred +pounds are put into each sack. One workman +sews the sacks up and another wheels them to +the wareroom. Train loads are carried away to +be distributed in the parts of our country that +do not produce sugar.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> +<h2>MAPLE SUGAR</h2> + + +<p>You would enjoy helping to make some +maple sugar, I am sure, so let us make a trip +to the woods of Vermont or New York, where +maple sugar is made from +the sap of the sugar-maple +tree.</p> + +<p>You will need your cap +and mittens, as the sugar +season is the early spring, +when there is yet snow on +the ground. Besides, some +of the work is done at night, +and you will not wish to +miss that.</p> + +<p>The owner of the "sugar +bush" bores holes into the trees a short distance +from the ground, into which he slips small +spouts, called "spiles."</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 160px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p87.jpg" width="160" height="300" alt="Fig. 28.—Tapping a Tree." title="Tapping a Tree." /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 28.—Tapping a Tree.</span> +</div> + +<p>This is called <i>tapping</i> the trees. Underneath<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> +the spout a pail is placed. During the day the +sap trickles out and runs into the pail. During +the colder hours of the night the sap flows +slowly, if at all. Sometimes it is so cold that +little sap runs for two or three days at a time.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p88.jpg" width="450" height="287" alt="Fig. 29.—Oxen hauling Sap." title="Oxen hauling Sap" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 29.—Oxen hauling Sap.</span> +</div> + +<p>The sap is collected in barrels and drawn on +sleds to the camp or place where it is to be +boiled down. This is done in great pans called +<i>evaporators</i>, which may be five or six feet wide, +and fifteen feet long. They are divided into +sections, and these are connected by means of +little openings.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>The sap flows into one end of the evaporator and +follows a zigzag path through the different sections. +By flowing slowly over so large a surface, +evaporation goes on rapidly and the sap is changed +to sirup by the time it has finished its journey.</p> + +<p>The sirup is put up in cans, or boiled down +into sugar, which is molded into small cakes, +and brings a high price.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p89.jpg" width="450" height="292" alt="Fig. 30.—Sap-yoke and Pails for gathering Sap." title="Sap-yoke and Pails for gathering Sap" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 30.—Sap-yoke and Pails for gathering Sap.</span> +</div> + +<p>"Sugaring off," as the boiling down of the +sap is called, is quite an event. Often a number +of people will be invited to go to the sugarhouse +and take part in the operation.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>Before the modern evaporator came into use +"sugaring off" always occurred at night. This +was necessary, because during the day the sap +buckets had to be attended to. The young people +would sing songs, tell stories, and eat sugar.</p> + +<p>Some of the "sugar bushes" contain but a +few trees and some contain one or two thousand +or even more. A tree will yield from one to six +pounds of sugar during a season.</p> + +<p>Our country produces great quantities of +sugar every year, but we use so much that we +have to buy much more than we manufacture at +home. It was not always in such common use, +however, because people in olden times did not +understand how to make it cheaply.</p> + +<p>Long, long ago sugar was used only as a +medicine. Don't you wish that all medicine +to-day was as good as sugar? About seven +hundred years ago an Italian nobleman died and +left to his relatives, among other things, <i>six +pounds of sugar</i>. His will caused considerable +comment among the people, who said that no +one family should be allowed to have so much +sugar in its possession.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span></p> +<h2>WHERE SALT COMES FROM</h2> + + +<p>The Arab, journeying over the yellow sands, +riding upon the back of his faithful "ship of +the desert," often looks longingly for some +sign of water to cool his parched lips. The +sailor may ride upon the beautiful blue waters +of the ocean in his white-winged ship; but +although there is nothing but water to greet +his eyes, he cannot drink it, for it is bitter +to the taste.</p> + +<p>If you were to place a quantity of ocean +water over a fire and evaporate it, there would +remain a white substance. This is common +salt. You see that it is as necessary to provide +fresh water when one wishes to cross the +ocean, as it is if one is going to cross the +desert.</p> + +<p>Most streams and lakes contain <i>fresh</i> water, +so you will wonder why the waters of the +ocean are briny. The rocks and soil of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> +earth contain salt, and the streams wash it +from the land. Each one carries so little that +we do not notice it, but they have worked so +steadily and so long, that they have carried a +great amount to the sea. None of it can escape, +so the ocean gets more and more briny.</p> + +<p>No healthy person would ever think of eating +salt alone as a food, and yet our food +would taste very unsatisfactory without it. +Farmers supply their cattle and horses with +salt, and wild animals search for it in the +forests, and lick it from the soil with their +tongues.</p> + +<p>Salt is so important to us that I want to +tell you about some of the ways in which +men obtain it.</p> + +<p>Sometimes sea water is placed in great vats +and evaporated. This leaves the salt, which +is then refined. You know that the sun's heat +causes the waters of a shallow pond to evaporate +during warm weather. Shallow basins are +often scooped out along the coast, and the +waters which fill them are then shut off from +the larger body. In time the water evaporates,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> +and the salt, which has formed in thin +layers, is collected.</p> + +<p>I said that most lakes are fresh-water +bodies. There are some, however, that are +<i>very</i> salty. Great Salt Lake is one of these. +Streams flow into it, but none flows out. If +you were to bathe in the waters of this lake, +you would find that your body would not +sink.</p> + +<p>I have seen great piles of glistening salt +along the shore of Great Salt Lake which +had been obtained by evaporation. A railroad +runs beside the lake, and the salt is loaded +upon the cars to be hauled away. When the +people first settled in Utah, they used to drive +to the lake in wagons to get a supply of salt.</p> + +<p>Although the ocean and a few lakes contain +immense quantities of this useful article, we +get most of our supply from other sources.</p> + +<p>In the western part of New York State, at +some distance below the surface of the earth, +there is a thick layer of salt. Wells are drilled +down to this; water is pumped into them, and +then pumped out again as brine. This brine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> +is evaporated in large pans made of iron, two +quarts of brine yielding about a pound of salt.</p> + +<p>In China salt has been obtained in this way +for hundreds and even thousands of years. +Though they had little machinery to work +with in those days, yet by patient, steady +effort, they drilled wells two thousand and even +three thousand feet in depth. From twenty-five +to forty years were required to drill some of +these wells. Those who commenced them knew +that they were not likely to enjoy the fruits +of their labor and that others must get the +benefit of what they did. What does this +show about these people? What benefits are +you receiving from what others have done?</p> + +<p>Salt is also mined as coal and iron are. +This is called <i>rock salt</i>. It is obtained in +Germany, Poland, Austria, India, the United +States, and in many other countries.</p> + +<p>One of the most interesting salt fields of +the world is in the southeastern part of California. +It is on the Colorado Desert, near the +Colorado River. This was once a part of the +ocean floor and the rocks contain much salt.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> +Water seeping through the earth dissolves the +salt and brings it to the surface at this place. +What happens to the water?</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p95.jpg" width="450" height="296" alt="Fig. 31.—Harvesting Salt, Salton, California. Is there any Water in this Field?" title="Harvesting Salt" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 31.—Harvesting Salt, Salton, California. Is there any Water in this Field?</span> +</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96"> </a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p97.jpg" width="450" height="351" alt="Fig. 32.—Loading Cars with Salt. Salton, California." title="Loading Cars with Salt" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 32.—Loading Cars with Salt. Salton, California.</span> +</div> + +<p>This salt field covers an area of about one +thousand acres, to a depth of from one to eight +inches. You can see by the picture that it looks +more like a field of snow and ice than one of +salt. The bright sunlight is reflected from its +surface with such power that it hurts one's eyes.</p> + +<p>A great plow drawn by a steam engine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> +moves over this dazzling field, and throws the +salt up in furrows. It is then piled up, loaded +on to cars, and taken to sheds, where it is purified. +Indians and Japanese do most of the work.</p> + +<p>In order to purify the brines they are boiled +in iron pans and treated in various ways to +make them fit for table use. When evaporation +is rapid, the salt crystals are quite small, +but slower evaporation produces larger ones. +Rock salt is dissolved in water and then evaporated. +To get the finest of salt, the crystals +must be ground. When salt is to be used for +other purposes than to season food, not so much +pains are taken. Name other uses of salt.</p> + +<p>In olden times, when salt was not so easily +obtained as it is to-day, it was regarded in some +countries as a luxury. This seems strange, does +it not? At one time the Chinese made it into +little cakes, stamped the image of the emperor +upon it, and used it as money. In Arabia those +who together ate food which had been salted, +believed that this established a special bond of +friendship between them. This led to the old +saying, "There is salt between us."</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p> +<h2>MACARONI AND VERMICELLI</h2> + + +<p>Have you ever wondered as you have looked +at the hollow sticks of macaroni in the stores or +as you have eaten them at the table, how they +were made in that way, and what they were +made of?</p> + +<p>In Italy macaroni is a very important article +of food, and its use is rapidly increasing in our +own country. For a long time it was not made +outside of Italy, where the city of Genoa was +the center of the industry. Locate this city. +Do you know what great man was born there? +Now macaroni and vermicelli are made in other +countries. There are a few factories in the +United States, but most of what we use still +comes from Italy.</p> + +<p>In making these foods only the best hard +wheat is used.</p> + +<p>After grinding the wheat, the bran is taken +out and the flour is placed in a large wooden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> +tub. Water is added, and the two are mixed by +hand for a few minutes. In this tub a marble +wheel about five feet in diameter and eighteen +inches in thickness is fastened in an upright +position. This wheel weighs about a ton.</p> + +<p>After the flour and water have been mixed, +the wheel is set in motion by machinery, and it +slowly circles around in the tub, pressing the +dough under it.</p> + +<p>A man keeps walking in front of the wheel, +moving the dough from the edges of the tub +and placing it directly in the path of it. This +work of pressing the flour into a paste continues +for a little more than half an hour.</p> + +<p>The wheel is then stopped and the paste, +which is quite stiff, is cut into cakes about a +foot square and from one to three inches in +thickness.</p> + +<p>These are put into an iron cylinder heated +by steam. In the bottom of the cylinder is a +copper plate filled with holes having the centers +filled. A cover fitted to a great screw which +turns by machinery is placed on top. This +slowly, but steadily, presses the paste downward.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> +It is thus forced through these openings, and of +course comes out in the form of round, hollow +pipes.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p101.jpg" width="450" height="282" alt="Fig. 33.—Drying Macaroni in Italy." title="Drying Macaroni in Italy" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 33.—Drying Macaroni in Italy.</span> +</div> + +<p>As these pipes issue from the cylinder, they +are straightened out on a wooden tray or platform, +and with a large, sharp knife cut into +lengths of about three feet. They are then +taken to a drying room and spread on wire +frames covered with oiled paper. Here they +are left for about five days, after which they are +placed in boxes and are ready to ship.</p> + +<p>The only difference between macaroni and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> +vermicelli is that the pipes of vermicelli are +very small and are not hollow.</p> + +<p>When vermicelli is wanted, two plates are +placed on the bottom of the press. The under +one is of iron and contains holes about one inch +in diameter. The upper one is of copper and +contains <i>groups</i> of very small openings. There +are sometimes eighty of these openings in a +group. When the plates are screwed together, +the groups of small holes are directly above the +larger openings.</p> + +<p>As the paste is pressed, it passes through the +little holes and then issues from the larger ones; +this keeps each little group of pipes somewhat +apart from the others.</p> + +<p>Saffron is added to the paste to color it, and +the great golden mass is quite a pretty sight as +it steadily lengthens.</p> + +<p>The workman cuts off six or seven feet of it +at a time; and holding it above his head with +one hand, he shakes it out with the other, as one +might shake the folds of a piece of silk. The +pipes tangle up very little. They are cut into +lengths of about eighteen inches.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>It is then taken to the drying room and +spread out on the trays just as the macaroni is. +A handful of the vermicelli is taken at a time, +and by a peculiar twist of the arm it is placed +on the paper in a form something like that of +the letter <i>n</i>. After drying for five days it is +packed and shipped.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p> +<h2>ON A COFFEE PLANTATION</h2> + + +<p>Juan and Lupe live in a beautiful valley +where palm and banana trees wave their broad +leaves in the breeze. It is never cold there, so +that many kinds of plants and flowers grow +out of doors which we do not see in our country +except in greenhouses. On clear days they can +see lofty mountains far to the westward, which +sometimes wear caps of white.</p> + +<p>Juan is fourteen years old and Lupe is +twelve. Their skin is much darker than yours, +and they have bright black eyes and black hair. +Their father owns a great coffee plantation in +Brazil, not far from the city of Rio Janeiro.</p> + +<p>There are many men, women, and children +employed on the plantation, and Juan and Lupe +enjoy roaming about from place to place and +watching them at their work.</p> + +<p>In the nursery they see men planting the +coffee seeds in the rich soil. There are some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> +plants that have just come up, and some that +are ready to transplant. They are set out in +rows, six or eight feet apart each way, and +sometimes more.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p105.jpg" width="450" height="332" alt="Fig. 34.—A Coffee Nursery." title="A Coffee Nursery" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 34.—A Coffee Nursery.</span> +</div> + +<p>The trees would grow much taller than those +you see in the picture, if they were not kept +pruned. Do you know why they are prevented +from growing tall? Whenever you look at a +coffee plantation, you see the dark green foliage +of the tree, which is an evergreen. Lupe is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> +very fond of the blossoms. They are clear +white and very fragrant.</p> + +<p>A tree will yield a small amount the second +year after planting, but it will not produce a +full crop for five or more years. Two pounds +is a good average crop for a tree.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p106.jpg" width="450" height="336" alt="Fig. 35.—Picking Coffee." title="Picking Coffee" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 35.—Picking Coffee.</span> +</div> + +<p>The children like to watch the pickers as +they go from tree to tree. Many of them are +about their own age. Some carry a sack slung +over the shoulders, and others carry baskets or +pails. The <i>berries</i> must be picked by hand, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> +they do not all ripen at once. They are dark +scarlet in color and look a little like cranberries. +A good picker gathers about three bushels in a +day. The pickers are given a check every time +they fill a basket. Sometimes Juan tends to +this work, and he enjoys it very much. At the +end of each week the pickers are paid according +to the number of checks they have.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p107.jpg" width="450" height="359" alt="Fig. 36.—Coffee Berries." title="Coffee Berries" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 36.—Coffee Berries.</span> +</div> + +<p>Within the berry are two kernels or seeds, +with their flat sides together. These are called +"coffee beans." It is these beans from which +the drink is made.</p> + +<p>The picking is but a small part of the work<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> +of preparing coffee for the market. The first +operation is removing the pulp. This used to +be done by tramping on the berries, but now +it is done in a better way.</p> + +<p>The berries are thrown into a large tank filled +with water, which carries them through a pipe +to the pulping machine. This machine removes +the pulp and separates the beans.</p> + +<p>Next the beans are carried to a second tank, +where they remain for about twenty-four hours, +to wash off a sticky substance which covers the +shell of the bean.</p> + +<p>If you have ever put beans or peas into a +basin of water, you have noticed that nearly all +of them sink, while a few float. These latter +are the poor ones. This is the way in which +the good and bad coffee beans are separated. +A pipe carries off the seeds that float on the +surface of the water.</p> + +<p>The beans are dried on cement floors upon +which they are spread. This drying takes a +long time. Before sunset each day the coffee +must be carried under shelter, for the dew +injures it. While they are drying, the workmen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> +stir them. Sometimes artificial heat is used, +but this is expensive. Juan's father has a +watchman whose duty it is to guard the coffee +at night, for it is very valuable.</p> + +<p>Each bean is covered by a strong shell, or +hull, which has to be removed. The soaking +has loosened this, and so it comes off easier +than it otherwise would. Juan and Lupe often +watch the wheels of the huller as they turn, +moved by patient oxen.</p> + +<p>There are two wheels set upright over a +circular box, into which the coffee is put. +As it passes between the wheels and the bottom +of the box, the hulls are removed. +Underneath the hull is a thin skin, which is +also taken off.</p> + +<p>In some countries people want the coffee +dyed or colored. A bluish color is given to it +by coating the wheels of the hulling machine +with lead.</p> + +<p>The hulls are separated from the beans in +a winnowing machine, and the coffee is then +sorted. Often this is done by hand. The +beans are spread out on a table, and girls and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> +boys, and sometimes grown persons, sort it into +several grades.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p110.jpg" width="450" height="340" alt="Fig. 37.—Sorting and sacking Coffee." title="Sorting and sacking Coffee" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 37.—Sorting and sacking Coffee.</span> +</div> + +<p>Juan's father has this work done by machinery. +The coffee is put into a cylinder, in the +bottom of which there are holes of different +sizes by which it is graded.</p> + +<p>The last process is to sack the coffee and +send it by railroad to Rio Janeiro. Of course +it is neither roasted nor ground until it reaches +its destination.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>We do not produce coffee in our country, +but we are the greatest coffee drinkers in the +world. A large part of our supply comes +from Brazil. Trace the course of the ship +from Rio Janeiro to New York. Juan has +often done this, and his father has promised +to take him with him sometime, when he goes +with a cargo of coffee.</p> + +<p>You naturally think that coffee of different +names must come from different countries, or +at least from different trees. This is not +always the case. Several brands may come +from the same tree. The name depends partly +upon the size and the general appearance of the +beans.</p> + +<p>Coffee is a native of the far East, but it has +gradually been transplanted to other countries, +until it is now very extensively used. Brazil, +Central America, Mexico, the West Indies, the +Hawaiian Islands, Java, Ceylon, and Arabia +are coffee-raising countries.</p> + +<p>In 1551 coffee found its way to the city of +Constantinople; in 1652 it had reached London; +and in 1720 it was planted in the West Indies.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> +You see it worked its way westward rather +slowly.</p> + +<p>Several hundred years ago, coffee was very +expensive, so that only the rich could afford to +use it. Instead of drinking it at home, people +went to "coffeehouses," where it was served. +To these "coffeehouses" men brought whatever +news they had heard and told it to one another. +In this way these places served about the same +purpose that newspapers do now.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE TEA GARDENS OF CHINA</h2> + + +<p>At the bottom of the teapot you will find +some leaves. Spread one of them out carefully. +You can see that it was once long and slender, +a little like willow leaves. It may have grown +in some garden in far-away China, for we get +a great deal of tea from that country.</p> + +<p>I have told you how close together the people +live on the fertile plains of eastern China. +There is so little room that many live on boats +on the rivers and in the harbors. On this +account their farms are not so large as ours.</p> + +<p>The tea trees in the gardens are about five +or six feet high. If they were allowed to, they +would reach a height of twenty-five feet; but +they are kept trimmed for the same reasons +that the coffee trees are pruned.</p> + +<p>The trees are raised from seeds, and are +generally planted on land which slopes toward +the south. What advantage is this?</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>In about three years after planting, the first +crop of leaves can be gathered. In China they +are usually gathered four times each year, and +the trees continue to yield for twenty-five or +thirty years.</p> + +<p>When the leaves are picked, they are full of +sap or juice, and so have to be dried. The +drying is usually done on trays made of bamboo. +While they are drying, they are rubbed and +rolled between the palms of the hands, so that +they may dry more quickly and evenly.</p> + +<p>Next the leaves are placed, a few at a time, +in iron pans over a charcoal fire. They are +left in these but a short time, for they are hot. +This process is called "firing." Sometimes +the leaves are "fired" but once, and sometimes +twice.</p> + +<p>The tea is then spread out, and broken bits of +stems are removed. Some of the tea growers +place the tea in baskets which are suspended +over slow fires, for drying.</p> + +<p>If you were to look into some of the <i>tea-hongs</i> +or houses where tea is cured and packed, you +would find the tea dried in a very curious fashion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115"> </a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p115.jpg" width="450" height="353" alt="Fig. 38.—Picking Tea. "Pinehurst," South Carolina." title="Picking Tea" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 38.—Picking Tea. "Pinehurst," South Carolina.</span> +</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116"> </a></span></p> + +<p>In one of the rooms you would see several +Chinamen rolling and tossing balls about with +their bare feet. The balls are about the size of +footballs and are partly filled with tea. Although +it looks like play, it is hard work. As the balls +are tossed about, the tea leaves are given their +rounded or twisted appearance. From time to +time the workers stop and tie the bags up more +closely at the neck. This method is used in +making <i>gunpowder tea</i>.</p> + +<p>Black and green teas are not different varieties, +but are produced by different methods of +handling.</p> + +<p>In the great tea-hongs there are professional +<i>tasters</i>,—that is, men who do nothing but +sip tea from small cups, so as to grade it and +fix its value. This is considered a very particular +line of work and requires an educated +taste.</p> + +<p>The ocean atmosphere has a bad effect on tea, +so that the very finest grades are seldom sent +across the sea. When tea is to be shipped by +water, it is placed in boxes lined with a sort +of sheet lead. This protects the tea greatly.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> +Most of the tea sent to the United States lands +at San Francisco. Why? How does it get to +other parts of our country?</p> + +<p>Great quantities of tea are pressed into the +form of bricks and sent over mountains and +across deserts into Russia.</p> + +<p>This is called "brick tea." The Russians +are great tea drinkers, and whenever any one +calls in Russia, tea is served. They call their +teapot a <i>samovar</i>.</p> + +<p>Better tea is obtained from Ceylon and India +than from China. In these countries Europeans +have charge of most of the tea farms, and they +have carefully studied the cultivation and handling +of tea.</p> + +<p>There is a little tea raised in our own country +in the state of South Carolina. It is very fine +in quality and people are willing to pay a high +price for it. Some of it has been sold for five +dollars a pound.</p> + +<p>When tea was first brought into Europe, it was +regarded as a great luxury, just as coffee was. +People paid as much as fifty dollars a pound for +it. It is said that some of the tea raised to-day<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> +for the royal family of China, is worth a hundred +dollars a pound.</p> + +<p>Many people in this country do not enjoy a +cup of tea unless they have milk and sugar in +it. The Chinese do not use either in their tea. +In Russia it is quite common to draw the tea +through a lump of sugar held between the teeth.</p> + +<p>You know that tea parties are very common. +The most celebrated tea party ever held was +called the "Boston Tea Party." See what you +can find out about it.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span></p> +<h2>A CUP OF COCOA</h2> + + +<p>On the eighteenth day of June, in the year +1771, this notice appeared in the <i>Essex Gazette</i> +of Massachusetts:—</p> + +<p class="center">"AMOS TRASK,<br /><br /> + +At his House a little below the Bell-Tavern in<br /><br /> + +<span class="smcap">Danvers</span>,</p> + +<blockquote><p>Makes and sells Chocolate, +which he will warrant to be good, and takes +Cocoa to grind. Those who may please to +favor him with their Custom may depend +upon being well served, and at a very cheap +Rate."</p></blockquote> + +<p>This seems to have been the first notice of the +manufacture and sale of cocoa and chocolate in +our country. What is peculiar about the notice?</p> + +<p>In those days the raw product was brought +to Massachusetts by the Gloucester fishermen. +They obtained it in the West Indies in exchange<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> +for fish and other things which they +took there.</p> + +<p>When the Spanish soldier, Cortez, conquered +Mexico in 1519, he found that the people of +that country were very fond of a drink which +they called "chocolatl." It was served to their +ruler, Montezuma, in a cup of gold. When the +Spaniards went home, they of course introduced +the drink into their own country. For a long +time it was very expensive and was not commonly +used outside of Spain, for the Spaniards +kept the secret of its preparation.</p> + +<p>Cocoa and chocolate are products of the seeds +of a tree called the cacao tree. It is a tropical +tree and grows in both the Old and the +New World.</p> + +<p>Although the cacao tree grows wild, it is also +cultivated in orchards much like fruit orchards +which you have seen. The trees are seldom +more than twenty feet high, but they are rather +inclined to spread out. They require some +shade, and so other trees are often planted +between the rows to shade them. The trees +begin to bear when five or six years old, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> +continue to yield for forty years. There are +generally two chief harvests each year, but the +fruit is ripening all of the time.</p> + +<p>The blossoms, which grow in clusters, are +small and pink or yellow in color. They grow +directly from the branches or the trunk of the +tree.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p122.jpg" width="450" height="342" alt="Fig. 39.—Cocoa Pods and Leaves. + +(Permission of Walter Baker & Co., Ltd.)" title="Cocoa Pods and Leaves" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 39.—Cocoa Pods and Leaves.<br /> + +(Permission of <span class="smcap">Walter Baker</span> & Co., Ltd.)</span> +</div> + +<p>In about four months after the tree has +blossomed, you will find dark yellow or brown +pods hanging from it. These look a little like<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> +ripe cucumbers, but they are more pointed at +one end and are grooved or fluted. These pods +are from six inches to a foot or more in length, +with a rather thick, tough rind.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p123.jpg" width="450" height="333" alt="Fig. 40.—Native Cocoa Pickers. Ceylon. +(Permission of Walter Baker & Co., Ltd.)" title="Native Cocoa Pickers. Ceylon" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 40.—Native Cocoa Pickers. Ceylon.<br /> +(Permission of <span class="smcap">Walter Baker</span> & Co., Ltd.)</span> +</div> + +<p>How do you think the pods are gathered? +They are cut off by men carrying long poles, +sometimes of bamboo, to the ends of which +knives are fastened. Only the ripe pods are +cut off and collected in a heap under the tree. +They are left in these heaps for about twenty-four<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> +hours, when they are cut open and the +seeds are gathered in baskets.</p> + +<p>The seeds are called "beans." There are five +rows of them, about the size of almonds, within +the pink pulp of the fruit. When fresh they +are white, but when dried they are brown. If +you taste one, you will find it bitter.</p> + +<p>You have often seen on packages of chocolate, +as well as on the cans of breakfast cocoa, the +picture of a young woman carrying some chocolate +upon a tray. It is the picture of a beautiful +girl who once served chocolate in the old +city of Vienna. Her name was Anette Baldauff, +and she married a rich count and "lived +happily ever after." It is said that a painting +of her hangs upon the walls of the great art +gallery in Dresden. Point out the cities I have +mentioned.</p> + +<p>The seeds are carried from the orchard to the +sheds, where they are prepared for market. Here +they go through a process of fermentation or +"sweating." For this purpose they are placed +in a covered box, or they may even be covered +with earth. This is called "claying." Now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> +the seeds must be dried. They are spread out +on platforms, raised a little above the ground, +so that the air can circulate underneath. You +notice that the roofs do not cover them just +now, for their only purpose is to keep off the +dew and the rain. They are fastened to frames +which have wheels under them. During the +day they are not used, but at night they are +rolled over the cocoa.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p125.jpg" width="450" height="333" alt="Fig. 41.—Drying Cocoa Seed. Ceylon. + +(Permission of Walter Baker & Co., Ltd.)" title="Drying Cocoa Seed. Ceylon" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 41.—Drying Cocoa Seed. Ceylon.<br /> + +(Permission of <span class="smcap">Walter Baker</span> & Co., Ltd.)</span> +</div> + +<p>The cocoa is stirred by workmen using long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> +shovels or rakes, so that it may dry quickly and +evenly. Once a day the beans are shoveled into +heaps and the workmen tread upon them with +their bare feet, as you see. This is called +"dancing the cocoa."</p> + +<p>After the seeds have dried for about two +weeks they are nearly the color of red bricks. +They are put up for shipment in canvas sacks +holding one hundred and fifty pounds each. +The name of the plantation is usually stamped +upon the outside. Guayaquil exports more +cocoa than any other city. Find it. A great +deal comes from the island of Trinidad, and from +the northern part of South America.</p> + +<p>When the "beans" have reached their destination, +they must be cleaned, to rid them of dust +and dirt collected on the way. They are then +placed in a great revolving cylinder and roasted. +You remember that when coffee is roasted it +brings out a pleasant odor called its <i>aroma</i>. +The same is true of cocoa. The roasting also +helps to loosen a shell which surrounds the +seed. The shell is next removed and the +"beans" are then crushed.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>The Mexicans used to crush the seeds on a +large stone, hollowed out on top. This they +called a "matate."</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p127.jpg" width="450" height="349" alt="Fig. 42.—Grinding Cocoa. + +(Permission of Walter Baker & Co., Ltd.)" title="Grinding Cocoa" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 42.—Grinding Cocoa.<br /> + +(Permission of <span class="smcap">Walter Baker</span> & Co., Ltd.)</span> +</div> + +<p>The crushing is now done by machinery. +The broken bits of the cocoa are called "cocoa +nibs." When the cocoa is ground to a powder, +it is put into strong bags and pressed. This +pressure removes a part of an oily substance +known as "cocoa butter." Remember, then, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> +cocoa is the meal or flour made from the crushed +seeds from which some of the oil has been removed. +Chocolate differs from cocoa in that +none of this oil is removed in making it.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p128.jpg" width="450" height="363" alt="Fig. 43.—Moulding Cocoa. + +(Permission of Walter Baker & Co., Ltd.)" title="Moulding Cocoa" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 43.—Moulding Cocoa.<br /> + +(Permission of <span class="smcap">Walter Baker</span> & Co., Ltd.)</span> +</div> + +<p>You have often seen the words "sweet chocolate" +on the labels. This is made by adding a +quantity of pulverized sugar to the "plain" or +"bitter" chocolate. Sometimes vanilla beans +are added.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p129.jpg" width="450" height="316" alt="Fig. 44.—Cooling Cocoa. + +(Permission of Walter Baker & Co., Ltd.)" title="Cooling Cocoa" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 44.—Cooling Cocoa.<br /> + +(Permission of <span class="smcap">Walter Baker</span> & Co., Ltd.)</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>The pasty mass known as chocolate must be +molded. When the proper amount has been +placed in each of several metal molds which +rest on a table, they are made to rock or shake, +and this causes the chocolate to assume the +right shape. The molds are then taken to the +cooling room, where they are placed on frames, +one above another, in long rows. Girls and +women wrap the cakes of chocolate in the wrappers +specially prepared for them, after which +they are packed in boxes ready for shipment.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>At Dorchester, Massachusetts, on the Neponset +River, is situated the largest establishment +for the manufacture of cocoa and chocolate in +America. It is interesting to know that on the +very spot where these great mills now stand, +was built, in 1765, the first one of the kind in +this country.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p> +<h2>A CRANBERRY BOG</h2> + + +<div class="signature"> +<span class="smcap">Wareham, Massachusetts</span>, Dec. 10, 1901. +</div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear Frank</span>: How surprised you will be to +learn that I am now a country boy. We left +Boston early last spring, and came out here to +go into the business of cranberry raising. It +seemed very strange at first to travel along +country roads, or through woods and fields, +instead of upon the cement walks of our city +streets, but we all think the country delightful.</p> + +<p>A cranberry farm is a marsh or a bog, so +you will see that the vines need a great deal +of water. There are both wild and cultivated +bogs. Those that are cultivated are provided +with a system of ditches, so that they can be +flooded from time to time. It is a good deal +like irrigation in Southern California, I suppose. +We flood the bogs to prevent the berries from +freezing, as well as to furnish the vines with +water. I will tell you more about that by +and by.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>Father wanted a larger bog than the one he +first bought, so, soon after we came, he got +another small piece of marsh land which joins +it on the west, and started vines on it.</p> + +<p>You know that willows, rosebushes, grapevines, +and many other plants will grow from +<i>cuttings</i>. It is the same with cranberry vines. +The lower end of each cutting is pressed into +the soil, and it soon begins to grow. They are +set in rows about fourteen inches apart. One +of our neighbors, who was starting a bog at +the same time, cut the vines into pieces an +inch or two long, and scattered them over the +ground. He then harrowed them in. The +vines multiply just as strawberry plants do, by +putting out <i>runners</i>.</p> + +<p>They tell us that our new bog will produce +a crop in three years. Do you have to wait +that long for a crop of oranges?</p> + +<p>By the middle of June our bog was in full +blossom. The flowers are quite small and their +color is a little like that of the flesh. I read +an interesting thing about them the other day. +It seems that the berries used to be called<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> +"craneberries," because people thought that the +blossoms, just before they opened fully, "resembled +the neck, head, and bill of a crane." +By dropping the <i>e</i>, we got the present name.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 413px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p133.jpg" width="413" height="450" alt="Fig. 45.—A Cranberry Bog. Showing the Young Vines." title="Cranberry Bog" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 45.—A Cranberry Bog. Showing the Young Vines.</span> +</div> + +<p>During our harvest time, which lasted from +the middle of September to the last of October, +we were very busy. We did not commence to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> +go to school until the berries were picked. You +see, frost may occur and spoil the crop, so that +everybody works as fast as possible until the +harvest is over. Father had about twenty +pickers some of the time, besides our own +family.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p134.jpg" width="450" height="334" alt="Fig. 46.—Cranberry Pickers at Work. Notice how the Bog is +divided into Rows by Means of Cords." title="Cranberry Pickers" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 46.—Cranberry Pickers at Work. Notice how the Bog is +divided into Rows by Means of Cords.</span> +</div> + +<p>When we were ready to begin picking, +father took some twine and stretched it back +and forth across the bog, fastening it to small +stakes. This divided the field into rows. Each<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> +picker was given a row, and he was not allowed +to change until it was finished.</p> + +<p>At first it seemed great fun to get down on +the ground and strip off the bright berries, but +when one does this day after day it gets pretty +tiresome. It must be easy to pick oranges, +because you can stand up while you work.</p> + +<p>Father paid the pickers twelve cents a pail. +It takes about three pailfuls to make a bushel. +I averaged about one dollar and a half each +day. I bought a suit of clothes and all of my +books for the year, and have considerable +money left. Some of the pickers who were +quite small did not earn very much. Do you +recognize Jennie? She worked a part of +every day.</p> + +<p>Twice during the picking season there was a +sharp frost, but we saved the crop.</p> + +<p>The government sends out a Weather Map +every day. Our teacher gets one, and there is +one tacked up in the post office every morning. +These maps tell what kind of weather to expect, +and father watches them closely. When he +saw that frost was likely to occur, he and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> +men opened the gates which hold back the +water, in order to flood the part of the bog +where we had not picked. The vines were +buried nearly two feet beneath the surface of +the water. Father says the water cools so +slowly that its temperature is much above that +of the surface of the ground or the air near it, +so the berries do not get frost-bitten. Soon +after sunrise the water was drawn off, and the +next day the bog was dry enough for the pickers +to work.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p136.jpg" width="450" height="324" alt="Fig. 47.—A Young Worker. Notice how the Berries are picked." title="A Young Worker" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 47.—A Young Worker. Notice how the Berries are picked.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>I wonder if the Weather Bureau is of any +use to farmers in California. I know that the +sailors watch for the flags which tell when +storms are coming, that they may not go to +sea if a violent +storm is expected. +Father +says very many +lives and much +property are +saved every year +in this way.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 296px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p137.jpg" width="296" height="400" alt="Fig. 48.—Winnowing and Barreling +Cranberries." title="Winnowing and Barreling +Cranberries" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 48.—Winnowing and Barreling +Cranberries.</span> +</div> + +<p>I have not told +you what we do +with the cranberries +after they +are picked. Of +course we cannot +help gathering +some leaves and twigs with the berries, and these +must be taken out. For this purpose the berries +are put into a winnowing machine. I will send +you a picture of one. As the man turns the +crank, wooden fans within turn rapidly, blowing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> +out the leaves, twigs, and dirt. The berries drop +through a screen and run out of a spout into +a barrel, as you see. We then put them into +crates or barrels for sale. Father tells me that +cranberries are shipped from our country to +Europe, because those raised here are much +better than the European berries.</p> + +<p>There are great quantities of cranberries +raised in this part of Massachusetts. I have +been reading lately that they are produced in +New Jersey, on Long Island, in Michigan, Wisconsin, +Minnesota, Canada, and some other sections. +From what I have read, I guess they +are not raised in Southern California. Wouldn't +it seem strange if you were to eat berries raised +on our bog, three thousand miles away?</p> + +<p>Now I want you to tell me about the orange +groves of Southern California, for none of us +have ever seen an orange growing.</p> + +<p>I wish you all a very "Merry Christmas" +and a "Happy New Year."</p> + +<div class="signature">Your loving friend,<br /> + +<span class="smcap">Will</span>. +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE COCOANUT ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC</h2> + + +<p>Imagine yourself on a great ocean steamship, +gliding over the blue water of the Pacific Ocean +toward the Samoan Islands. Among the first +things that you will see as you near the shores +of these islands will be tall, slender, graceful +trees, rising without a branch to a height of +thirty to eighty feet. At the top is a sort +of crown, composed of long, drooping leaves. +These beautiful trees lean out over the water +and toss their leaves in the strong and steady +breeze from the ocean. They seem to nod a +friendly greeting to you as you approach, and +to wave a loving farewell to you as you sail +away. These trees are the cocoanut palms. +They grow on all of the tropical islands of +the Pacific Ocean, in the West Indies, and +along the shores of most warm countries, but +never far from the sea.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>When the cocoanut falls into the water, it +is rocked and tossed by the waves and drifted +about by the currents, but it is safe within +its shell, for the salt water cannot penetrate +this. When it finally comes to rest upon some +strange shore, it is ready to give to the world +another cocoanut palm, if the climate is like +that from which it sailed. In this way nature +has helped the trees to become widely distributed.</p> + +<p>There are cocoanut plantations as well as +wild groves of the trees. When a plantation is +to be established, the planter selects the ripest +nuts and dries them for several weeks. They +are then planted, and by and by a little +palm springs from the small end of the nut +and the roots from the large end. When the +young trees are from six months to two years +old, they are transplanted in rows thirty or +forty feet apart. They begin to bear nuts in +about five years, but they do not yield a full +crop for fifteen or twenty years. Do you think +that a poor man could afford to go into the +business of cocoanut raising?</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 340px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p141.jpg" width="340" height="450" alt="Fig. 49.—A Cocoanut Grove." title="A Cocoanut Grove" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 49.—A Cocoanut Grove.</span> +</div> + +<p>As you see in the picture, cocoanuts grow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142"> </a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141"> </a></span> +in clusters. You notice also that they grow +close to the stem instead of at the ends of the +branches. They do not all ripen at once, but +nuts may be picked at almost any time. A +tree will produce from fifty to one hundred +nuts each year. If you were to go into an +apple, a peach, or a cherry orchard, you could +easily pick the ripe fruit. Gathering cocoanuts +is quite a different matter, however. Let us +observe this shiny-skinned Samoan boy and see +how he picks them. He fastens a short piece +of rope in the form of a loop to each foot. +Letting one of the loops catch on a rough +place on the bark of the tree he places the +hollow of his foot against it, clasps the trunk +with his hands, and raises himself a little. +Then the other loop is fastened a little higher +up, and he raises himself again. In this way +he finally reaches the nuts. With a knife he +cuts off the ripe ones, which fall to the ground +and are then piled up. They are then placed +in baskets which are hung from a pole and +carried on the shoulders of two men or are +loaded on to donkeys and taken to the shed.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>The ripe cocoanut is a valuable article of +food just as it is picked from the tree. It +contains also a milk which is a nourishing +drink. Most of the cocoanut sent to other +countries, however, is in a form known as <i>copra</i>.</p> + +<p>At the shed the hard shell, which covers the +meat, is split open by means of an ax. The +meat is removed with a knife and is then +spread out on mats to dry. This dried cocoanut +is copra.</p> + +<p>The inhabitants of these cocoanut islands live +in a much more simple style than we do, and the +cocoanut tree supplies many of the things that +they use daily.</p> + +<p>Let us examine the home of a native Samoan. +The frame and posts of the house are made of +the slender trunks of the cocoanut palm, while +the roof is covered with its leaves instead of with +shingles. The cups, bowls, dippers, and many +other household utensils are made of the shells. +If a whole shell is wanted, the "eyes" are +pushed in, the milk is used, and ants are allowed +to eat the meat. These make excellent water +bottles. Baskets, curtains, and twine, are made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> +from the fiber of the leaves, and the bark is used +for fuel.</p> + +<p>From the copra an oil is pressed which is used +in the manufacture of soap. It makes a perfectly +white soap that will float on the water. It is +also used to furnish light, and the people rub it +on their bodies to prevent sunburn. The sap +of the tree is made into sugar, vinegar, and +a liquor.</p> + +<p>While in our country the cocoanut is important +chiefly to bakers and confectioners, in these +far-away islands it is the most useful of plants, +and one of the chief articles of food. Would +you not like to visit the cocoanut islands and +learn more of their interesting people?</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p> +<h2>A BUNCH OF BANANAS</h2> + + +<p>Every day, as you walk along the streets you +see great bunches of bananas hanging in front of +fruit and grocery stores. You find them at the +corner fruit stand, and peddlers carry them from +house to house.</p> + +<p>Although bananas are so common now and so +cheap that all can afford to eat them, this was not +so when your grandparents were children. In +those days the fruit was regarded as quite a +luxury, for there were few people engaged in +carrying it from its tropical home to the cities of +our country. Now many small but swift ships, +called "fruiters," carry on this business. They +get their cargoes of fruit in the West Indies or +Central America, and within a week after sailing +they are unloading at New Orleans, Baltimore, +New York, or Boston. If the number of +bananas which reach our country each year were +equally distributed, each person would receive +twenty-five.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 295px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p147.jpg" width="295" height="450" alt="Fig. 50.—A Banana Tree." title="A Banana Tree" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 50.—A Banana Tree.</span> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>Let us get aboard that wonderful train upon +which all may travel free of cost, which runs +equally well upon land and water. We step off +right in the center of a banana plantation on the +island of Jamaica.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>Yes, these are banana trees all about you. +See how long and broad the leaves are and +how gracefully they droop! Some of them are +ten or fifteen feet long; almost as long as the +trees are tall. The trees, you see, are simply +stalks from which the leaves unroll. Here you +can see some just starting out. They are rolls +of bright green, pointing upward, each starting +from the center of the stalk. No, the leaves +were not torn in that way by the pickers. The +wind sometimes whips them into ribbons, for +they are very tender.</p> + +<p>These stalks growing from the base of the +main stem are called "suckers" here; in Costa +Rica they are called "bits." You remember +that there are no seeds in bananas. It is +these "suckers" that are planted when a +farmer wants to start a plantation. They are +set out when two or three feet high and within +a year they bear fruit. What did I tell you +about the length of time required for the +cocoanut to bear?</p> + +<p>It is but four years since the trees in this +plantation were single "suckers," standing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> +about fifteen feet apart. Now there are several +stalks grouped about each parent plant, +and the beautiful leaves, touching overhead, +form shaded aisles of green.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p149.jpg" width="450" height="334" alt="Fig. 51.—A Banana Plantation." title="A Banana Plantation" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 51.—A Banana Plantation.</span> +</div> + +<p>Of course a great number of "suckers" are +not allowed to grow together. Keeping these +cut down is called "cleaning the plantation."</p> + +<p>Now let us examine the fruit on this tree +beside us. You see that the great cluster or +bunch is made up of smaller bunches. These +are called "hands," and each banana is spoken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> +of as a "finger." Let us count the "hands" in +this bunch. This is an unusually large one, +for it contains thirteen. Nine "hands" make +a <i>full bunch</i>. As you see, there are from ten +to twenty "fingers" in a "hand." Buyers will +seldom take bunches of less than six "hands."</p> + +<p>Here come the fruit cutters to help get a +cargo for the "fruiter" we saw at anchor.</p> + +<p>Yes, the bananas are green, I know, and +they are always green when gathered. They +will ripen in the storehouses when they reach +the United States.</p> + +<p>No, it is not a waste to cut down the stalks, +for they die after bearing their fruit, and the +smaller stalks about them will soon yield. +Some of these stalks, you see, have but one +bunch and some have two or three. How odd +the bunches look with the "fingers" all pointing +upward!</p> + +<p>The banana leaves which the men are wrapping +about the bunches are to protect the +fruit. It bruises very easily and great quantities +are lost on this account. They are not +always wrapped, however.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>When the fruit reaches the vessel, it is +carefully inspected; and if not in just the right +condition, it is refused. The bunches which +are accepted, are taken into the hold of the +ship and packed closely together. The planter +receives for these from ten to thirty-five cents +a bunch. Just think of buying eight or nine +dozen of bananas for ten cents!</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p151.jpg" width="450" height="360" alt="Fig. 52.—Loading a Small Boat with Bananas to be taken to the +"Fruiter" in the Harbor." title="Loading a Small Boat with Bananas" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 52.—Loading a Small Boat with Bananas to be taken to the +"Fruiter" in the Harbor.</span> +</div> + +<p>The men will not stop work until the ship<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> +is loaded. It may take twenty-four hours, +and it may take twice that long, for a "fruiter" +will carry from fifteen to twenty thousand +bunches of fruit.</p> + +<p>In some parts of Central America, where +there are no harbors, the planters float the +fruit down the streams in canoes. The vessels +anchor at some distance from the shore, and +the bananas are taken out in boats called +<i>dories</i>. They are hoisted up to the deck of +the ship by means of pulleys, and then packed +in the hold. The thousands of bunches which +are bruised in handling are thrown into the sea.</p> + +<p>While the northern ports get most of their +supply of bananas from the West Indies, the +Pacific coast states are supplied from Central +America. The "fruiters" unload at New +Orleans into trains, which carry the fruit to +Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other places. +Banana trains also run from New Orleans to +St. Louis, Chicago, and other parts of the +country.</p> + +<p>The fruit ships have great pipes or ventilators, +which carry the cool, fresh air from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> +sea down into the hold. Sometimes when they +reach port it is so cold that the bananas cannot +be taken out for a few days. Wagons are +loaded with the fruit at the wharves, and it +is taken to warehouses where it gradually turns +yellow. I am sure you have seen loads of the +green fruit on the streets.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p153.jpg" width="450" height="295" alt="Fig. 53.—A "Fruiter" taking a Cargo of Bananas." title="A "Fruiter" taking a Cargo of Bananas" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 53.—A "Fruiter" taking a Cargo of Bananas.</span> +</div> + +<p>When the wholesale merchant sells the fruit, +he often incloses each bunch in the rough +material of which gunny sacks are made, and +then puts a light, circular frame, made of strips +of wood, over it. This, you see, protects the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> +bananas. The grocer or fruit man takes hold +of the frame without danger of mashing the +fruit, lifts the bunch, and hangs it upon a hook. +The frame and sacking are then removed.</p> + +<p>Bananas grow in the tropical parts of Asia +and Africa and on many of the islands of the +Pacific Ocean. They are also raised in Florida, +and they ripen in sheltered places in Southern +California.</p> + +<p>You have seen both yellow and red bananas. +The red ones usually bring the higher price, +but they do not keep well and are not so +extensively raised as the yellow ones.</p> + +<p>The banana is an important article of food. +It is much more nourishing than potatoes or +even good, white bread. A flour or meal can +be made from the fruit by drying it and then +grinding.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p> +<h2>HOW DATES GROW</h2> + + +<p>Three thousand years before the shepherds +followed the star to the manger at Bethlehem, +the beautiful date palm was cultivated beside +the banks of the Euphrates and the Nile rivers. +The date was the bread of the people who +lived in these fertile valleys, and it is an important +article of food in northern Africa, +Arabia, and Persia to-day.</p> + +<p>Look at a map of northern Africa, and you +will see that the great Sahara covers a large +part of it. Here and there across the drifting +sands wind caravan routes, traveled by camels +ridden by strangely dressed men. These routes +lead to beautiful garden spots called <i>oases</i>. +Here are wells and springs, with little streams +flowing in the shade of fig, date palm, and +other trees. The people who dwell within +these groves beside the cooling waters look +out upon the desert as the inhabitants of an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> +island might look upon the boundless sea. +Find some of these oases and learn why they +are fertile. The people who live in these +oases depend upon dates for their living. The +dreary journey from the coast to the interior +is made to procure quantities of this fruit, +which are wanted by the outside world.</p> + +<p>If you were to make a journey in a desert +country, you would find that you could not +carry such articles of food as you would have +if you remained at home. The sunshine beats +down fiercely, the springs and wells are far +apart, and the patient animals must not be +overloaded. The chief article of food carried +is the date. A mass is packed together until +it is so hard that pieces are chopped off with +a hatchet when they are wanted.</p> + +<p>Like the cocoanut palm, the date palm rises +to a great height, sometimes fifty or sixty feet, +without branches. It ends in a crown of beautiful +feathery leaves which droop downward. +These leaves may be ten or fifteen feet long. +Many of them stand edgewise. Unlike most +trees, the trunk does not steadily increase in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158"> </a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157"> </a></span> +size, and you can tell nothing as to the age of +the tree by its diameter.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p157.jpg" width="450" height="685" alt="Fig. 54.—Date Palms loaded with Ripe Fruit, Biskra, Algeria. +(Year Book U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1900.)" title="Date Palms loaded with Ripe Fruit" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 54.—Date Palms loaded with Ripe Fruit, Biskra, Algeria. +(Year Book U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1900.)</span> +</div> + +<p>In its wild state many shoots spring from +the base of the tree. These may grow as high +as the parent stalk, so that in time a jungle or +thicket is formed.</p> + +<p>The flowers, which are clear white, grow in +clusters. There are from six to twenty of these +clusters on a tree, each of which produces a +bunch of dates. The female tree bears the +fruit. The blossoms are pollinated both by the +wind and by man.</p> + +<p>There are from ten to fifteen pounds of dates +in a bunch. A tree will average from one hundred +to two hundred pounds each year, although +trees have been known to yield six hundred +pounds. The trees yield when from four to +eight years old, and continue to bear for a +century.</p> + +<p>The dates, green at first, later in the year a +yellowish brown, are, when ripe, amber or black +in color.</p> + +<p>The trees require a very dry, hot climate, but +moist soil. Long, long ago, this saying was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> +common among the Arabs, "The date palm, +the queen of trees, must have her feet in running +water and her head in the burning sky."</p> + +<p>Although there are lovely date palm trees on +the grounds of many California homes, few of +them bear fruit. The temperature must average +from eighty to ninety degrees for a considerable +time in the summer, in order to mature +it. What is the average summer temperature +in your locality?</p> + +<p>If an ordinary tree is frost-bitten, it recovers +and soon puts out a new growth; but if the +crown of the date palm be frozen, the tree dies.</p> + +<p>When the Moors went to Spain, in the +eleventh century, they introduced this valuable +tree which the mission fathers several hundred +years later brought to Mexico and to Southern +California.</p> + +<p>How would you like to try to climb a date +palm tree? Although they look so smooth +and are without branches, the natives of the +desert climb them without any help whatever. +The trunk is always somewhat rough, and this +makes it possible to ascend them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 338px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p161.jpg" width="338" height="450" alt="Fig. 55.—Date Palm Trees." title="Date Palm Trees" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 55.—Date Palm Trees.</span> +</div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>Not all of the dates in a bunch ripen at once, +so they are usually picked by hand and only +the ripe ones selected. Sometimes, however, the +bunches are cut off. Some dates contain so +much sap that the bunches must be hung up +to allow it to drain off before they can be +shipped. This sap is called <i>date honey</i>, and is +saved. They are sent to the coast towns in +bags or boxes called <i>frails</i>. Where dates +are to be sold in small quantities, they are +repacked in the small boxes such as you have +seen.</p> + +<p>You know that dates are very sweet, and it +is no wonder that they are, for they contain +from fifty-five to sixty per cent of sugar.</p> + +<p>The trees are often tapped, and the sap which +flows out is made into sugar. Vinegar and a +liquor called <i>arrack</i> are also made from it. +The leaves of the tree are made into bags and +mats; from the stones a drink is made which +takes the place of coffee. From the leafstalks +baskets are made, while the trunk furnishes +material for houses and for fences.</p> + +<p>If the dates could speak, they could tell us<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> +many wonderful stories of the far East, of the +river boats on the Nile, of the drifting sands +which come so close to the river's banks, of +the caravans creeping over the desert toward +the green oases and then fading out of sight, +bearing loads of this food to the countries +where it is not produced.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE ORANGE GROVES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA</h2> + + +<div class="signature"> +<span class="smcap">Pasadena, California</span>, Jan. 4, 1902.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear Friend Will</span>: I was very glad to +receive your letter, and much surprised to know +that you are living on a farm. I am glad that +you described the raising of cranberries, for I +did not know much about it before. When I +told my teacher about getting the letter, she +asked me to read it in the geography class +and to show the pictures. I asked our grocery-man +where he gets his cranberries, and found +that some of them came from Wareham.</p> + +<p>You are having cold weather now, I know. +Is the skating good? I have not seen ice as +thick as window glass since we came to California, +except that delivered by the iceman. +Just now there is a beautiful covering of snow +on the mountains a few miles north and east +of town. Just think of picking roses and callas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> +with snow in plain sight! The snow never +remains more than a day or two on these +mountains.</p> + +<p>Soon after we came to Pasadena, father +bought an orange grove of twenty-five acres. +We are picking the fruit now. People began +to pick oranges several weeks ago, and the +work will continue all winter.</p> + +<p>Orange trees are planted about twenty feet +apart, but the groves do not look as apple +orchards do in the East, for no grass is allowed +to grow in them.</p> + +<p>The best orange section is east of here, near +Redlands and Riverside, but some good fruit is +raised near Pasadena also.</p> + +<p>Father keeps our trees pruned down rather +low, so that it is easier to pick the oranges +than it would be if they were allowed to grow +very tall.</p> + +<p>Orange raising is like cranberry growing in +one way—the land must be irrigated in each +case. Here the water is piped from the mountain +streams and from tunnels. We form +basins about ten feet square around each tree<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> +and fill them with water. Most of our irrigating +is done during the summer, as the winter +is our rainy season. <i>You</i> would not call it a +very rainy time. Our average is about twenty +inches for the whole year.</p> + +<p>The trees in our grove have been set out +about six years, and they are bearing nicely +now. Orange trees begin to bear when they +are four years old; so, you see, we have to wait +a little longer for a crop than you do for a crop +of cranberries. It costs a good deal to start an +orange grove. Trees cost from one dollar to +one and one-half dollars each at the nurseries. +A few years ago they sold for twenty cents each.</p> + +<p>I wish that you could see the trees when +they are in full blossom, and also when they +are loaded with the golden fruit. I am going +to put some orange blossoms into the envelope, +but I am afraid they will not reach you in very +good condition. They are very fragrant, and +you can smell their perfume some distance from +a tree in blossom.</p> + +<p>To-day we picked about two hundred and fifty +boxes of oranges. We always speak of <i>picking</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> +them, although they are not picked, but cut. +You see, if they were picked off, the part where +the stem pulled off would soon begin to decay.</p> + +<p>We take a wagon load of fruit boxes, and, +while father drives slowly between the rows +of trees, I throw them off.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p168.jpg" width="450" height="255" alt="Fig. 56.—Picking Oranges in California." title="Picking Oranges" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 56.—Picking Oranges in California.</span> +</div> + +<p>Each picker carries a sack slung over one +shoulder, and as fast as he cuts off an orange, +he drops it into the sack. The sacks are +emptied into the boxes, and these are loaded +on to the wagon. Father pays five cents a +box for picking, and a good picker will gather +about forty boxes in a day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169"> </a></span></p> + +<p>We sell most of our oranges to fruit companies. +These companies pack and ship the +fruit. At the packing houses the oranges are +placed in tubs of water and scrubbed with +small brushes. Many women, girls, and boys +work at this. The washing is to take off dirt, +and also <i>scale</i>.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p169.jpg" width="450" height="269" alt="Fig. 57.—Grading and Packing Oranges." title="Grading and Packing Oranges" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 57.—Grading and Packing Oranges.</span> +</div> + +<p>After the oranges are washed, they are placed +in a sort of trough which is highest at the end +near the tub. They roll down this trough to +the <i>grader</i>. This is a machine so arranged +that the oranges pass through different openings +according to their size, and come out sorted.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>In the warehouse close by they are wrapped +and packed. Chinamen often do this work. +Each orange is wrapped in a separate piece of +paper, which has the brand of the company +stamped upon it. It is then packed firmly in +a box. A certain number of oranges of each +grade fill a box, ninety-six of the largest grade, +and about two hundred of the smallest. Those +which are too small, as well as the imperfect +oranges, are rejected. These are called <i>culls</i>. +Sometimes these are sold for a low price, and +sometimes they are thrown away by wagon +loads.</p> + +<p>After the boxes are filled, they are placed +in special fruit cars and hurried to St. Louis, +Chicago, New York, Boston, and other cities.</p> + +<p>Yes, the Weather Bureau is of great help to +fruit growers. Of course we have very little +winter here, but oranges will not endure much +cold. The mercury falls below the freezing +point but a few times each season. On New +Year's Day the temperature here was fifty-eight +degrees. I looked up the Boston temperature +for the same day and found that it was only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> +four degrees above zero. When the Bureau +predicts a sharp freeze, the farmers build small +fires in their orchards, or turn on a good deal +of water. The fires are built in small wire +baskets. They make a smudge instead of a +flame. The people in the raisin districts watch +the weather reports pretty closely, for rain +injures the drying grapes.</p> + +<p>Growers have to <i>spray</i> or <i>fumigate</i> the trees +to destroy the scale that I spoke of which is a +great enemy of the orange, to kill the insects, +and to wash off dirt. This is sometimes done +by putting a great piece of canvas over the tree, +forming a sort of tent which prevents the fumes +from escaping. It was found that the ladybugs +would eat the scale and so they were brought +into California from the East. They do a great +deal of good, but still we have to spray the +trees.</p> + +<p>Orange trees are raised from the seed, and +the trees produced in this way are called <i>seedlings</i>. +By <i>budding</i>, a fruit much better than the +oranges grown on the seedling tree has been +produced. There were five acres of seedlings<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> +in our grove, and father budded the trees. He +cut off the limbs rather close to the trunk of +the tree. Then he slipped buds from <i>navel</i> +trees into cuts made through the bark in the +end of each limb left on the tree. He then +wound cord tightly about the limb and put on +some wax. After a time a new growth started +out where these buds were placed. These new +branches will bear much improved fruit.</p> + +<p>We have a very fine variety of oranges called +Washington Navels. Trees of this variety were +obtained by our government from Brazil. Two +of these were brought to Riverside, a town +about seventy-five miles east of Pasadena, and +planted on a ranch belonging to a Mr. Tibbits. +They did well, and all of the trees of this variety +in Southern California were obtained from +these two through budding. These trees are +still living.</p> + +<p>California and Florida are the two important +orange-growing states of our country. Father +says the industry is much older in Florida than +in our state. Florida growers can ship their +fruit to market much cheaper than we can. It +costs us ninety cents for each box.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>Mexico, the West Indies, Italy, southern +France, and Spain are also orange producers. +These countries have the advantage of cheap +labor, father says.</p> + +<p>I wish that you could visit us. We would +have fine times, I am sure.</p> + +<p>The next time I write I will tell you about +some of the other fruits raised in California.</p> + +<div class="signature"> +Your sincere friend,<br /> +<span class="smcap">Frank</span>. +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p> +<h2>A VISIT TO A VINEYARD</h2> + + +<div class="signature"> +<span class="smcap">Pasadena, California</span>, Oct. 1, 1902. +</div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Dear friend Will</span>: Last week father +went to Fresno, which is about three hundred +miles northwest of here, in the San Joaquin +valley. He took me with him, and we visited +some of the great vineyards and raisin-packing +establishments near and in that city.</p> + +<p>Raisins are simply dried grapes. Although +there are many countries where grapes grow, +there are few where raisins are made. Dew, +fog, and rain injure the fruit, so that the San +Joaquin valley, with its dry, hot atmosphere, is +well adapted to this industry.</p> + +<p>There are a great many different kinds of +grapes but only the green variety is used in +making raisins. The raisin grapes are called +<i>muscats</i>. If the grapes are left on the vines +long enough, they become raisins. I have +picked some pretty good raisins from the vines.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> +Of course by being spread out, they dry quicker +and more evenly.</p> + +<p>The sugar that you find on and in the raisins +is not put there by the people who dry the +grapes. It comes from the juice of the grape.</p> + +<p>Grapevines grow from both roots and cuttings. +Of course cuttings are the cheaper. +Often they may be had for the asking. Many +think that it is better to set out rooted vines +than cuttings.</p> + +<p>They are planted in rows from six feet apart +to twelve or fifteen feet. During the first year +the young vines will grow several feet. In +the fall, when the flow of the sap has been +checked by frost, the vines are pruned. A vineyard +in California looks quite different from one +in the East. During the winter it is simply so +many rows of stumps several inches in thickness +and one or two feet high. During the summer +the branches grow from these stumps and produce +their beautiful clusters of grapes, only to +be cut off in the fall or winter.</p> + +<p>The trimmings are generally burned in the +vineyard at the same time that they are cut off.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> +A sort of furnace made of sheet iron is fastened +between two wheels and drawn by horses up +and down between the rows. A man pitches +the cuttings into it, and they burn as it moves +along.</p> + +<p>In the early summer men go through the +vineyards sprinkling a coating of sulphur on +the vines. This is to prevent mildew, which +damages the fruit very much.</p> + +<p>During the last half of August and September +the grapes are picked. Sometimes the +harvest continues into October. Most of the +grapes had been gathered when we visited +the vineyards.</p> + +<p>When the juice of the grapes is one fourth +sugar, they are ready to pick. The grower +generally tells the condition by the taste and +color of the fruit, although there are instruments +for determining the amount of sugar.</p> + +<p>Like oranges, grapes are cut from the vines +and not picked. We saw great companies of +Chinamen going through the vineyards cutting +off the beautiful clusters. These they placed on +shallow, wooden trays to dry. In a week or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178"> </a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177"> </a></span> +two, when the upper side of the clusters is +pretty well dried, the grapes are turned. We +saw the workmen place an empty tray, upside +down, over the filled one. Then, holding the +two together, they turned them over, and the +grapes dropped into the tray that had been +placed on top.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p177.jpg" width="450" height="338" alt="Fig. 58.—Picking Grapes.—Notice the Mountains in the Background." title="Picking Grapes" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 58.—Picking Grapes.—Notice the Mountains in the Background.</span> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p179.jpg" width="450" height="359" alt="Fig. 59.—Drying Raisin Grapes." title="Drying Raisin Grapes" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 59.—Drying Raisin Grapes.</span> +</div> + +<p>During this drying time the people watch +the reports of the Weather Bureau. In some +places flags are displayed when rain is expected.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> +As a rule the grape season is over before the +rains begin.</p> + +<p>When the grapes are taken from the trays, +they are placed in boxes holding about one +hundred pounds each. These are called <i>sweat +boxes</i>. Here the driest grapes absorb some +of the moisture from the others, and the mass +becomes more uniform.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p180.jpg" width="450" height="341" alt="Fig. 60.—A Vineyard after being Pruned." title="A Vineyard after being Pruned" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 60.—A Vineyard after being Pruned.</span> +</div> + +<p>After the drying process has been finished, +the stems are rather brittle. To make them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> +softer and easier to handle, the grapes are next +placed in a cool room and left there for a time.</p> + +<p>After visiting some of the vineyards, we +drove to one of the great packing establishments +in Fresno. These packing houses are +nearly always in the cities and towns, because +there help can be easily obtained. The +packing house that we visited employs four +hundred people, mostly girls and women.</p> + +<p>The raisins are first placed on wooden or +metal frames the size of a raisin box. These +are called <i>forms</i>, and the packers are paid according +to the number of forms filled. When +these are filled, the raisins are carefully transferred +to the boxes.</p> + +<p>A box of raisins weighs twenty pounds, but +there are half boxes and quarter boxes put up +also. A paper is placed on the bottom of each +box, and over the raisins another is placed. On +top of this there is a fancy paper on which the +name of the packer is stamped.</p> + +<p>In most establishments there are three grades +of raisins, Imperial Clusters, London Layers, +and the loose and imperfect stems.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>Sometimes a second crop of grapes is gathered +a little later in the fall. Of course these do not +dry so well because the days are shorter, it is +cooler, and rains sometimes occur. On this +account they are dipped in lye and then rinsed +in water. The lye cracks the skin, and so the +juice evaporates more quickly. These are called +Valencia raisins. There is not a very good +market for these, so that people do not dip +them so commonly now as they used to.</p> + +<p>We saw the machine where the raisins are +<i>stemmed</i>. They pass from a hopper into a +space between two woven-wire cylinders. The +inner one revolves within the other. In this +way the raisins are broken from the stems. +They are then run through a fanning mill +which cleans them, and they are finally graded +by passing through screens having openings of +different sizes.</p> + +<p>Most of the seedless raisins are made from +seedless grapes, but there are machines for +removing the seeds from the grapes which +contain them.</p> + +<p>The superintendent of the packing house said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> +that nearly all of the raisins that we import +come from Spain, and that they are exported +chiefly from the city of Malaga.</p> + +<p>The purple and other <i>wine grapes</i> are taken +to the wineries and sold by the ton, to be made +into wine.</p> + +<p>There are many other things that I should +like to write about, but my letter is a pretty +long one now, so I will close.</p> + +<div class="signature"> +Your loving friend,<br /> +<span class="smcap">Frank</span>. +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p> +<h2>NUTTING</h2> + + +<p>Have you ever gone into the woods on a +beautiful autumn day? The bright, warm sunshine +floods the earth where the trees are far +apart and sifts down through the branches. All +nature seems to invite you to lie down under +a tree and dream. It was on such a day that +Rip Van Winkle fell into his long sleep.</p> + +<p>How pretty the trees look in their fall suits +of yellow, crimson, red, and brown! What a +rustling is made as your feet tread the carpet +of leaves!</p> + +<p>The breezes pass among the branches and +whisper a message to the bright-colored leaves. +They understand and obey. Singly, in groups, +and in showers, they silently float downward. +By night and by day they fall, but soon this +carpet will be changed for one of white.</p> + +<p>Listen! The leaves are not the only things +that are falling. You can hear the <i>thump</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> +<i>thump</i> of nuts as they drop from their lofty +perches in the walnut and hickory-nut trees.</p> + +<p>Sit down quietly on that log and you will +soon see the busy nut gatherers. With their +tails curled over their backs, they race up and +down the trees, or spring from branch to branch, +carrying their precious burdens to their homes +in the hollows of trunk or limb. Now one sits +up straight, holding a nut between his paws, +and turning it slowly as he cracks and eats +it. If he sees you, he whisks out of sight, or +scolds you from a safe place far above the +ground.</p> + +<p>When the winter winds are whistling through +the leafless trees, and snows are drifting over +the ground, these little nut gatherers feast to +their hearts' content.</p> + +<p>The squirrels do not gather all of the nuts. +Children and grown people enjoy nutting. +When there are not enough nuts on the +ground, the men and boys climb the trees to +shake them off. Then everybody hunts among +the leaves for the treasures.</p> + +<p>Some of the most important nuts are walnuts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> +hickory nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, chestnuts, +Brazil nuts, pecans, and peanuts.</p> + +<p>Many of the hickory nuts fall out of their +coverings bright and clean. Walnuts generally +have to be <i>shucked</i>, and the juice stains the +hands almost black.</p> + +<p>As hazelnuts grow on bushes, they can be +easily picked. They usually drop out of their +burs after there have been a few frosts.</p> + +<p>Many nuts are gathered in the woods, but +in some places the trees are cultivated just as +fruit trees are.</p> + +<p>We usually eat nuts between meals, or as a +dessert. They are not simply dainties, but are +very valuable articles of food. In some countries +the poor people depend upon them for food.</p> + +<p>In almost any city of our country are to be +found the nuts that I have mentioned, with +perhaps several other kinds. These have come +from different states, some from Canada, some +from Brazil, and some from Spain.</p> + +<p>I am sure you will enjoy gathering nuts of +different kinds, so let us set out on a nutting +expedition.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p> +<h2>A WALNUT VACATION</h2> + + +<p>How would you like to have your school close +for two weeks, so that you could gather walnuts? +Every year many of the boys and girls of Southern +California are given a vacation just for this +purpose. It is called the "walnut vacation," +and occurs in the month of October.</p> + +<p>These children do not take their baskets and +go off to the woods where they can romp and +play, watch the squirrels, and gather beautiful +autumn leaves. They gather nuts from the +trees which their parents own, for in Southern +California there are many walnut ranches or +groves. You see the vacation means a vacation +for work instead of for play.</p> + +<p>Walnut trees are set out in rows just as apple +trees are, but their roots and branches extend +to such a distance from the trunks that they +need to be about twice as far apart.</p> + +<p>The walnut harvest, which begins about the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> +first of October, is a busy time. Men, women, +boys, and girls may be seen in the groves, shaking +the nuts from the trees, picking them up, +and putting them into sacks.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p188.jpg" width="450" height="365" alt="Fig. 61.—A Walnut Grove." title="A Walnut Grove" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 61.—A Walnut Grove.</span> +</div> + +<p>The men shake the trees, and there is a +shower of nuts to the earth. Do not go under +the branches now unless you want to be pelted. +A single tree has been known to yield three +hundred pounds of nuts in a season.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>When the trees have been given a good shaking, +there are still some nuts clinging to the +branches. These are obtained by shaking the +limbs separately, by means of long poles, to +the ends of which wire hooks are fastened. As +all of the nuts do not ripen at the same time, +the trees are sometimes gone over two or three +times.</p> + +<p>Now the boys, girls, and women go to work +filling pails and baskets and emptying them +into sacks, for they can do this work as well as +men.</p> + +<p>Usually the nuts drop out of their covering or +<i>shuck</i> when they strike the ground; but if they +do not, the <i>shuck</i> must be removed. Sometimes +the covering is cut off. If you handle the nuts +with your bare hands, they will be stained +almost black, and you will have to let the color +wear off.</p> + +<p>The days are bright and warm, and this sort +of nutting becomes rather tiresome before sundown. +The work must be done and the vacation +is not a very long one, so each does his +part cheerfully.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>When the nuts have been gathered, they are +taken to the shed or place where they are to be +washed. Here they are poured into a large +wire cylinder which revolves in a tank +filled with water. The machine is +turned by a horse walking round +and round, and it both washes +and grades the nuts. The smaller ones pass +through the meshes in the wire and are called +<i>second grade</i>. The larger ones are known as +<i>first grade</i>.</p> + +<div class="figcenter bord" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p190.jpg" width="450" height="373" alt="Fig. 62.—Washing, Drying, and Sacking Walnuts." title="Washing, Drying, and Sacking Walnuts" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 62.—Washing, Drying, and Sacking Walnuts.</span> +</div> + +<p>When the walnuts come out of the washer, +they are spread out on shallow, wooden trays to +dry. Sometimes several thousand trays may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> +seen on one ranch. They are loaded on to a +small car and pushed to the part of the field +where they are wanted.</p> + +<p>If there is no foggy or cloudy weather, they +will dry in about five days, but if there is, it +may take ten.</p> + +<p>After the nuts are thoroughly dried, the trays +are placed on the car and pushed to the <i>bleacher</i>. +This is a large box made of tarred paper. It +is placed over the trays, and a quantity of sulphur +is burned in it. This is simply to whiten +the shells, for they sell for a higher price when +they are bleached. Sometimes the nuts are +whitened by dipping them into a liquid preparation.</p> + +<p>The nuts are now sacked and marked, ready +to ship. Soon after the boys and girls have +finished their "walnut vacation," the nuts are +on their way to the eastern part of the United +States.</p> + +<p>Most of the walnuts raised in California have +soft shells. Some have such thin shells that +they are called "paper shells." The walnuts +that grow in the woods of Indiana, Illinois,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> +and other states have hard shells. They are +dark in color and are called <i>black walnuts</i>. The +trees are quite valuable, as the wood is used +in making furniture.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHESTNUTS</h2> + + +<p>Let us go on a chestnutting expedition to +the southern part of France. We can gather +the nuts in many of the states of our own +country, but the trip to a strange land will be +enjoyed by all.</p> + +<p>The chestnut trees, many of which are very +old, spread their branches to great distances. +The nuts, as you see, are inclosed in a <i>bur</i> or +coat which covers the shell. There are generally +two nuts in each bur.</p> + +<p>When <i>you</i> eat chestnuts, you eat them as a +sort of dainty, not as a regular article of food. +This is not the case in the home of Jean, +the boy who is helping his father fill those +sacks. In his home, as in many homes in +southern Europe, the nuts form one of the +chief articles of daily food.</p> + +<p>In the winter Jean sells the freshly roasted +nuts on a street corner in the city of Lyons.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> +He gets a good many pennies each noon from +workmen and poor people generally, who use +them for their midday meal. He sells ten nuts +for a penny.</p> + +<p>This is not the only way in which they are +eaten. Jean's mother boils them with celery +and mashes them as we do potatoes. The nuts +are also ground into a flour from which bread +is made. They are often used in the dressing +for fowls.</p> + +<p>Confectioners use great quantities of chestnuts. +In Lyons there are establishments where +as many as two hundred persons are employed +in preparing them.</p> + +<p>The nuts are first peeled, and then boiled in +clear water, which removes the thin coating +next the kernel. They are then placed in a +sirup flavored with Mexican vanilla, in which +they remain for about three days. After draining, +they are coated with vanilla or chocolate +and packed in attractive boxes. In this form +they are worth forty-five or fifty cents a +pound.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span></p> +<h2>A BAG OF PEANUTS</h2> + + +<p>Last summer Harry's parents took him with +them on a visit to Virginia. Harry has always +lived in New York City, and the country life +of the South was very interesting to him.</p> + +<p>They visited friends who live on a beautiful +<i>plantation</i>, as the farms in the South are called. +A driveway lined with grand old trees leads +through the flower-studded lawn up to the +retired manor house, whose wide verandas +completely circle it round.</p> + +<p>Beyond the house are the stables where work +horses, driving horses, and saddle horses are kept; +and beyond these is the pretty little boathouse, +standing on the bank of a small river that +winds its way through the plantation.</p> + +<p>The morning after Harry arrived, his friend +Bert asked him if he would like to go across +the river to see the men harvest peanuts.</p> + +<p>Now whenever Harry had wanted peanuts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> +he had always gone to a stand and bought +a sack. He had never thought about where +they came from. He had heard of shaking +nuts from trees, so he supposed that they were +going to the woods.</p> + +<p>He was therefore much surprised when Bert +took him to a field across the river where men +were plowing vines from the ground.</p> + +<p>"Do peanuts grow in the ground?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"Why, of course they do," answered Bert.</p> + +<p>"I thought that nuts grew on trees," said +Harry.</p> + +<p>"Father says that the peanut is not a <i>real</i> +nut," replied his friend. "He says they should +be called <i>ground nuts</i> or <i>ground peas</i>." He +pulled up one of the vines, and the boys threw +themselves down under a tree to examine it.</p> + +<p>When the small clods of soil clinging to +the roots of the plant had been removed, +Harry saw a number of pods which he recognized +as peanuts.</p> + +<p>Opening one of the pods, Bert took out the +kernels.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>"These," said he, "are the <i>seeds</i>, and they +are planted much as other seeds are.</p> + +<p>"Before they are planted the shell must be +removed, but we have to be careful not to break +the thin skin that covers the kernel. If that +be broken, the seed will not grow.</p> + +<p>"The kernels are planted about one foot +apart, in rows that are, as you see, about three +feet apart. Sometimes they are planted by +hand and sometimes by machinery."</p> + +<p>"I wonder if peanuts are raised in the +country around New York," said Harry.</p> + +<p>"No, I think not," replied Bert, "for they +are very easily killed by frost. Great quantities +are raised in North Carolina and in Tennessee. +Father says that the negroes of western Africa +raised them long, long before they were known +in the United States. He says that they are +a very important article of food there, and +that whole villages take part in the planting +and harvesting.</p> + +<p>"After the vines blossom," continued Bert, +"a very strange thing happens."</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked Harry.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>"The flower stalks bend downward and push +themselves right into the soil, and on these +the pods develop. If the stalks do not enter +the earth within a few hours after the flowers +fall, they die."</p> + +<p>Harry now watched the plowing. The plows +were drawn up and down the rows and ran +directly under the vines, lifting them out of +the soil. After they had been plowed out about +two hours, men took them upon pitchforks and +piled them up. Harry noticed that some of the +piles were covered with corn fodder, and asked +why this was. Bert told him that it was to +keep out the rain.</p> + +<p>"What happens to the nuts after the vines +have been piled up?" said Harry.</p> + +<p>"They remain in the piles fifteen or twenty +days, and are then spread out on the ground +or hauled to the barn, where the nuts are +picked off," answered Bert. "Sometimes they +are picked by hand and sometimes by machinery. +Let us go to the lower field; we +have an earlier variety there, and the nuts are +being picked now."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>They found men, women, and children picking +the pods one by one and dropping them +into baskets. These were emptied into sacks. +Harry tried to lift one of these, and was surprised +to find it so heavy. Bert told him that +it weighed about one hundred pounds.</p> + +<p>"Do you burn the vines after the nuts are +picked?" asked Harry.</p> + +<p>"No," said Bert, "they are fed to the cattle. +We call the vines <i>peanut hay</i>."</p> + +<p>Bert explained that his father sold the sacks +of nuts to the factory, where they were cleaned +and sorted.</p> + +<p>The next day the boys went to town and +visited the peanut factory.</p> + +<p>The nuts were first put through a machine +which removed the dirt. They were then polished +and sorted into four grades. The poorest +grade is used in making peanut candy. The +nuts were then sacked, and were ready to be +shipped to the North.</p> + +<p>Harry learned that an oil is made from the +nuts which is used as olive oil is used, and also +that peanut butter is produced from them. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> +found that many men were employed on plantations +all through Virginia and other states of +the South, in raising the peanuts that are sold +on the streets of every city and town in our +country.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p> +<h2>ASSORTED NUTS</h2> + + +<p>After the Thanksgiving dinner had been +eaten, the nuts were passed, and the children +asked Uncle John to tell them something about +a few of them.</p> + +<p>"All right," said he. "You pick out the +ones that you want to know about."</p> + +<p>Frank handed him an almond.</p> + +<p>"This nut," said Uncle John, "came from +sunny Spain. It grew not far from the blue +Mediterranean. Almonds are raised in most +parts of southern Europe and in the northern +part of Africa. Ages ago they grew in the Holy +Land, and are mentioned in the Bible."</p> + +<p>"Do almonds grow in any part of our country?" +asked Helen.</p> + +<p>"I think they grow in California," said +Frank.</p> + +<p>"You are right," said Uncle John. "There +are many almond orchards in the southern part +of the state.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>"An almond tree in full bloom is a beautiful +sight. The blossoms are white, tinted with +pink, and as they appear before the leaves do, +there is nothing to hide them."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/ill-p202.jpg" width="450" height="347" alt="Fig. 63.—Almond Trees in Full Bloom." title="Almond Trees in Full Bloom" /> +<span class="caption">Fig. 63.—Almond Trees in Full Bloom.</span> +</div> + +<p>"Does the nut have a covering?" inquired +Mary.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Uncle John. "When the +nut is ripe, the shuck opens gradually, and +sometimes the nuts fall out.</p> + +<p>"When people have large orchards, they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> +spread pieces of canvas under the trees and then +shake them or beat them by means of long poles.</p> + +<p>"The nuts that do not fall out of the shucks +are obtained by opening the shuck with a knife. +The nuts are then dried, and are ready for +market."</p> + +<p>As soon as Uncle John had finished, Mary +handed him a hazelnut. "Please tell about +this one," said she.</p> + +<p>"I have often gone hazel nutting when I was +a boy," said her uncle. "Hazelnuts grow on +bushes in thickets. They are six or eight feet +high and very slender. Baskets are sometimes +made of them, and I have often used them for +arrows.</p> + +<p>"Sometimes the nuts grow singly, and sometimes +in groups of two or three. A bur covers +the nut, which sticks very closely until it is ripe. +Then the nuts often fall out.</p> + +<p>"After I had gathered the hazelnuts, I used +to spread them out on the roof of the wood house +to dry."</p> + +<p>"Nuts that look just like these are called +filberts," said Helen.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>"Filberts are cultivated hazelnuts," replied +Uncle John; "they are larger than the wild +ones."</p> + +<p>"I would like to know how this nut grows," +said Helen, handing her uncle a black nut +shaped like a triangular prism.</p> + +<p>"This," said Uncle John, "came from Brazil, +and is called a Brazil nut. Do you know where +Brazil is?"</p> + +<p>"It is in the northeastern part of South +America," replied Helen.</p> + +<p>"The great Amazon River is in Brazil, and +it flows through tropical forests," said Mary.</p> + +<p>"Much of our coffee comes from Brazil," said +Frank.</p> + +<p>Uncle John then told the children that +Brazil nuts come from the northern part of +Brazil and from the Orinoco valley.</p> + +<p>Helen asked if they grow as walnuts and +hickory nuts do.</p> + +<p>"No," answered her uncle, "they grow inside +of a great case or shell. There are from +eighteen to twenty-five in one shell, which is +nearly as large as a man's head."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>"How are the nuts got out of the shells?" +asked Mary.</p> + +<p>"When they fall, men break them open and +take out the nuts," replied Uncle John. "Most +of them are sent down the Amazon to the city +of Para and from there shipped to the United +States and other countries."</p> + +<p>None of the children knew where Para is +situated, so they all went to the library to +look at the atlas. After they had located it, +Uncle John told them of his visit to the city +and of the wonderful things which he saw on +a steamboat trip up the Amazon River.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p> +<h2>A STRANGE CONVERSATION</h2> + + +<p>One evening after I had been reading for +some time, I went to the kitchen to get a drink +of water. That part of the house was dark +and quiet, and as I stepped through the doorway, +I heard low, musical voices, apparently in +the pantry. I was very much surprised, you +may be sure, and I kept perfectly still, and +listened.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said a voice, which I could barely +hear, "I am a long way from home indeed, +and sometimes it makes me quite lonely when +I think of it."</p> + +<p>"Tell us about your home, and how you +lived," said another low voice.</p> + +<p>"Well," began the first speaker, "my name +is <i>Pepper</i>. With twenty-five or thirty brothers +and sisters I grew in a cluster on a vine. +We were but a small part of the family, for +there were similar clusters all over our vine.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> +We were about as large as peas, and grew somewhat +after the fashion of currants.</p> + +<p>"All about were other vines to which friends +and relatives were attached. Pepper vines are +always anxious to get to the top, and so some +of these vines climbed trees and some twined +themselves about poles, which men had set in +the ground for this purpose. Our vine was +three or four years old when we appeared on +it."</p> + +<p>"How long did you live on the vine?" asked +a voice that I had not heard before.</p> + +<p>"Only a few months," replied Pepper. "You +see, we had to make room for another set of +berries. Two sets appear each year for twenty +years or more.</p> + +<p>"Under the influence of the tropical sunshine +and the warm rains we grew day by day, +and we were as happy as the butterflies and +birds about us. By and by we began to turn +red. All of this time a <i>hull</i> or coat was forming +on the outside of our bodies.</p> + +<p>"Before we became entirely red, workmen +came to the field, and, by rubbing us between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> +their hands, separated us from the stems to +which we lovingly clung.</p> + +<p>"After having been picked, I was, with +many others, placed upon a mat to dry. These +mats were all about us, each covered with +berries. After being thoroughly dried we were +put into a mill and ground, and I became what +I am now, <i>Black Pepper</i>."</p> + +<p>"Are there other kinds of pepper?" asked +some one.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes," said Pepper, "there is <i>White +Pepper</i>, and <i>Red</i>, or <i>Cayenne Pepper</i>. Some +of my friends were made into White Pepper. +They were soaked in limewater for about two +weeks, and this, of course, softened and wrinkled +their hulls which had always fitted so nicely. +This was bad enough, but it was not the +worst."</p> + +<p>"What happened next?" said several voices.</p> + +<p>"They were then," continued Pepper, "trodden +under the bare feet of dark-skinned men, +and this rubbed off their hulls completely. +After this they were ground as we had been.</p> + +<p>"Cayenne Pepper is not a member of our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> +family at all, although it has the same name. +I have looked up its genealogy, and I find that +it received its name from the city of Cayenne, +in French Guiana, near which it grows. It is in +the form of bell-shaped pods, and grows on low, +bushy plants instead of vines.</p> + +<p>"The pods are green at first, but red when +ripe. No doubt you have seen strings of them +hanging in the grocery store when you were +on the shelves. People sometimes use the +pods as they are, but usually they are dried, +ground, mixed with yeast, and baked into flat +cakes like crackers. When these cakes are +ground, Red, or Cayenne Pepper, is produced. +It is put up in little boxes just as we are.</p> + +<p>"Pepper used to be regarded as a great +luxury," the speaker went on. "Until the +eighteenth century the Portuguese handled almost +all of it. It was not uncommon for rents +to be paid with pepper. If any of you have +read ancient history, you know that when Alaric +took Rome he demanded, among other things, +one thousand pounds of pepper as a ransom.</p> + +<p>"My home was in the East Indies," said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> +Pepper, "but there are members of our family +living in the Philippines, India, Mexico, +the West Indies, and other tropical countries."</p> + +<p>"Your story is a very interesting one," said +a voice, "and now, if you care to hear it, I will +tell something of my life."</p> + +<p>"Yes, do tell us," said several at once.</p> + +<p>"Very well, I will follow the example of +our friend Pepper and introduce myself at once. +I am known as Ginger. I have relatives living +in China, in India, and in the western part of +Africa, but I came from the West Indies. The +Ginger family is not like that of Pepper; it +has no lofty notions."</p> + +<p>Pepper seemed a little inclined to get angry, +so Ginger hastened to say: "I mean that our +vines do not climb trees or poles, but run along +the ground. I was a <i>root</i> and not a <i>fruit</i>."</p> + +<p>"When I was about a year old I, with countless +friends, was dug from the ground. We +were cut from the vines and put into vats of +scalding water."</p> + +<p>"That was <i>dreadful</i>," said Pepper.</p> + +<p>"We were treated in that way to prevent us<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> +from <i>sprouting</i>," continued Ginger. "After +being taken out of the water, we were thoroughly +dried and then ground. We were then +put up in cans and boxes and sold as <i>Black +Ginger</i>. Others were scraped before being +ground, and they were then called <i>White Ginger</i>.</p> + +<p>"We were placed on board a great ship and +finally landed at New York. After remaining +in a large store there for some time, I was +brought to the corner grocery, and so I found +my way to this shelf.</p> + +<p>"I am gradually wasting away, and I shall +not last a great while longer. In my tropical +home I seemed to be of no use to anybody, +while now I am called for frequently by the +cook, and my services seem to be appreciated, +so I am happy."</p> + +<p>"To be of some real use in this world is the +greatest joy of life," remarked a strange voice.</p> + +<p>There was silence for a moment, and then +Ginger said "May we not hear from you, +friend?"</p> + +<p>"Your stories almost make me believe that I +am still in the land of my birth," was the reply.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>There was a peculiar little rattle about the +voice, which I recognized at once as belonging to +Cinnamon.</p> + +<p>"For several years I was rocked to and fro +by gentle tropic breezes or lashed about by +storms. From my perch I could see beautiful +flowers, bright insects, and even serpents in the +thicket at my feet. Birds of brilliant plumage +often perched upon me. My home was on the +island of Ceylon.</p> + +<p>"It is often said that where there is much +bark there is no bite. In my own case that is +not so."</p> + +<p>"I do not understand," said Ginger.</p> + +<p>"Why," said Cinnamon, laughing, "I am <i>all</i> +bark, and I have considerable bite, as those who +have tasted me know.</p> + +<p>"I was taken from one of the smaller limbs +of a cinnamon tree. I was slipped within a +larger piece of bark, for we each rolled up when +stripped from the limbs. A still larger piece +was slipped over us and so on until quite a +bundle had been formed. Some were quite +short, and some were three feet in length.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>STORIES OF CALIFORNIA</h2> + +<p class="center">BY</p> + +<h3>ELLA M. SEXTON</h3> + +<p class="center"><i>With many illustrations</i><br /><br /></p> +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> + +<p class="center">Cloth 16mo $1.00 net<br /> +</p> + +<p>"As a concise and interesting history of California, it +deserves a place in our schools and libraries, so that every +child may read it."—<i>Pacific Churchman.</i></p> + +<p>"This volume comprises some excellent contributions to +history, as it certainly comprises some notable contributions +to romance. The little book is one which will appeal, +therefore, to readers old and young. Several of the stories +explain in some degree the remarkable physical characteristics +of California, but the writer's chief aim has been to +unfold to children and their parents the life of bygone +days."—<i>The Outlook.</i></p> +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<p class="center"> +<big>THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</big><br /> +64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK<br /> +BOSTON CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO ATLANTA<br /> +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p> +<h2>Tarr and McMurry's Geographies</h2> + +<p class="center">A New Series of Geographies in Two, Three, or Five Volumes<br /> + +<big>By RALPH S. TARR, B.S., F.G.S.A.</big><br /> +<span class="smcap">Cornell University</span><br /> +<br /> +AND<br /> +<br /> +<big>FRANK M. McMURRY, Ph.D.</big><br /> +<span class="smcap">Teachers College, Columbia University</span><br /> +</p> +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<p class="center">TWO BOOK SERIES</p> + + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="ad1"> +<tr><td align="left">Introductory Geography</td><td align="right">60 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Complete Geography</td><td align="right">$1.00</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p class="center">THE THREE BOOK SERIES</p> + + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="ad2"> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">First Book</span> (4th and 5th years) Home Geography and the Earth as a Whole</td><td align="right">60 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Second Book</span> (6th year) North America</td><td align="right">75 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Third Book</span> (7th year) Europe and Other Continents</td><td align="right">75 cents</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p class="center">THE FIVE BOOK SERIES</p> + + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="ad3"> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">First Part</span> (4th year) Home Geography</td><td align="right">40 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Second Part</span> (5th year) The Earth as a Whole</td><td align="right">40 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Third Part</span> (6th year) North America</td><td align="right">75 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Fourth Part</span> (7th year) Europe, South America, etc.</td><td align="right">50 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Fifth Part</span> (8th year) Asia and Africa, with Review of North America (with State Supplement)</td><td align="right">50 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Without Supplement</span></td><td align="right">40 cents</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align="left">Home Geography, Greater New York Edition</td><td align="right">50 cents net</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Teachers' Manual of Method in Geography. By <span class="smcap">Charles A. McMurry</span></td><td align="right">40 cents net</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<p>To meet the requirements of some courses of study, the section from the Third +Book, treating of South America, is bound up with the Second Book, thus bringing +North America and South America together in one volume.</p> + +<p>The following Supplementary Volumes have also been prepared, and may be +had separately or bound together with the Third Book of the Three Book Series, +or the Fifth Part of the Five Book Series:</p> + +<p class="center">SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUMES</p> + + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align="left">New York State</td><td align="right">30 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The New England States</td><td align="right">30 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Utah</td><td align="right">40 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">California</td><td align="right">30 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Ohio</td><td align="right">30 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Illinois</td><td align="right">30 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">New Jersey</td><td align="right">30 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Kansas</td><td align="right">30 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Virginia</td><td align="right">30 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Pennsylvania</td><td align="right">30 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Tennessee</td><td align="right">30 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Louisiana</td><td align="right">30 cents</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Texas</td><td align="right">35 cents</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>When ordering, be careful to specify the Book or Part and the Series desired, +and whether with or without the State Supplement.</p> + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> + +<p class="center"> +<big>THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</big><br /> +64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK<br /> +BOSTON CHICAGO ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO<br /> +</p> + + +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215"> </a></span></p> +<h2>Tarr and McMurry's Geographies</h2> + +<p class="center"><big>COMMENTS</big></p> + +<p class="hanging"><b>North Plainfield, N.J.</b>—"I think it the best Geography that I have +seen."—<span class="smcap">H. J. Wightman</span>, <i>Superintendent</i>.</p> + +<p class="hanging"><b>Boston, Mass.</b>—"I have been teaching the subject in the Boston Normal +School for over twenty years, and Book I is the book I have +been looking for for the last ten years. It comes nearer to what I +have been working for than anything in the geography line that I +have yet seen. I congratulate you on the good work."—<span class="smcap">Miss L. T. Moses</span>, <i>Normal School</i>.</p> + +<p class="hanging"><b>Detroit, Mich.</b>—"I am much pleased with it and have had enthusiastic +praise for it from all the teachers to whom I have shown it. It +seems to me to be scientific, artistic, and convenient to a marked +degree. The maps are a perfect joy to any teacher who has been +using the complicated affairs given in most books of the kind."—<span class="smcap">Agnes McRae</span>.</p> + +<p class="hanging"><b>De Kalb, Ill.</b>—"I have just finished examining the first book of Tarr +and McMurry's Geographies. I have read the book with care +from cover to cover. To say that I am pleased with it is expressing +it mildly. It seems to me just what a geography should be. +It is correctly conceived and admirably executed. The subject is +approached from the right direction and is developed in the right +proportions. And those maps—how could they be any better? +Surely authors and publishers have achieved a triumph in textbook +making. I shall watch with interest for the appearance of +the other two volumes."—Professor <span class="smcap">Edward C. Page</span>, <i>Northern +Illinois State Normal School</i>.</p> + +<p class="hanging"><b>Asbury Park, N.J.</b>—"I do not hesitate at all to say that I think the +Tarr and McMurry's Geography the best in the market." +—<span class="smcap">F. S. Shepard</span>, <i>Superintendent of Schools</i>.</p> + +<p class="hanging"><b>Ithaca, N.Y.</b>—"I am immensely pleased with Tarr and McMurry's +Geography."—<span class="smcap">Charles De Garmo</span>, <i>Professor of Pedagogy, +Cornell University</i>.</p> +<hr style="width: 15%;" /> +<p class="center"> +<big>THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</big><br /> +64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK<br /> +BOSTON CHICAGO ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO<br /> +</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's How We are Fed, by James Franklin Chamberlain + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW WE ARE FED *** + +***** This file should be named 38762-h.htm or 38762-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/7/6/38762/ + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Fritz Ohrenschall, Chuck Greif, +Julia Neufeld and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Gutenberg EBook of How We are Fed, by James Franklin Chamberlain + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: How We are Fed + A Geographical Reader + +Author: James Franklin Chamberlain + +Release Date: February 5, 2012 [EBook #38762] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW WE ARE FED *** + + + + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Fritz Ohrenschall, Chuck Greif, +Julia Neufeld and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +Transcriber's note: + +Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + +Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). + +Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals. + + + + +[Illustration: Publisher's Mark] + + _HOME AND WORLD SERIES_ + + + HOW WE ARE FED + + A GEOGRAPHICAL READER + + BY + + JAMES FRANKLIN CHAMBERLAIN, ED.B., S.B. + DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL + LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA + + New York + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. + 1912 + + _All rights reserved_ + + COPYRIGHT, 1903, + BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. + + Set up, electrotyped, and published June, 1903. Reprinted + January, June, August, 1904: July, 1905; January, 1906; + August, December, 1907; September, 1909; August, 1910; + August, 1911; June, 1912. + + + Norwood Press + J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Co. + Norwood, Mass., U. S. A. + + + + +PREFACE + + +In the ordinary course of events, most individuals take some part in the +manifold industries which engage the mind and the hand of man, by which +alone our present-day civilization can be maintained. These great world +activities touch the daily life of _every_ member of society, whether +child or adult, worker or idler. + +A chain of mutual dependence, too often unrecognized, binds together the +members of the human family, whether they belong to the same community +or dwell on opposite sides of the earth. The links of this chain are +made up of the articles which constitute our daily food, our clothing, +homes, fuel, light, our means of communication and transportation, and +only by continuous cooeperation are they kept together. + +The highest motive in education is to present the conditions which will +lead to the most complete living; to build up the best possible members +of society; to develop character. An individual who does not understand +the life of which he finds himself a part, cannot be in full sympathy +with its conditions and hence cannot be of the most service to himself +or to others. Only to the extent that education and life follow the same +general course, can each be truly successful. Far too little is done in +our schools to acquaint children with their relations to the great +industrial and social organization of which they are members. Even grown +persons have, as a rule, a very indefinite knowledge of these relations. + +It is a recognized principle that our knowledge of geography has its +foundation in our knowledge of the home. The natural connecting link +between the immediate surroundings and the outside world is the _present +daily life of the home_. Through the industries seen in the community, +the commodities in general use, and the history of their creation and +supply, the pupil acquires an insight into the life about him as well as +into that of other parts of the world. He also realizes the great truth +that the world and its people are in intimate touch with _him_. In this +way he is led back and forth along the routes which civilization has +followed in its progress, which it also follows to-day, as mankind clasp +hands across oceans and continents. Thus the remote and abstract become +immediate and concrete. Facts are seen in a setting of reason, and a +logical and interesting basis for the study of physical, climatic, and +human conditions is furnished. + +This study begins with the commodities in constant use and finally +encompasses the whole world, but always with the home as the base of +operations. It will create a knowledge of the interdependence of +individuals, communities, and nations, and a genuine respect for the +work of the hands and for the worker. The importance of this respect is +not likely to be overestimated. Without it a true democracy cannot long +exist. + +Reading should not only serve for the acquisition and the expression of +the thought contained in the printed page; it should, in addition, +stimulate to _new_ thought--to independent power in reasoning. On this +account questions are inserted which the pupil is left to answer. These +are suggestive of a much larger number, which should be worked out by +the teacher. Too many of the questions found in books do not "stimulate +thought" or "independent power in reasoning." They are purely +informatory and not at all formative. + +No attempt has been made to treat every article of food. Those in most +general use, as well as those which will best serve to develop a +knowledge of geographical conditions and of man's relation to man, have +been chosen. + +A given industry is pursued in somewhat different ways in different +places. It has not been thought wise to describe each modification in +these pages. For example, the method of handling wheat in California is +different from that employed in Minnesota. The value of the work will be +increased if the teacher will bring out these points. + +_All places mentioned should he definitely located_, both as to position +on the map or globe and with reference to the home. When developed from +the standpoint of direct, personal interest, a knowledge of the +location of places as well as of other facts mentioned is most likely to +be retained. + +The illustrations used have been very carefully selected for their +_teaching value_. They give a clearness to mental pictures which can be +derived only through observation of that which the illustrations +symbolize. Much experience in the use of geographical illustrations has +shown that pupils need to be directed in their examination of them. To +secure the best results they must be made the centers of +thought-developing questions. + +Thanks are due the Pillsbury-Washburn Flour Mills Company of +Minneapolis, the Swift Packing Company of Chicago, the Walter Baker +Company of Dorchester, the United Fruit Company of New Orleans, and Dr. +Charles U. Shepard of Pinehurst Plantation, for the excellent +illustrations furnished by them. + + JAMES FRANKLIN CHAMBERLAIN. + +STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, + LOS ANGELES, March, 1903. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + THE PAST AND THE PRESENT 1 + + THE STORY OF A LOAF OF BREAD 7 + + HOW OUR MEAT IS SUPPLIED 18 + + MARKET GARDENING 32 + + DAIRY PRODUCTS 41 + + BUTTER MAKING 44 + + CHEESE 50 + + THE FISHING INDUSTRY 54 + + OYSTER FARMING 64 + + A RICE FIELD 70 + + HOW SUGAR IS MADE 77 + + BEET SUGAR 84 + + MAPLE SUGAR 87 + + WHERE SALT COMES FROM 91 + + MACARONI AND VERMICELLI 99 + + ON A COFFEE PLANTATION 104 + + THE TEA GARDENS OF CHINA 113 + + A CUP OF COCOA 120 + + A CRANBERRY BOG 131 + + THE COCOANUT ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC 139 + + A BUNCH OF BANANAS 146 + + HOW DATES GROW 155 + + THE ORANGE GROVES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 165 + + A VISIT TO A VINEYARD 174 + + NUTTING 184 + + A WALNUT VACATION 187 + + CHESTNUTS 193 + + A BAG OF PEANUTS 195 + + ASSORTED NUTS 201 + + A STRANGE CONVERSATION 206 + + + + +HOW WE ARE FED + + + + +THE PAST AND THE PRESENT + + +Long, long ago people did not live as we do to-day. Their homes were +very different from ours, for they were made of the skins of wild +animals, of the limbs and bark of trees, or of tall grasses. There were +no stoves, chairs, tables, or beds in their houses. Instead of lamps, +gas, or electricity, a fire on the dirt floor or in front of the house, +furnished the light. + +The clothing of these people was as simple as their homes. It was made +of skins and furs in cold countries and in warm countries of braided +grasses and the fibers of certain plants. You may be sure that tailors +and dressmakers were not consulted as to the latest styles, for the +styles did not change and there were neither tailors nor dressmakers to +talk to. Each family made its own clothing, and there was not a sewing +machine to be found. + +How would you like to use a bone for a needle? Sometimes, instead of +sharpened bones, long thorns were used. The sinews of the deer, or of +some other animal, usually furnished the thread. + +When the people were in need of food, they went into the forest and +gathered roots, nuts, and fruits. Wild animals were killed by means of +such weapons as bows and arrows and spears, and fish were caught in the +lakes and streams. + +The food was not cooked as ours is; for, as I have told you, there were +no stoves. Sometimes the meat was broiled over the fire, sometimes baked +in a hole filled with ashes and coals, but it was often eaten raw. It +was not easy to have a variety of food, and there were times when it was +very difficult to obtain anything. When food was abundant, the people +feasted, and when it was scarce, they were often hungry. How would you +like to wait for your breakfast while your father went to the woods or +to the river in search of something to eat? + +When the meals were prepared, they were not neatly served as yours are, +but each person took his portion and sat on the ground while he ate it. + +[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Indians at Dinner.] + +All of this seems very strange to you, I know. If you live in the city, +you are accustomed to seeing the butcher, the baker, the milkman, and +the grocer call every day. There are stores where people can buy +whatever they want to eat, drink, or wear. You wonder how any one could +live in such a way as I have described, but there _are_ people who live +in this fashion to-day, although you have never seen any of them. They +are _uncivilized_. Where do you think they are to be found? When people +live in this way, it takes most of their time to provide themselves with +the things that are necessary to life. They have little opportunity to +improve their ways of living and of thinking. + +Civilized people divide their work. Some provide food, some make +clothing, some build houses, and some furnish fuel. Each one does his or +her part. In this way, you see, they learn to do their work better and +better, because each gives much time and thought to one kind of work. +This plan gives each one time to study and to learn something about the +world and its people. Think how much better our homes, our clothing, and +our food are, than are those of uncivilized people, and how many other +advantages we have. + +[Illustration: FIG. 2.--White People at Dinner.] + +It is only possible to live as we do, when each one works for others as +well as for himself. If any one fails to do his part, the rest must +suffer until some one is found to take his place. It is to prepare +yourself to do _your part_ in some useful work for others, that you are +going to school day by day. You do not now know just what that work is +to be, but I want you to remember that _all_ honest work is noble. It is +not so important _what work_ you do, as it is that you should do your +work _well_. No matter what your work may be, you can carry sunshine in +your face and helpfulness in your heart. If you do this, you will be +known and loved. Hard work, coarse clothes, and lack of money can never +hide these things, neither will the finest of clothing cover a selfish +or untruthful nature. + +Let us look at this dinner table loaded with good things to eat and +drink. There are bread, butter, meat, vegetables, milk, tea, fruits, and +other things. You see at once that many persons must have worked to +provide this food, for only a small part of the work was done in the +kitchen. If these things could but speak, they might tell you stories as +wonderful as fairy tales. They have been gathered here from the fertile +plains of the West, from the sunny South, from Brazil, from the islands +of the Pacific Ocean, from far-off China, and even from the waters of +the sea. + + + + +THE STORY OF A LOAF OF BREAD + + +In the dark granary of a farmer's barn in North Dakota once lived a +modest family of grains of wheat. The bright, warm days of the summer +time, during which they had been placed in this dark room, soon grew +shorter and cooler. The swallows, whose mud nests were in the rafters +overhead, told the wheat brothers that winter was coming, and then flew +away to the balmy southland. + +Soon biting winds and blinding snow came sweeping over the level land. +Sometimes the farmhouse was almost hidden under the drifts, and the +farmer had to shovel out a path to the barn, so that he could feed the +horses and cattle. By and by the days grew warmer, the snow disappeared, +and the birds returned one by one. The farmer and his men got out their +plows and harrows, and prepared the soil for the seeds soon to be +planted. + +The wheat was now shoveled into sacks and taken to the fields. Here it +was placed in great machines drawn by horses, which scattered it evenly +over the land and at the same time covered it with soft soil. The men +whistled and sang as they worked, and blackbirds, bluebirds, and larks +flew back and forth, singing and searching for bugs and worms, as well +as for the shining kernels of wheat. + +The wheat was not content to remain underground, but kept trying to push +itself out into the world. One night there came a warm shower, and the +next morning what looked like tiny, green blades of grass appeared all +over the field. + +All through the spring and summer the wheat kept growing, and finally +there appeared at the ends of the stalks clusters of kernels, just like +those which the farmer had planted. Some of these kernels had produced +families of twenty or thirty. These clusters are called _heads_. + +[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Harvesting Wheat in Southern California.] + +As the south wind passed over the field it brought the wheat messages +from Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and other states, telling of +relatives who were already turning golden in the summer sunshine. One +day some of the kernels thought they heard a voice from California. Do +you think they did? + +The grain in some of the fields was called _winter wheat_. This was +because the grain had been sown the autumn before, and had remained in +the ground all winter, covered by a blanket of snow. Why was it sown in +the fall? The wheat of which I am telling you was called by the farmer +_spring wheat_. + +Soon machines, each drawn by several horses, appeared. They cut the +waving grain, and bound it up in bundles called _sheaves_. These were +set up in double rows to dry, and afterward put into another machine +which separated the kernels from the stalks, which were now called +_straw_. This work the farmer calls _threshing_. See if you can find out +how this used to be done. + +After threshing, the wheat was put into sacks and taken to the nearest +railroad station. Freight cars then carried it across the level prairies +to the beautiful city of Minneapolis, built beside the Falls of Saint +Anthony. What river is this city on? Of what use are the falls? + +There are tall buildings called _elevators_ here in which the wheat was +stored for a time. Before being put into the elevators it was examined +and _graded_. As there was wheat from many farms it could not be kept +separate, so each farmer was told how much he had, and how it graded. + +[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Threshing Wheat in Southern California.] + +Some time after this the wheat was taken to one of the great mills to be +ground into flour. The largest of these mills manufactures about +fifteen thousand barrels of flour every day. This is the largest flour +mill in the world. + +When the kernels reached the mill, they were put into machines called +_separators_, to be separated from all companions such as grass seed, +mustard seed, and wild buckwheat. They were then placed in an iron box +in which brushes were revolving rapidly, and were _scoured_ to free them +from fuzz and dirt. Those that were very dirty were washed. + +[Illustration: FIG. 5.--The Flour Mills in Minneapolis.] + +[Illustration: FIG. 6.--The Largest Flour Mill in the World.] + +The kernels were _steamed_, in order that the coating, called _bran_, +might not break into small pieces. This is called _tempering_. The +kernels now thought that their trials were over, but they were mistaken. +Soon they found themselves being _crushed_ between rollers. After they +came out they were _sifted_, and then run between other rollers. This +was repeated six times, and each time the flour was a little finer, for +the rollers were closer together. The flour was then run through tubes +of flannel. These took out whatever dust it contained. It was then +ground still finer. The flour was then put into sacks or barrels, which +were marked for shipment to other parts of the country. + +Only the wheat intended for the very best grade of flour is treated as +carefully as this was. + +What industry does the use of barrels bring in? + +[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Grinding Wheat.] + +From the mills the flour was sent to many parts of the land to supply +stores, bakeries, hotels, and homes. Some of it found its way to the +bakery near your home. The bakers, in their clean suits of white, +weighed the flour which they were going to use, and then added a +certain amount of water to it. Some yeast and salt were added also. This +mixture they called _dough_. You have seen your mother mix or _knead_ +dough, I am sure. The bakers did not do the kneading with their hands, +but by means of machinery made for this purpose. + +[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Bolting Flour.] + +When the dough had been thoroughly kneaded it was left to _rise_. It is +the yeast that causes the rising. This makes the bread light and spongy. +It was then cut into loaves and placed in the oven. The ovens in the +bakery are very much larger than those in your kitchen stove, for many +loaves are baked at once. When a nice shade of brown appeared on the +loaves, the bakers took them out of the oven by means of long shovels. +Soon the delivery wagons came and were loaded with the fresh bread to be +delivered to stores and homes. This loaf was just left at the door and +is still warm. + +So, you see, a loaf of bread has quite a history. I have told you the +life story of this one from the time of its grandparents, who were +raised on the plains of North Dakota. Would it not be interesting to see +each of the people who have had something to do with its production, and +to make the journey which the wheat and the flour made? You can do both +in your thoughts. + + + + +HOW OUR MEAT IS SUPPLIED + + +Ramon lived in a plain, one-story house, built in the shade of some +cottonwood trees that fringed each side of a small river in the eastern +part of Colorado. A wide veranda extended entirely around the house, but +there were very few flowers and no lawn. I am afraid you would not think +it a very pleasant place for a home. + +Not far from the _ranch house_, as it was called, were the barn and the +_corrals_. A corral is a yard with a strong, high fence about it, in +which cattle or horses may be placed. On the bottom land beside the +stream, there was a corn and an alfalfa patch, besides one containing +some potatoes and garden vegetables. + +During most of the year the stream was quite shallow, and flowed quietly +over its bed, but when heavy rains occurred it rose rapidly, spreading +over much of the bottom land and carrying so much clay with it that it +was almost the color of coffee. + +Except along the river, not a tree was in sight from Ramon's home, and +it was many miles to the nearest house. For hundreds of miles both north +and south, there stretched a vast plain. Little was to be seen but sand, +grass, and sagebrush. I had almost forgotten the prairie dogs, which +scamper across the plain or sit up straight and motionless on a little +mound of sand beside their burrows. They watch you closely, not moving +unless they regard you as a dangerous creature, when, quick as a flash, +they disappear. + +The rainfall is very slight in this part of the country, being less than +twenty inches a year. On this account there is little attention paid to +farming, but instead, the settlers own great herds of cattle as well as +many horses. Ramon's father is one of the _cattlemen_ of Colorado. He +owns more than ten thousand head of cattle, and some of the cattlemen +own twice that number. Of course such great herds of cattle must have +much land to graze on. Some of the land is owned by the government and +any one may use it. Everywhere fences are far apart. These great +pastures are called _ranges_. + +Ramon's life is not much like yours. His home is far from schools, +churches, stores, or railroads. He seldom sees strangers, but he enjoys +long rides on his own pony, _Prince_. Sometimes he goes with his father +and at other times he takes a gallop with one of the "cowboys" who herd +the cattle. + +The "cowboys" almost live in the saddle. They are out in all kinds of +weather and are not boys at all, but strong, hardy men. They wear +broad-brimmed hats, and carry long ropes called lassos or _lariats_, +with which they catch the cattle. + +Where there are so many herds they sometimes get mixed up. On this +account each cattleman marks or _brands_ his animals. These brands may +be the initial letter of the owner's name, or they may be in the form of +a horseshoe, a cross, a circle, or a crescent. + +Each spring and fall the cowboys gather the cattle together. This is +called "rounding up" the cattle. They are then counted and the calves +born since the last "round up" are branded. In the fall, in addition to +this work, animals are selected for the market. Why is the fall a better +time for this than the spring? + +[Illustration: FIG. 9.--Branding Cattle.--Point to the Lariats.] + +The cowboys, mounted upon their swift, strong ponies, single out the +animals that have never been branded, and swinging their lassos over +their heads, they throw them with such skill that the loop settles over +the head or about the leg of the one wanted. As soon as the rope +tightens, the pony braces its forefeet firmly and the animal is finally +thrown to the ground. It is then branded with a hot iron and allowed to +go. Ramon used to feel very sorry for them until his father explained +that it hurt them very little, for only the skin was burned. + +Sometimes the cattle selected to be sold, are not quite fat enough for +the market. They are then taken farther east into the _corn belt_ and +fed for a time. + +When they are shipped directly from the range to the market, they are +driven to the nearest railroad and put into yards beside the track. They +are then made to walk up an incline with high railings ending at the +open doors of a cattle car. The animals are arranged so that the first +faces one side of the car, the second the other, and so on. This is done +so that the cattle cannot hook one another, and also that they may be +fed and watered on the way from a long iron trough which is fastened to +each side of the car. + +The great cattle markets of the United States are Omaha, Kansas City, +and Chicago. Find these cities. + +One day when Ramon was about fourteen years old, his father told him +that he was going to take a train load of cattle to Chicago and that he +might go with him. It was a happy time for Ramon, you may be sure, for +he was very anxious to see some of the wonderful sights his father had +told him about. + +At last the day when they were to start on their journey arrived. The +afternoon before, the cowboys had driven the cattle to the railroad so +as to load them early in the morning. Soon after breakfast Ramon kissed +his mother and his little sister good-by, and he and his father rode off +across the level plain. + +Finding the cattle already loaded in the cars, Ramon and his father were +soon seated in the _caboose_, rolling over the miles of railroad which +connected them with Chicago. Whenever the train stopped for a few +minutes, they took a long stick and went from car to car making the +cattle that had lain down get up, so that they might not be injured by +the others. + +When bedtime came, they made their beds on the benches along each side +of the caboose, which are covered with cushions. As they had brought +blankets with them, they were fairly comfortable. + +Ramon did not sleep very soundly the first night. The engine shrieked +from time to time, and the car rocked and jolted so that he was afraid +of falling from his bed. + +The next day they reached a part of the country where great cornfields +waved in the breeze. The leaves had already turned brown, and golden +ears of grain peeped out from the ends of the husks. There were stubble +fields, too, where wheat and oats had been harvested. + +[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Bird's Eye View of Union Stock Yards, Chicago.] + +The country became more thickly settled as they went on, and the towns +were nearer together. Streams were more common, and grass and timber +more abundant. The young traveler wondered why this was so. Can you +tell? + +Early in the morning of the fourth day the train reached Chicago. After +much switching and backing the cars were run into the Union Stock Yards, +and the cattle were unloaded. + +Ramon was thoroughly bewildered by what he saw and heard. Men were +shouting and cracking whips; others were riding up and down the alleys +that separate the yards; dogs were barking and turning the animals this +way and that, and gates were swinging back and forth. + +The cattle were weighed and examined to see if they had any disease, and +were then placed in charge of a _commission merchant_ to be sold. Buyers +come to the yards and bargain with these commission merchants. When an +unusually large number of cattle come in, the prices are likely to fall; +when few arrive, the prices rise. + +When the cattle had been yarded, Ramon's father said that they would go +and have breakfast. In the afternoon they visited the "yards," and the +slaughter and packing houses. The "yards" cover about a square mile of +territory. They are divided into countless pens or small yards, +containing sheds, feeding racks, and watering troughs. + +Ramon asked how many cattle were unloaded in these yards daily. His +father handed him a copy of the _Chicago Live Stock World_, and at the +top of the first column he read that on the day previous there had been +received 18,500 cattle, 35,000 hogs, and 18,000 sheep. He was told that +sometimes the receipts are much larger than this and sometimes not so +large. + +[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Dressing Beef.] + +They followed the bodies of the cattle from the slaughterhouses where +they are dressed, into the cooling rooms. These are simply great +refrigerators. Wagons come to the cooling rooms and haul loads of the +meat to butcher shops, hotels, and depots. Within a few hours it finds +its way to smaller cities and towns in all directions. A great deal of +meat is shipped even to Europe. Why does not Europe produce its own +meat? + +[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Cooling Beef.] + +When the meat has thoroughly hardened in the cooling rooms, it is sent +to the curing rooms, where it is cut up and packed. Each person here +does his particular work from morning until night. + +Ramon learned, to his surprise, that every part of the animal is used. +Hair, hide, horns, hoofs, teeth, bones, and even blood, are made use of. + +[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Splitting Backbone of Hogs.] + +Most of the hogs which enter the great meat-packing cities are raised in +the corn belt. + +The sheep need much pasturage, and so the largest flocks are found in +the Western and Southwestern states. A single herder may take care of +several thousand sheep. His faithful companions and helpers are +intelligent shepherd dogs. After a great flock of sheep has fed on an +area, hardly a green thing is left. The people in the part of the West +where there is little rainfall, object to the pasturing of sheep around +the head waters of streams, because when the vegetation is removed the +water runs off too quickly. + +[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Curing Pork in Salt.] + +In the evening our friends watched the men, women, and children march +out of the "yards." They were told that not less than thirty-five +thousand persons were employed in the various establishments. There is +but one city in Colorado which contains so many people. + +[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Chopping Sausage Meat.] + +As they sat at breakfast next morning, Ramon wondered how many of the +people of Chicago were eating steaks from cattle which he had seen on +his father's ranch. The thought was a new one to him. His trip had shown +him that the cattlemen who lived and worked on those far-away plains +were doing their part in supplying people all over our country with +meat. Their lonely life, with all of its disadvantages, now had a new +meaning for him, and he went back to his Western home content with it, +yet very glad to have had this glimpse of another side of life. + +[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Packing Poultry.] + + + + +MARKET GARDENING + + +Think of the immense quantities of fruits and vegetables that are used +daily on the tables of a great city such as New York or Chicago. As we +travel up and down the streets of any great city, we see rows of +buildings, sometimes built in solid blocks and sometimes a little +distance apart. Some have trees and small lawns in front of them; others +are without even this touch of nature. Nowhere, except in the outskirts, +do we find gardens. + +_These people depend upon others to furnish them with their vegetable +food._ + +Now let us make some excursions into the region surrounding one of these +cities. For miles and miles we see on every hand _truck farms_ or +_market gardens_. The main business of those who live in these districts +is to furnish food for the people of the city, so that the latter may +devote their time to their various occupations. + +We see growing potatoes, cabbages, tomatoes, beans, peas, squashes, +turnips, onions, sweet corn, celery, melons, and many other things. +Usually all of these will be found in one garden, but sometimes the +farmer raises only a few kinds, or perhaps but one. + +Market gardening is very common in Germany, Holland, Italy, China, and +in other densely populated countries. Therefore we often find people who +have come from these countries to America engaged in this business. +Chinese gardeners are seldom seen in the East, but on the Pacific coast +they raise most of the vegetables used in the cities and towns. + +In the early spring, before the ground is warm enough to make seeds +grow, the gardener starts his plants in "hotbeds." These are long wooden +boxes, or frames, without bottoms, covered with glass. They are usually +placed on the south side of some building or high fence. The glass +covers allow the warm sunshine to enter the "beds" freely, but they +prevent the rapid escape of the heat. You see now why they are called +"hotbeds." They are like small greenhouses. + +A little later in the spring the fields are thoroughly cultivated and +the plants transplanted. Of course only the vegetables desired for the +early market are started in this way. What advantage is there in having +the vegetables ready for the market very early in the season? + +Vegetable farming is not easy work, although it is a pleasure to see +things grow day by day as you care for them, and as nature supplies her +sunshine and her rain. The fields must be cultivated almost constantly, +to keep the soil loose, as well as to remove the weeds. Much of the +weeding has to be done by hand, which is tedious work. + +We want our vegetables fresh every morning; and as the truck farms are +at some distance from the city, the farmer must load up his wagon the +night before. Of course much produce is sent to the cities on trains, +but where farmers live near enough to deliver it themselves, their crops +are more profitable to them. Why? + +[Illustration: FIG. 17.--A Market Scene.] + +Everything is put in readiness before dark; and while others are still +in bed, the farmer mounts his wagon to start toward the sleeping city. I +have often ridden ten or fifteen miles on such a load before the stars +faded away. + +It is a novel experience. At first the night seems strangely still, but +soon you are able to distinguish many voices coming from various places. +The frogs croak from the ponds by the roadside; crickets and locusts +send their shrill notes from grass and tree; a night owl startles you by +his dismal hoot; the lamps of the fireflies gleam, then disappear only +to shine out again a little farther on. + +At last a faint glow appears in the eastern sky, which grows brighter +and brighter until the shining face of the sun is pushed above the +horizon. Do you not think such a ride would be more enjoyable than a +street car ride? + +In the cities there are market places where produce from the country is +taken. In Chicago there is a very busy street where much of the buying +and selling is done. Study the picture carefully. Here the buyers from +hotels, restaurants, and stores, as well as the men who wish to peddle +the produce from house to house, go for their daily supplies. There are +also commission merchants whose stores are on this street. They sell the +produce for those who ship it to the city by train. + +We go to the stores and get what we want each day, or the peddlers bring +it to the door. You see how necessary it is to have special workers to +supply us with the different kinds of food. We consider it very +important that we should have vegetables and fruits fresh daily. The +work of supplying us with this food is very important. Remember that +those who till the soil are entitled to as great respect as are those +who do not work with their hands. Contact with nature makes men and +women better, and many of the noblest souls that the world has known +have lived in the country and plowed, planted, and harvested the +products of the soil. + +[Illustration: Market Scene. Chicago.] + +[Illustration: Market Scene. New York.] + + + + +DAIRY PRODUCTS + + +Uncle Ben lives on a dairy farm in the western part of New York State. +It is a beautiful _rolling_ country with cultivated fields, woodland, +and pastures, and here and there a sparkling stream winding its way +through the lowlands. The farmhouses are large and well built, and are +surrounded by grand old maple, beech, and elm trees. Most of the barns +are painted red with white trimmings. + +There are many dairy farms in the neighborhood. Some of the farmers send +their milk to the towns to be used directly, some sell it to creameries, +and some to cheese factories. + +Last summer I spent my vacation on Uncle Ben's farm, and Cousin Frank +and I had happy times, you may be sure. + +Every day, just before sundown, we went to the pasture for the cows. +There were about twenty-five of them, and they always seemed perfectly +contented after the long day of feasting on rich grass and clover. + +After we drove them into the barnyard Uncle Ben helped us fasten them in +their _stanchions_ in the barn. Then the men brought the bright pails +and cans to begin milking. Cousin Frank and I always helped, although he +can milk much faster than I. Some of the cows gave but two or three +quarts, while others gave as many gallons. + +We strained the milk into cans holding eight gallons each, and put them +into tanks of water to cool. After milking was finished we turned the +cattle into the barnyard for the night. + +In the morning we commenced milking about sunrise. After breakfast the +cans were loaded into a spring wagon and Uncle Ben drove to the depot. +Here they were put on the "milk train," which took them to the city. + +Many other people sent milk on this same train. It was sent to bakeries, +to hotels and restaurants, and to milkmen, who delivered it from house +to house. Usually the milkmen put the milk into pint or quart bottles +for people who like to have it in that form. Uncle Ben told us that +much of the milk that is sent to New York City is bottled before it is +sent. The bottling is done by machinery. He also told us that, because +of the great importance of having pure milk, there are, in all cities, +inspectors who carefully examine the milk and report to the Board of +Health. The cows also are inspected, and if any are sick, they are +usually killed. + +Each evening some one drove to the depot again to get empty cans which +the milk train had brought home. These were always carefully washed in +hot water before being used again. + + + + +BUTTER MAKING + + +One day, after I had been on the farm about a week, Uncle Ben took Frank +and me to the _creamery_. A creamery is a place where the milk and cream +are separated and butter is made. + +We found several wagonloads of milk being unloaded. The milk was weighed +as it was received, for it is sold by weight. + +The milk was then strained into a large galvanized iron tub, from which +a pipe carried it into a circular machine called the _separator_. The +separator revolves rapidly, throwing the milk, which is heavier than the +cream, to the outer edge, where it passes through small holes into a +compartment by itself. The cream rises along the center and passes +through another set of openings into a special compartment. A pipe +carries it to a large vat, while another pipe conveys the milk to large +tanks. + +Uncle Ben told me that when people make their own butter, they must wait +for the cream to _rise_ on the milk. The cream is then skimmed off, and +the milk is called _skimmed milk_. Although the milk in the creamery is +not skimmed, the same name is used for it. + +I asked if the skimmed milk was used for anything. Uncle Ben gave me a +cupful of it to taste. It was very good. He then told me that the +separator takes out only the part needed in making butter, leaving all +of the sugar. I did not know before that milk contains sugar. + +The farmers take home loads of this milk to feed it to their hogs. For +each hundred pounds of milk delivered, they get back seventy-five pounds +of skimmed milk, besides the pay for their cream. + +The creamery man told me that he made from four to six pounds of butter +from one hundred pounds of milk. + +The cream remains in the large vat about twenty-four hours before it is +churned. The churn, as you see by the picture, is a great barrel made +to revolve by machinery. It takes from thirty-five minutes to one hour +to churn. The man told me that I might look at the book in which he kept +the record of the churning. I saw that he made from two hundred fifty to +six hundred pounds of butter at a churning. He said that some churns +would produce more than one thousand pounds at a churning. + +Not all of the cream is made into butter. There is left in the bottom of +the churn a liquid called _buttermilk_. This is drawn off, and the +butter is washed and _worked_ before being taken out of the churn. The +working is done by means of paddles in the churn. It continues for six +or eight minutes and squeezes the liquid out of the butter. + +While the butter is being worked, it is salted. Some of the butter is +unsalted, but most of it is salted. When butter is made in the home, it +must be churned by hand. Only a few pounds at a time can be made in this +way. + +When the butter was taken out of the churn, the men packed it solidly in +wooden boxes about two feet square and four inches deep. The bottom +of each box consisted of strips as wide as a _square_ of butter. These +were held together by a clamp, and the sides were hooked to the bottom +and to one another. When the butter is to be cut into squares, these +sides are removed and zinc ones take their places. In these there are +slits running from top to bottom. Through these slits a wire saw is run, +and so the butter is quickly cut into one or two pound squares. The +butter is then wrapped in fancy papers upon which the name of the butter +or of the creamery is stamped. + +[Illustration: A Separator.] + +[Illustration: A Churn.] + +Of course some of the butter is packed in wooden tubs and shipped in +that form. This butter is a little cheaper than that put up in squares. + + + + +CHEESE + + +I was so much pleased with my visit to the creamery, that Uncle Ben +promised to show me how cheese is made. So one morning just after +breakfast he, Cousin Frank, and I started out. After a pleasant ride of +about five miles we reached the factory. + +The first process here was the same as that at the creamery. After the +milk was weighed it was run into great zinc-lined vats. There were four +of these in the factory, each of which held about five thousand pounds. + +Uncle Ben explained that the milk must _curdle_ before cheese can be +made. In order to make it curdle quickly, a little less than a pound of +a substance called _rennet_ was put into each vat. + +A man worked at each vat with a long wooden rake, stirring the milk +constantly. I saw a glass tube standing in the milk and asked what it +was. Uncle Ben told me to look at it closely. I saw that it was a +thermometer, and that it registered eighty degrees. A little while after +I looked again, when it showed a temperature of ninety degrees. The milk +is kept warm, so as to help it to curdle quickly. + +In about an hour I could see the curd very plainly, but the men kept on +stirring and cutting it. Presently one of them carried a piece of the +curd to a table. He heated a small iron rod and touched it with the +curd. When he pulled the curd away, little threads were drawn out to the +length of half an inch or more. This he called the "acid test," which +showed that the curd was in the right condition to be made into cheese. + +Of course only a part of the milk had turned into curd; the rest was +_whey_, that was drawn off and run into tanks. Each man who had +delivered one hundred pounds of milk was given a check for seventy-five +pounds of the whey. It is fed to hogs. About two hours from the time +that the milk was put into the vats, the whey was drawn off. + +One of the men now took a long knife and cut the curd into oblong cakes. +These he frequently lifted and turned over. After continuing this for +about twenty minutes, the pieces of curd were put into a small mill, +placed on a board over the vat, and the curd was chopped into strips +from one to six inches long and from one-half an inch to an inch thick. +Salt was scattered over the mass by one man, while another pitched it +about with a three-pronged wooden fork. The man told me that he used +three pounds of salt to each thousand pounds of milk. + +Next, a piece of cloth was placed on a board about sixteen inches +square. Two circular metal frames or bands, about six inches high, were +fitted one within the other and placed on the cloth. The frame was +filled with curd, covered by a cloth, and another set placed on top of +it until there were five. They were then put on a table directly under a +block which was fastened to a screw. By turning the screw the block was +pressed against the top board, and so each frame of curd was pressed. I +saw the whey running out as the squeezing went on. The superintendent +told us that the curd would be left in the press until the next day. + +We were then taken into the room where the cheese "ripens." Here we saw +large racks reaching nearly to the ceiling, filled with double rows of +cheeses. The smallest ones weighed but three pounds, while the largest +weighed fifty pounds. It may take but a few days and it may take many +months to "ripen" a cheese. It depends upon the flavor wanted. The man +said that in England "strong" cheese is generally liked, while in our +country "mild" cheese is preferred. + +I asked how much cheese five thousand pounds of milk would make, and was +told that it would make between four and five hundred pounds. + +On the way home Uncle Ben told us that although our country is a great +dairy country, we import certain kinds of cheese from Europe. He told us +how the Swiss people pasture their cattle on the steep mountain sides, +and that in every little mountain valley cheese is made, some of which +finds its way over the mountains and across the sea to the United +States. + + + + +THE FISHING INDUSTRY + + +Have you ever stood by the side of a stream and watched the fish dart +from one shadow of overhanging rock into another, or swim lazily at the +bottom of some deep pool? How gracefully they move and turn! How like +water jewels they flash as the sunlight falls upon them! + +Most streams and lakes, like the ocean, contain fish. So we have +fresh-water and salt-water fish. There are a few bodies of water so full +of salt that fish cannot live in them. Do you know of any such bodies of +water? + +Most of the fish used as food come from the ocean. In this, and in most +other countries, there are many men who do nothing but fish, in order +that other people may be supplied with this sort of food. They do not +depend upon hook and line alone, but use nets also. + +Nets are great sacks made of cord, knotted or woven together in such a +way as to leave spaces or _meshes_. These meshes are not big enough to +allow large fish to escape. Sometimes the fishermen go out in rowboats +some distance from shore and then throw the net into the water. Corks or +floats keep the upper edge of the net near the surface, while weights +hold the lower edge on the bottom. Ropes are fastened to each end, and +so it is drawn toward the shore. How the fishermen wish that they could +see to the bottom of the restless water and know what their harvest is +to be! When the boats have almost reached the shore, horses are +sometimes driven into the water and hitched to the ropes. At last the +net is dragged out upon the sands and the uncertainty is past. + +[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Drying Nets.] + +Look! Within the folds of the net is a countless number of fishes, each +jumping, squirming, wriggling, trying to get back to its ocean home. +They are of many sizes, shapes, and colors. Those not good for food, +together with the smallest ones, are thrown back into the water. + +Sometimes a net called a "dip-net" is dropped from a fishing schooner +and drawn about a "school" of fish. I have seen many barrels of fish +brought up at one time in this way. + +The fishermen keep a close watch for the appearance of these "schools," +you may be sure. Whales and dolphins pursue them, and gulls and +cormorants circle overhead, for they, too, are fishers. Their +appearance helps the men to tell where the "schools" are. There is a +great rush for the fishing grounds when they are sighted. The +white-sailed schooners skim over the waters almost like a flock of +birds. + +[Illustration: FIG. 19.--A Fishing Schooner.] + +Large quantities of fish are caught by a method called _trawl fishing_. +This may be carried on miles from the shore. How do you suppose it is +done? To a very long and strong line, many shorter ones, each with a +hook at the end, are attached. These lines, to which large buoys are +fastened, are left in the water for several hours, and then fishermen in +flat-bottomed boats called _dories_ row out from the schooner and +examine them. The lines are then reset and the fish taken to the +schooner to be dressed. This is a common method of catching codfish, +which is carried on during summer and winter alike. Storms and fogs are +likely to occur while the men are out in their little boats, making +their work full of danger as well as of hardship. + +[Illustration: FIG. 20.--Splitting Codfish.] + +Many of the fish are packed in ice and sold fresh, while others are +cured on the boats or on shore. Some of the fishing schooners carry +great quantities of salt when they start out on a trip. The fish are +dressed and packed in this. Sometimes they are packed in brine, and +along the shores of some countries they are strung on poles to dry. + +Codfish are dried in great quantities along the New England coast by +placing them on frames made of strips of wood and raised a little above +the wharf, so that the air can circulate freely. When the skin and bones +are removed and the flesh cut into strips, it is called "shredded" +codfish. + +The principal food-fish are the cod, mackerel, herring, halibut, shad, +salmon, sardines, and whitefish. Whitefish are caught in the Great +Lakes. To this list the lobster may be added, although it is not a fish. + +A common method of catching lobsters is to sink a box made of lath to +the bottom, where they crawl about on the rocks. A fish head is placed +in the box for bait. The lobsters crawl in and are likely to remain +until the box is examined. + +[Illustration: FIG. 21.--Drying Codfish.] + +Lobster steamers, fitted up with tanks containing salt water, run from +Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to Boston and New York. Here those not +wanted are placed on cars containing similar tanks and sent to interior +cities. In this way fresh lobsters are served thousands of miles from +where they were caught. + +A lobster that would cost us from twenty-five to seventy-five cents +brings the fisherman not more than ten cents. + +Along our New England coast there are many towns engaged extensively in +fishing. Portland, Gloucester, Boston, and Provincetown are among the +number. Gloucester is the most important fishing town in the United +States. From it fishing schooners go as far as Newfoundland, Greenland, +Iceland, and even to the coast of Ireland. There are also important +fisheries on the Pacific coast, from San Francisco to Alaska. Here the +salmon are taken in great numbers. They weigh from twenty to one hundred +pounds. The fish are canned and shipped to all parts of the country. +Besides being caught in nets and traps and on lines many are caught in +"fish wheels." These are fastened to the stern of a boat and revolve in +the water. The fish are caught in pockets and dropped in the boat as the +wheel brings them up over it. + +There are very extensive fisheries along the shores of the British Isles +and on the western coast of Europe. Fishing is the chief industry in +the towns along the coast of Norway. The air is full of the odor of +fish, while drying fish, nets, and boats are everywhere in sight. + +Although the supply of fish in the ocean is very great, it is +diminishing, especially near the shore. Most countries now pay +considerable attention to the raising of both fresh and salt water +fishes, and they have passed laws regulating fishing. Eggs are hatched +in great _hatcheries_, from which the young fish are taken where they +are most needed. + +The great ocean is free to all to sail over or fish in at will. There is +a narrow strip along the shore three miles wide, which belongs to the +country which it borders. The men of other countries are not allowed to +fish there. + +The fisherman is a brave and sturdy man. His life is full of danger. He +battles constantly with the winds and the waves. Fogs may hide the sharp +rocks which seem to wait for a chance to destroy his little vessel. +Sometimes icebergs or great ocean steamers sink his boat and he is never +seen again. + +When storms are raging and night has settled over sea and land, and +angry waves are dashing themselves into foam against the shore, the +mothers, wives, and children look anxiously from their cottage windows +toward the sea, and pray that their loved ones may return to them in +safety. + + + + +OYSTER FARMING + + +It sounds strange to speak of farming in the ocean, but there are many +and large oyster farms all along our coast. Some of these farms are +covered by water all of the time and some are uncovered when the tide is +low. Oyster farms are far more profitable than are those upon which corn +and wheat are raised. + +This is a new industry in our country because civilized people have not +lived here very long, but it is a very old one in some parts of the +world. As long ago as the seventh century a Roman knight raised oysters +for the market, and it is said that the business made him very wealthy. + +You will understand better about the cultivation of oysters, if I tell +you first how they live and grow in their natural homes. + +Except during the first few days of their lives, oysters are prisoners. +They cannot move about freely from place to place as fishes and most +animals can, but they are attached to rocks, to the shells of their dead +relatives, and to other objects. How, then, do you suppose they get +their food? They grow in immense numbers, and they crowd one another +more than people do in the tenement houses in our great cities. In fact +most of them are soon crowded out, and they die, leaving room for the +rest to grow upon their empty homes. In this way the oyster beds spread +out. + +These oyster beds are not found in very deep water, but rather along the +shore, generally near the mouth of some river. As I have told you, they +often live where they are uncovered when the tide goes out. You can see +from this that it is not very difficult to gather oysters, so that, +partly on this account, man has used them for food for ages. + +When the Pilgrim Fathers landed on the shores of New England, they found +that the Indians used oysters very commonly. All along the coast were +great heaps of the shells. At the very first Thanksgiving dinner given +in America, oysters were served. + +Oysters used to be so plentiful on these natural beds that they were +very cheap. In some places where the winter weather was cold enough to +freeze the water along the shore, people cut holes in the ice and +gathered them by means of long-handled rakes. + +In a single year an oyster will produce more than a million young ones. +Just think of it! If all of this family grew up, they would fill a room +fourteen feet in each dimension. + +These young oysters are _very_ small. They are called "spat." Most of +them are drifted away by waves and currents, or devoured by larger sea +animals. The few that escape soon attach themselves to some object, so +getting a chance to begin the battle of life. + +If oysters are caught at all times of the year it does not give them a +chance to produce their young, and this, as well as catching the young +ones themselves, has destroyed many of the natural beds. In order to +keep up the supply of this food men commenced oyster farming. You see +how our daily needs and desires lead to the establishment of great +industries. + +The oyster farmer prepares his farm in various ways. He places clean +oyster shells, stones, trays, bundles of sticks, and other things on the +bottom, so that the oysters may find something to which to attach +themselves. Then he places the young oysters or "spat" on these objects. +When trays are used, several are placed one upon another and bound +together by means of a chain. These trays are taken up from time to time +in order to gather the oysters that are ready for market. + +Stones are sometimes piled on the bottom and the "spat" are placed in +the crevices between them. Often stakes are planted in a somewhat +circular form. Cords are attached to the stakes, to which bundles of +sticks are fastened in such a way as to keep them a little above the +bottom. Young oysters attach themselves to these sticks, which may be +drawn up when the proper time comes. + +Shells are used more commonly than other things. They are taken from the +restaurants and hotels to the farms in boat loads, to be scattered over +the bottom. + +The young oysters grow at very different rates. In two years they may +grow to be six inches in length, or it may take several years to reach +that size. They grow more rapidly on the artificial beds, and are better +in quality also. The starfish is one of the greatest enemies of the +oyster, large numbers of which it destroys every year. + +During the fishing season the oyster men go to the beds in their boats +and scoop the oysters up from the bottom. This is called dredging. The +scoops with their loads of oysters are drawn to the deck of the boat by +machinery. Sometimes the oysters are gathered by means of long tongs. + +As the oysters are usually in clusters, these have to be broken up. For +this purpose a sort of a hammer known as a _culling iron_ is used. The +oysters are broken apart and sorted. Sometimes the oyster man makes +three grades and sometimes four. + +Oysters are not the only things drawn up in the dredge. Starfish, +lobsters, and various kinds of fishes are gathered in. The starfish are +killed and the rest thrown back. + +The oysters are heaped up in great piles on the deck of the boat. Sacks +and barrels are filled with them, and many car loads are shipped daily +from the cities near the fishing grounds. Chesapeake Bay is the center +of the oyster industry in our country. Find it. There are oyster beds, +however, all along both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts. + +Great quantities of oysters are canned near where they are caught. +Getting them out of their shells is not an easy matter. For this purpose +a knife is used. This work is called in the South "shucking oysters." +Canning oysters is an important industry in the city of Baltimore. Have +you ever seen cans of oysters that came from there? + + + + +A RICE FIELD + + +When you do not feel quite satisfied with your breakfast, dinner, or +supper, and think that there should be a greater variety of food on the +table, just come with me and we will visit some of the boys and girls of +far-away China. What do you suppose _their_ chief article of food is? +Rice. Rice in the morning, rice at noon, and rice at night. Rice from +the beginning to the end of the year. In the poorer families a bit of +dried fish and some vegetables are usually eaten with it. Those who can +afford such things have bits of preserved ginger, mushrooms, and barley +cakes with the rice. Of course the rich people have other things to eat, +but most of the people of China are poor. + +In the fertile portions of China the people live very close together. +Gardens take the place of farms. Workmen often receive no more than ten +cents a day. On this account they cannot afford the variety of food +that we have, but must be content with whatever is cheap and nourishing +for their labor. If the rice crop were to fail, the Chinese would +suffer. You will see how important this food is to them, when I tell you +that they are forbidden by law to sell rice to other countries. + +Perhaps you are wondering where the rice that we use in this country +comes from. Rice is grown in great quantities in Japan, Corea, +Indo-China, Ceylon, India, the Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands, and in +our Gulf states. + +Rice is the chief food of one half the people of the world. Although we +raise large quantities, we produce only about one half of what we use. +It is a kind of grain which will not thrive on the fertile Western +prairies where corn, oats, and wheat grow. It needs a warm climate and a +great deal of water. For this reason the rice fields are found on the +marshy lands near the coast, and by the banks of rivers, where they can +be easily flooded. Some rice is raised on the uplands, but not so +successfully as on the lowlands. + +Canals are dug from the streams through the farms, and from these +smaller ditches branch off so as to reach all parts. They are so +arranged that the farmer can turn the water on or off whenever he +wishes. On some of the farms, wells furnish the water to the canals. + +[Illustration: FIG. 22.--A Rice Field.--Observe the Canal.] + +In the Gulf states the fields are plowed in the winter, and the rice is +sown between the first of April and the middle of May. Sometimes the +seed is sown broadcast, as wheat is, and sometimes it is planted in +regular drills or trenches about twelve inches apart. + +The Japanese sow the seed in gardens, and when the plants are eight or +ten inches high, they are pulled up and transplanted to the fields. The +men work right in the water, for the fields are flooded at the time. + +In our country the farmer floods the field as soon as the seeds are +planted, allowing the water to remain five or six days. When the young +blade of rice is a few inches high, the field is again flooded. After +the second leaf appears on the stalk, the water is turned on and left +for twenty or thirty days. After the land dries the crop is hoed. The +fields are irrigated from time to time, until about eight days before +the harvest, which generally occurs in August. + +When full grown, the stalks are from one to six feet in height, with +long, slender leaves. The kernels grow much as those of wheat and oats +do. + +On account of the fields being so wet, rice, in most countries, is cut +by hand. In China and Japan small curved sickles are used, and the +grain is bound up in very small bundles. In Louisiana and some other +parts of the South, regular harvesters are used. They have very broad +wheels. Why? + +After the grain has been bound into bundles, these are set up in double +rows to dry. This is called _shocking_ the rice. The grain is then put +through a thrashing machine, to separate it from the straw. + +[Illustration: FIG. 23.--Harvesting Rice.] + +Rice kernels are covered by a husk. Before the husk is removed the grain +is often called _paddy rice_. Removing the hulls or husks is called +_hulling_. The hulling machine is a long tube into one end of which the +rice is poured. Within the tube are ribs which revolve rapidly. As the +kernels pass between these the hulls are taken off. + +If you were passing through a Chinese village, you might hear sounds +like those produced when a man pounds with a mallet on a great piece of +timber. On searching for the sounds, you would find that they came from +the rice mill. The mill consists of a portion of a log hollowed out and +placed upright. In the hollow a quantity of rice is held. A piece of +timber, fastened to a pivot, extends in a horizontal position with one +end over the mill. To this end another timber is fastened in an upright +position. A Chinaman gets on to the end of the long timber which is +farthest from the mill. This raises the end with the upright. He then +jumps off and the upright falls, striking upon the rice. In this way the +hulls are worn off. + +After hulling, the grain is carefully screened, in order to remove the +hulls, the broken and very small kernels, and the _rice flour_. This +latter makes good cattle food. + +Perhaps you have noticed that rice kernels have a bluish appearance. +This is not natural, but is the result of polishing. The polishing +removes much of the best part of the grain, but the rice sells for a +higher price simply on account of its appearance. + +The polishing machine is cylindrical or drum-like in shape. Moosehide or +sheepskin is tacked to the cylinder. It is made to revolve rapidly, so +that the kernels are polished as they pass over the skin. After being +polished the kernels are run through screens and sorted. The rice is +then put up in barrels or sacks and shipped. + + + + +HOW SUGAR IS MADE + + +[Illustration: FIG. 24.--Sowing Sugar Seed.] + +This picture represents one of the beginnings of the great industry of +sugar making. The small objects which you see in the trenches are pieces +of sugar cane. These "cuttings," as they are called, are covered with +soil. They soon sprout, and from them grow the tall, waving fields of +cane, which resemble cornfields. The canes are taller than cornstalks, +however. How high do you think those shown in the picture are? + +In about ten months after planting the cane is ready to cut. In the +Southern states this work usually begins about the middle of October. + +[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Cutting Sugar Cane.] + +The canes are jointed, as cornstalks are, and the spongy substance +between the joints is filled with a sweet juice. It is from this juice +or sap that cane sugar is made. I have seen children chew pieces of the +cane, and enjoy it as you do candy; for this use it is sometimes sold in +stores in the South. + +[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Loading Cars with Sugar Cane.] + +After the canes are cut they are hauled to the mill or sugarhouse on +wagons. On the large plantations _tram cars_ sometimes run right into +the fields. + +At the mill the canes are run between heavy rollers, which squeeze out +the sap. Sometimes as many as seventy-five pounds of sap are obtained +from one hundred pounds of cane. The crushed stalks are used in the mill +for fuel, and the ashes are returned to the land to fertilize it. + +When the juice is first pressed out, it is not at all clear in color. It +is then placed in great vats or kettles and heated. This heating causes +the water which is in the sap to evaporate, and it also brings some of +the impurities to the top, where they are skimmed off. When the +evaporating has been finished, there are two products, molasses and +brown sugar. + +The sugar must next be refined. For this purpose it is usually sent to +cities outside of the sugar belt. There are great refineries in New +Orleans, San Francisco, St. Louis, Chicago, and other cities. + +When the _raw sugar_, as it is called, reaches the refinery, which is +generally a tall building, it is taken to the top story and dissolved in +hot water. It then passes through bags which act as _filters_, and +through a great cylinder which contains burned bones, known as +_bone-black_. You remember that I told you that the bones of the cattle +were saved. This is one of the uses to which they are put. When the +liquid comes out of this bone filter it is a perfectly clear sirup, +which is then crystallized. + +[Illustration: FIG. 27.--A Sugar Mill.] + +You know that we buy refined sugar in three forms: granulated sugar, +loaf sugar, and pulverized sugar. When granulated sugar is wanted, the +crystals are placed in a great drum, which revolves until they are +thoroughly dried in the right form. To make loaf sugar, the crystals are +pressed into molds, then dried, and cut into the size desired. In +powdered sugar they are simply ground to a powdered condition. + +Think how much labor is required to produce sugar, and yet you can buy +it for five cents a pound. + +There are great fields of sugar cane in the Gulf states, in Cuba, in the +Hawaiian Islands, in the East Indies, in India, and in other warm, moist +parts of the world. We buy a great deal of sugar from Cuba, and from the +Hawaiian Islands. To what city do you think the sugar from the Hawaiian +Islands is sent? + + + + +BEET SUGAR + + +Although the cane fields of the moist, hot countries yield great +quantities of sugar, there are other sources from which this useful +product comes. In the year 1747 a German scientist discovered that sugar +can be made from beets, and now about two thirds of our supply come from +these plants. + +The sugar beet is not just like the plant of the same name which we +raise for table use. It is white, and sometimes weighs as much as ten or +fifteen pounds. Beets do not need so much water nor so much heat as +sugar cane, so they can be raised in Germany, France, Austria, Russia, +and other countries, as well as in California, Utah, and Nebraska, in +our own land. + +In some parts of California there are fields of beets stretching for +miles. The seeds are planted in rows, which, after the plants have come +up, are thinned. In four or five months from the time the seeds are +planted, the beets are ready to harvest. + +On most of the large _ranches_ the beets are dug by machinery. Men then +move back and forth in the fields, cutting off the leaves and a little +of the upper part of the beet, for this contains too much mineral matter +to be of value in making sugar. The workmen use large knives, and they +walk on their knees. + +The beets are now taken to the factory in wagons, or, if it is far away, +they are sent on trains. When the loads of beets reach the factory, they +are weighed. The teamsters then drive up an inclined plane to a plank +roadway. There are generally several of these. On each side of the road +or platform are deep V-shaped trenches with wooden sides, in which +streams of water run. When the wagon has reached the right spot, the +platform upon which it rests is raised in a slanting position, and the +beets fall into the trench. + +A basket full of beets is taken from each load and tested, to see how +much sugar they contain, for this determines the price to be paid. + +The stream of water in the trench carries the beets along, just as they +would be carried in a brook. This, you see, is a quick and easy way of +washing them. + +The streams of water carry the beets into the factory, where they are +cut up into strips by machinery. The juice is then washed out in vats +containing warm water, and is boiled down in great tanks. The raw sugar +is refined much as the cane sugar is. After the sugar has been dried, it +is run through spouts into sacks held open to catch it as it comes out. +One hundred pounds are put into each sack. One workman sews the sacks up +and another wheels them to the wareroom. Train loads are carried away to +be distributed in the parts of our country that do not produce sugar. + + + + +MAPLE SUGAR + + +You would enjoy helping to make some maple sugar, I am sure, so let us +make a trip to the woods of Vermont or New York, where maple sugar is +made from the sap of the sugar-maple tree. + +You will need your cap and mittens, as the sugar season is the early +spring, when there is yet snow on the ground. Besides, some of the work +is done at night, and you will not wish to miss that. + +The owner of the "sugar bush" bores holes into the trees a short +distance from the ground, into which he slips small spouts, called +"spiles." + +[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Tapping a Tree.] + +This is called _tapping_ the trees. Underneath the spout a pail is +placed. During the day the sap trickles out and runs into the pail. +During the colder hours of the night the sap flows slowly, if at all. +Sometimes it is so cold that little sap runs for two or three days at a +time. + +[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Oxen hauling Sap.] + +The sap is collected in barrels and drawn on sleds to the camp or place +where it is to be boiled down. This is done in great pans called +_evaporators_, which may be five or six feet wide, and fifteen feet +long. They are divided into sections, and these are connected by means +of little openings. + +The sap flows into one end of the evaporator and follows a zigzag path +through the different sections. By flowing slowly over so large a +surface, evaporation goes on rapidly and the sap is changed to sirup by +the time it has finished its journey. + +The sirup is put up in cans, or boiled down into sugar, which is molded +into small cakes, and brings a high price. + +[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Sap-yoke and Pails for gathering Sap.] + +"Sugaring off," as the boiling down of the sap is called, is quite an +event. Often a number of people will be invited to go to the sugarhouse +and take part in the operation. + +Before the modern evaporator came into use "sugaring off" always +occurred at night. This was necessary, because during the day the sap +buckets had to be attended to. The young people would sing songs, tell +stories, and eat sugar. + +Some of the "sugar bushes" contain but a few trees and some contain one +or two thousand or even more. A tree will yield from one to six pounds +of sugar during a season. + +Our country produces great quantities of sugar every year, but we use so +much that we have to buy much more than we manufacture at home. It was +not always in such common use, however, because people in olden times +did not understand how to make it cheaply. + +Long, long ago sugar was used only as a medicine. Don't you wish that +all medicine to-day was as good as sugar? About seven hundred years ago +an Italian nobleman died and left to his relatives, among other things, +_six pounds of sugar_. His will caused considerable comment among the +people, who said that no one family should be allowed to have so much +sugar in its possession. + + + + +WHERE SALT COMES FROM + + +The Arab, journeying over the yellow sands, riding upon the back of his +faithful "ship of the desert," often looks longingly for some sign of +water to cool his parched lips. The sailor may ride upon the beautiful +blue waters of the ocean in his white-winged ship; but although there is +nothing but water to greet his eyes, he cannot drink it, for it is +bitter to the taste. + +If you were to place a quantity of ocean water over a fire and evaporate +it, there would remain a white substance. This is common salt. You see +that it is as necessary to provide fresh water when one wishes to cross +the ocean, as it is if one is going to cross the desert. + +Most streams and lakes contain _fresh_ water, so you will wonder why the +waters of the ocean are briny. The rocks and soil of the earth contain +salt, and the streams wash it from the land. Each one carries so little +that we do not notice it, but they have worked so steadily and so long, +that they have carried a great amount to the sea. None of it can escape, +so the ocean gets more and more briny. + +No healthy person would ever think of eating salt alone as a food, and +yet our food would taste very unsatisfactory without it. Farmers supply +their cattle and horses with salt, and wild animals search for it in the +forests, and lick it from the soil with their tongues. + +Salt is so important to us that I want to tell you about some of the +ways in which men obtain it. + +Sometimes sea water is placed in great vats and evaporated. This leaves +the salt, which is then refined. You know that the sun's heat causes the +waters of a shallow pond to evaporate during warm weather. Shallow +basins are often scooped out along the coast, and the waters which fill +them are then shut off from the larger body. In time the water +evaporates, and the salt, which has formed in thin layers, is +collected. + +I said that most lakes are fresh-water bodies. There are some, however, +that are _very_ salty. Great Salt Lake is one of these. Streams flow +into it, but none flows out. If you were to bathe in the waters of this +lake, you would find that your body would not sink. + +I have seen great piles of glistening salt along the shore of Great Salt +Lake which had been obtained by evaporation. A railroad runs beside the +lake, and the salt is loaded upon the cars to be hauled away. When the +people first settled in Utah, they used to drive to the lake in wagons +to get a supply of salt. + +Although the ocean and a few lakes contain immense quantities of this +useful article, we get most of our supply from other sources. + +In the western part of New York State, at some distance below the +surface of the earth, there is a thick layer of salt. Wells are drilled +down to this; water is pumped into them, and then pumped out again as +brine. This brine is evaporated in large pans made of iron, two quarts +of brine yielding about a pound of salt. + +In China salt has been obtained in this way for hundreds and even +thousands of years. Though they had little machinery to work with in +those days, yet by patient, steady effort, they drilled wells two +thousand and even three thousand feet in depth. From twenty-five to +forty years were required to drill some of these wells. Those who +commenced them knew that they were not likely to enjoy the fruits of +their labor and that others must get the benefit of what they did. What +does this show about these people? What benefits are you receiving from +what others have done? + +Salt is also mined as coal and iron are. This is called _rock salt_. It +is obtained in Germany, Poland, Austria, India, the United States, and +in many other countries. + +One of the most interesting salt fields of the world is in the +southeastern part of California. It is on the Colorado Desert, near the +Colorado River. This was once a part of the ocean floor and the rocks +contain much salt. Water seeping through the earth dissolves the salt +and brings it to the surface at this place. What happens to the water? + +[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Harvesting Salt, Salton, California. Is there +any Water in this Field?] + +[Illustration: FIG. 32.--Loading Cars with Salt. Salton, California.] + +This salt field covers an area of about one thousand acres, to a depth +of from one to eight inches. You can see by the picture that it looks +more like a field of snow and ice than one of salt. The bright sunlight +is reflected from its surface with such power that it hurts one's eyes. + +A great plow drawn by a steam engine moves over this dazzling field, +and throws the salt up in furrows. It is then piled up, loaded on to +cars, and taken to sheds, where it is purified. Indians and Japanese do +most of the work. + +In order to purify the brines they are boiled in iron pans and treated +in various ways to make them fit for table use. When evaporation is +rapid, the salt crystals are quite small, but slower evaporation +produces larger ones. Rock salt is dissolved in water and then +evaporated. To get the finest of salt, the crystals must be ground. When +salt is to be used for other purposes than to season food, not so much +pains are taken. Name other uses of salt. + +In olden times, when salt was not so easily obtained as it is to-day, it +was regarded in some countries as a luxury. This seems strange, does it +not? At one time the Chinese made it into little cakes, stamped the +image of the emperor upon it, and used it as money. In Arabia those who +together ate food which had been salted, believed that this established +a special bond of friendship between them. This led to the old saying, +"There is salt between us." + + + + +MACARONI AND VERMICELLI + + +Have you ever wondered as you have looked at the hollow sticks of +macaroni in the stores or as you have eaten them at the table, how they +were made in that way, and what they were made of? + +In Italy macaroni is a very important article of food, and its use is +rapidly increasing in our own country. For a long time it was not made +outside of Italy, where the city of Genoa was the center of the +industry. Locate this city. Do you know what great man was born there? +Now macaroni and vermicelli are made in other countries. There are a few +factories in the United States, but most of what we use still comes from +Italy. + +In making these foods only the best hard wheat is used. + +After grinding the wheat, the bran is taken out and the flour is placed +in a large wooden tub. Water is added, and the two are mixed by hand +for a few minutes. In this tub a marble wheel about five feet in +diameter and eighteen inches in thickness is fastened in an upright +position. This wheel weighs about a ton. + +After the flour and water have been mixed, the wheel is set in motion by +machinery, and it slowly circles around in the tub, pressing the dough +under it. + +A man keeps walking in front of the wheel, moving the dough from the +edges of the tub and placing it directly in the path of it. This work of +pressing the flour into a paste continues for a little more than half an +hour. + +The wheel is then stopped and the paste, which is quite stiff, is cut +into cakes about a foot square and from one to three inches in +thickness. + +These are put into an iron cylinder heated by steam. In the bottom of +the cylinder is a copper plate filled with holes having the centers +filled. A cover fitted to a great screw which turns by machinery is +placed on top. This slowly, but steadily, presses the paste downward. +It is thus forced through these openings, and of course comes out in the +form of round, hollow pipes. + +[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Drying Macaroni in Italy.] + +As these pipes issue from the cylinder, they are straightened out on a +wooden tray or platform, and with a large, sharp knife cut into lengths +of about three feet. They are then taken to a drying room and spread on +wire frames covered with oiled paper. Here they are left for about five +days, after which they are placed in boxes and are ready to ship. + +The only difference between macaroni and vermicelli is that the pipes +of vermicelli are very small and are not hollow. + +When vermicelli is wanted, two plates are placed on the bottom of the +press. The under one is of iron and contains holes about one inch in +diameter. The upper one is of copper and contains _groups_ of very small +openings. There are sometimes eighty of these openings in a group. When +the plates are screwed together, the groups of small holes are directly +above the larger openings. + +As the paste is pressed, it passes through the little holes and then +issues from the larger ones; this keeps each little group of pipes +somewhat apart from the others. + +Saffron is added to the paste to color it, and the great golden mass is +quite a pretty sight as it steadily lengthens. + +The workman cuts off six or seven feet of it at a time; and holding it +above his head with one hand, he shakes it out with the other, as one +might shake the folds of a piece of silk. The pipes tangle up very +little. They are cut into lengths of about eighteen inches. + +It is then taken to the drying room and spread out on the trays just as +the macaroni is. A handful of the vermicelli is taken at a time, and by +a peculiar twist of the arm it is placed on the paper in a form +something like that of the letter _n_. After drying for five days it is +packed and shipped. + + + + +ON A COFFEE PLANTATION + + +Juan and Lupe live in a beautiful valley where palm and banana trees +wave their broad leaves in the breeze. It is never cold there, so that +many kinds of plants and flowers grow out of doors which we do not see +in our country except in greenhouses. On clear days they can see lofty +mountains far to the westward, which sometimes wear caps of white. + +Juan is fourteen years old and Lupe is twelve. Their skin is much darker +than yours, and they have bright black eyes and black hair. Their father +owns a great coffee plantation in Brazil, not far from the city of Rio +Janeiro. + +There are many men, women, and children employed on the plantation, and +Juan and Lupe enjoy roaming about from place to place and watching them +at their work. + +In the nursery they see men planting the coffee seeds in the rich soil. +There are some plants that have just come up, and some that are ready +to transplant. They are set out in rows, six or eight feet apart each +way, and sometimes more. + +[Illustration: FIG. 34.--A Coffee Nursery.] + +The trees would grow much taller than those you see in the picture, if +they were not kept pruned. Do you know why they are prevented from +growing tall? Whenever you look at a coffee plantation, you see the dark +green foliage of the tree, which is an evergreen. Lupe is very fond of +the blossoms. They are clear white and very fragrant. + +A tree will yield a small amount the second year after planting, but it +will not produce a full crop for five or more years. Two pounds is a +good average crop for a tree. + +[Illustration: FIG. 35.--Picking Coffee.] + +The children like to watch the pickers as they go from tree to tree. +Many of them are about their own age. Some carry a sack slung over the +shoulders, and others carry baskets or pails. The _berries_ must be +picked by hand, for they do not all ripen at once. They are dark +scarlet in color and look a little like cranberries. A good picker +gathers about three bushels in a day. The pickers are given a check +every time they fill a basket. Sometimes Juan tends to this work, and he +enjoys it very much. At the end of each week the pickers are paid +according to the number of checks they have. + +[Illustration: FIG. 36.--Coffee Berries.] + +Within the berry are two kernels or seeds, with their flat sides +together. These are called "coffee beans." It is these beans from which +the drink is made. + +The picking is but a small part of the work of preparing coffee for the +market. The first operation is removing the pulp. This used to be done +by tramping on the berries, but now it is done in a better way. + +The berries are thrown into a large tank filled with water, which +carries them through a pipe to the pulping machine. This machine removes +the pulp and separates the beans. + +Next the beans are carried to a second tank, where they remain for about +twenty-four hours, to wash off a sticky substance which covers the shell +of the bean. + +If you have ever put beans or peas into a basin of water, you have +noticed that nearly all of them sink, while a few float. These latter +are the poor ones. This is the way in which the good and bad coffee +beans are separated. A pipe carries off the seeds that float on the +surface of the water. + +The beans are dried on cement floors upon which they are spread. This +drying takes a long time. Before sunset each day the coffee must be +carried under shelter, for the dew injures it. While they are drying, +the workmen stir them. Sometimes artificial heat is used, but this is +expensive. Juan's father has a watchman whose duty it is to guard the +coffee at night, for it is very valuable. + +Each bean is covered by a strong shell, or hull, which has to be +removed. The soaking has loosened this, and so it comes off easier than +it otherwise would. Juan and Lupe often watch the wheels of the huller +as they turn, moved by patient oxen. + +There are two wheels set upright over a circular box, into which the +coffee is put. As it passes between the wheels and the bottom of the +box, the hulls are removed. Underneath the hull is a thin skin, which is +also taken off. + +In some countries people want the coffee dyed or colored. A bluish color +is given to it by coating the wheels of the hulling machine with lead. + +The hulls are separated from the beans in a winnowing machine, and the +coffee is then sorted. Often this is done by hand. The beans are spread +out on a table, and girls and boys, and sometimes grown persons, sort +it into several grades. + +[Illustration: FIG. 37.--Sorting and sacking Coffee.] + +Juan's father has this work done by machinery. The coffee is put into a +cylinder, in the bottom of which there are holes of different sizes by +which it is graded. + +The last process is to sack the coffee and send it by railroad to Rio +Janeiro. Of course it is neither roasted nor ground until it reaches its +destination. + +We do not produce coffee in our country, but we are the greatest coffee +drinkers in the world. A large part of our supply comes from Brazil. +Trace the course of the ship from Rio Janeiro to New York. Juan has +often done this, and his father has promised to take him with him +sometime, when he goes with a cargo of coffee. + +You naturally think that coffee of different names must come from +different countries, or at least from different trees. This is not +always the case. Several brands may come from the same tree. The name +depends partly upon the size and the general appearance of the beans. + +Coffee is a native of the far East, but it has gradually been +transplanted to other countries, until it is now very extensively used. +Brazil, Central America, Mexico, the West Indies, the Hawaiian Islands, +Java, Ceylon, and Arabia are coffee-raising countries. + +In 1551 coffee found its way to the city of Constantinople; in 1652 it +had reached London; and in 1720 it was planted in the West Indies. You +see it worked its way westward rather slowly. + +Several hundred years ago, coffee was very expensive, so that only the +rich could afford to use it. Instead of drinking it at home, people went +to "coffeehouses," where it was served. To these "coffeehouses" men +brought whatever news they had heard and told it to one another. In this +way these places served about the same purpose that newspapers do now. + + + + +THE TEA GARDENS OF CHINA + + +At the bottom of the teapot you will find some leaves. Spread one of +them out carefully. You can see that it was once long and slender, a +little like willow leaves. It may have grown in some garden in far-away +China, for we get a great deal of tea from that country. + +I have told you how close together the people live on the fertile plains +of eastern China. There is so little room that many live on boats on the +rivers and in the harbors. On this account their farms are not so large +as ours. + +The tea trees in the gardens are about five or six feet high. If they +were allowed to, they would reach a height of twenty-five feet; but they +are kept trimmed for the same reasons that the coffee trees are pruned. + +The trees are raised from seeds, and are generally planted on land which +slopes toward the south. What advantage is this? + +In about three years after planting, the first crop of leaves can be +gathered. In China they are usually gathered four times each year, and +the trees continue to yield for twenty-five or thirty years. + +When the leaves are picked, they are full of sap or juice, and so have +to be dried. The drying is usually done on trays made of bamboo. While +they are drying, they are rubbed and rolled between the palms of the +hands, so that they may dry more quickly and evenly. + +Next the leaves are placed, a few at a time, in iron pans over a +charcoal fire. They are left in these but a short time, for they are +hot. This process is called "firing." Sometimes the leaves are "fired" +but once, and sometimes twice. + +The tea is then spread out, and broken bits of stems are removed. Some +of the tea growers place the tea in baskets which are suspended over +slow fires, for drying. + +If you were to look into some of the _tea-hongs_ or houses where tea is +cured and packed, you would find the tea dried in a very curious +fashion. + +[Illustration: FIG. 38.--Picking Tea. "Pinehurst," South Carolina.] + +In one of the rooms you would see several Chinamen rolling and tossing +balls about with their bare feet. The balls are about the size of +footballs and are partly filled with tea. Although it looks like play, +it is hard work. As the balls are tossed about, the tea leaves are given +their rounded or twisted appearance. From time to time the workers stop +and tie the bags up more closely at the neck. This method is used in +making _gunpowder tea_. + +Black and green teas are not different varieties, but are produced by +different methods of handling. + +In the great tea-hongs there are professional _tasters_,--that is, men +who do nothing but sip tea from small cups, so as to grade it and fix +its value. This is considered a very particular line of work and +requires an educated taste. + +The ocean atmosphere has a bad effect on tea, so that the very finest +grades are seldom sent across the sea. When tea is to be shipped by +water, it is placed in boxes lined with a sort of sheet lead. This +protects the tea greatly. Most of the tea sent to the United States +lands at San Francisco. Why? How does it get to other parts of our +country? + +Great quantities of tea are pressed into the form of bricks and sent +over mountains and across deserts into Russia. + +This is called "brick tea." The Russians are great tea drinkers, and +whenever any one calls in Russia, tea is served. They call their teapot +a _samovar_. + +Better tea is obtained from Ceylon and India than from China. In these +countries Europeans have charge of most of the tea farms, and they have +carefully studied the cultivation and handling of tea. + +There is a little tea raised in our own country in the state of South +Carolina. It is very fine in quality and people are willing to pay a +high price for it. Some of it has been sold for five dollars a pound. + +When tea was first brought into Europe, it was regarded as a great +luxury, just as coffee was. People paid as much as fifty dollars a pound +for it. It is said that some of the tea raised to-day for the royal +family of China, is worth a hundred dollars a pound. + +Many people in this country do not enjoy a cup of tea unless they have +milk and sugar in it. The Chinese do not use either in their tea. In +Russia it is quite common to draw the tea through a lump of sugar held +between the teeth. + +You know that tea parties are very common. The most celebrated tea party +ever held was called the "Boston Tea Party." See what you can find out +about it. + + + + +A CUP OF COCOA + + +On the eighteenth day of June, in the year 1771, this notice appeared in +the _Essex Gazette_ of Massachusetts:-- + + "AMOS TRASK, + + At his House a little below the Bell-Tavern in + + DANVERS, + + Makes and sells Chocolate, + + which he will warrant to be good, and takes Cocoa to grind. Those + who may please to favor him with their Custom may depend upon being + well served, and at a very cheap Rate." + +This seems to have been the first notice of the manufacture and sale of +cocoa and chocolate in our country. What is peculiar about the notice? + +In those days the raw product was brought to Massachusetts by the +Gloucester fishermen. They obtained it in the West Indies in exchange +for fish and other things which they took there. + +When the Spanish soldier, Cortez, conquered Mexico in 1519, he found +that the people of that country were very fond of a drink which they +called "chocolatl." It was served to their ruler, Montezuma, in a cup of +gold. When the Spaniards went home, they of course introduced the drink +into their own country. For a long time it was very expensive and was +not commonly used outside of Spain, for the Spaniards kept the secret of +its preparation. + +Cocoa and chocolate are products of the seeds of a tree called the cacao +tree. It is a tropical tree and grows in both the Old and the New World. + +Although the cacao tree grows wild, it is also cultivated in orchards +much like fruit orchards which you have seen. The trees are seldom more +than twenty feet high, but they are rather inclined to spread out. They +require some shade, and so other trees are often planted between the +rows to shade them. The trees begin to bear when five or six years old, +and continue to yield for forty years. There are generally two chief +harvests each year, but the fruit is ripening all of the time. + +The blossoms, which grow in clusters, are small and pink or yellow in +color. They grow directly from the branches or the trunk of the tree. + +[Illustration: FIG. 39.--Cocoa Pods and Leaves. + +(Permission of WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +In about four months after the tree has blossomed, you will find dark +yellow or brown pods hanging from it. These look a little like ripe +cucumbers, but they are more pointed at one end and are grooved or +fluted. These pods are from six inches to a foot or more in length, with +a rather thick, tough rind. + +[Illustration: FIG. 40.--Native Cocoa Pickers. Ceylon. (Permission of +WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +How do you think the pods are gathered? They are cut off by men carrying +long poles, sometimes of bamboo, to the ends of which knives are +fastened. Only the ripe pods are cut off and collected in a heap under +the tree. They are left in these heaps for about twenty-four hours, +when they are cut open and the seeds are gathered in baskets. + +The seeds are called "beans." There are five rows of them, about the +size of almonds, within the pink pulp of the fruit. When fresh they are +white, but when dried they are brown. If you taste one, you will find it +bitter. + +You have often seen on packages of chocolate, as well as on the cans of +breakfast cocoa, the picture of a young woman carrying some chocolate +upon a tray. It is the picture of a beautiful girl who once served +chocolate in the old city of Vienna. Her name was Anette Baldauff, and +she married a rich count and "lived happily ever after." It is said that +a painting of her hangs upon the walls of the great art gallery in +Dresden. Point out the cities I have mentioned. + +The seeds are carried from the orchard to the sheds, where they are +prepared for market. Here they go through a process of fermentation or +"sweating." For this purpose they are placed in a covered box, or they +may even be covered with earth. This is called "claying." Now the seeds +must be dried. They are spread out on platforms, raised a little above +the ground, so that the air can circulate underneath. You notice that +the roofs do not cover them just now, for their only purpose is to keep +off the dew and the rain. They are fastened to frames which have wheels +under them. During the day they are not used, but at night they are +rolled over the cocoa. + +[Illustration: FIG. 41.--Drying Cocoa Seed. Ceylon. + +(Permission of WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +The cocoa is stirred by workmen using long shovels or rakes, so that it +may dry quickly and evenly. Once a day the beans are shoveled into heaps +and the workmen tread upon them with their bare feet, as you see. This +is called "dancing the cocoa." + +After the seeds have dried for about two weeks they are nearly the color +of red bricks. They are put up for shipment in canvas sacks holding one +hundred and fifty pounds each. The name of the plantation is usually +stamped upon the outside. Guayaquil exports more cocoa than any other +city. Find it. A great deal comes from the island of Trinidad, and from +the northern part of South America. + +When the "beans" have reached their destination, they must be cleaned, +to rid them of dust and dirt collected on the way. They are then placed +in a great revolving cylinder and roasted. You remember that when coffee +is roasted it brings out a pleasant odor called its _aroma_. The same is +true of cocoa. The roasting also helps to loosen a shell which surrounds +the seed. The shell is next removed and the "beans" are then crushed. + +The Mexicans used to crush the seeds on a large stone, hollowed out on +top. This they called a "matate." + +[Illustration: FIG. 42.--Grinding Cocoa. + +(Permission of WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +The crushing is now done by machinery. The broken bits of the cocoa are +called "cocoa nibs." When the cocoa is ground to a powder, it is put +into strong bags and pressed. This pressure removes a part of an oily +substance known as "cocoa butter." Remember, then, that cocoa is the +meal or flour made from the crushed seeds from which some of the oil has +been removed. Chocolate differs from cocoa in that none of this oil is +removed in making it. + +[Illustration: FIG. 43.--Moulding Cocoa. + +(Permission of WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +You have often seen the words "sweet chocolate" on the labels. This is +made by adding a quantity of pulverized sugar to the "plain" or "bitter" +chocolate. Sometimes vanilla beans are added. + +[Illustration: FIG. 44.--Cooling Cocoa. + +(Permission of WALTER BAKER & CO., Ltd.)] + +The pasty mass known as chocolate must be molded. When the proper amount +has been placed in each of several metal molds which rest on a table, +they are made to rock or shake, and this causes the chocolate to assume +the right shape. The molds are then taken to the cooling room, where +they are placed on frames, one above another, in long rows. Girls and +women wrap the cakes of chocolate in the wrappers specially prepared for +them, after which they are packed in boxes ready for shipment. + +At Dorchester, Massachusetts, on the Neponset River, is situated the +largest establishment for the manufacture of cocoa and chocolate in +America. It is interesting to know that on the very spot where these +great mills now stand, was built, in 1765, the first one of the kind in +this country. + + + + +A CRANBERRY BOG + + + WAREHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, Dec. 10, 1901. + +DEAR FRANK: How surprised you will be to learn that I am now a country +boy. We left Boston early last spring, and came out here to go into the +business of cranberry raising. It seemed very strange at first to travel +along country roads, or through woods and fields, instead of upon the +cement walks of our city streets, but we all think the country +delightful. + +A cranberry farm is a marsh or a bog, so you will see that the vines +need a great deal of water. There are both wild and cultivated bogs. +Those that are cultivated are provided with a system of ditches, so that +they can be flooded from time to time. It is a good deal like irrigation +in Southern California, I suppose. We flood the bogs to prevent the +berries from freezing, as well as to furnish the vines with water. I +will tell you more about that by and by. + +Father wanted a larger bog than the one he first bought, so, soon after +we came, he got another small piece of marsh land which joins it on the +west, and started vines on it. + +You know that willows, rosebushes, grapevines, and many other plants +will grow from _cuttings_. It is the same with cranberry vines. The +lower end of each cutting is pressed into the soil, and it soon begins +to grow. They are set in rows about fourteen inches apart. One of our +neighbors, who was starting a bog at the same time, cut the vines into +pieces an inch or two long, and scattered them over the ground. He then +harrowed them in. The vines multiply just as strawberry plants do, by +putting out _runners_. + +They tell us that our new bog will produce a crop in three years. Do you +have to wait that long for a crop of oranges? + +By the middle of June our bog was in full blossom. The flowers are quite +small and their color is a little like that of the flesh. I read an +interesting thing about them the other day. It seems that the berries +used to be called "craneberries," because people thought that the +blossoms, just before they opened fully, "resembled the neck, head, and +bill of a crane." By dropping the _e_, we got the present name. + +[Illustration: FIG. 45.--A Cranberry Bog. Showing the Young Vines.] + +During our harvest time, which lasted from the middle of September to +the last of October, we were very busy. We did not commence to go to +school until the berries were picked. You see, frost may occur and spoil +the crop, so that everybody works as fast as possible until the harvest +is over. Father had about twenty pickers some of the time, besides our +own family. + +[Illustration: FIG. 46.--Cranberry Pickers at Work. Notice how the Bog +is divided into Rows by Means of Cords.] + +When we were ready to begin picking, father took some twine and +stretched it back and forth across the bog, fastening it to small +stakes. This divided the field into rows. Each picker was given a row, +and he was not allowed to change until it was finished. + +At first it seemed great fun to get down on the ground and strip off the +bright berries, but when one does this day after day it gets pretty +tiresome. It must be easy to pick oranges, because you can stand up +while you work. + +Father paid the pickers twelve cents a pail. It takes about three +pailfuls to make a bushel. I averaged about one dollar and a half each +day. I bought a suit of clothes and all of my books for the year, and +have considerable money left. Some of the pickers who were quite small +did not earn very much. Do you recognize Jennie? She worked a part of +every day. + +Twice during the picking season there was a sharp frost, but we saved +the crop. + +The government sends out a Weather Map every day. Our teacher gets one, +and there is one tacked up in the post office every morning. These maps +tell what kind of weather to expect, and father watches them closely. +When he saw that frost was likely to occur, he and the men opened the +gates which hold back the water, in order to flood the part of the bog +where we had not picked. The vines were buried nearly two feet beneath +the surface of the water. Father says the water cools so slowly that its +temperature is much above that of the surface of the ground or the air +near it, so the berries do not get frost-bitten. Soon after sunrise the +water was drawn off, and the next day the bog was dry enough for the +pickers to work. + +[Illustration: Fig. 47.--A Young Worker. Notice how the Berries are +picked.] + +I wonder if the Weather Bureau is of any use to farmers in California. I +know that the sailors watch for the flags which tell when storms are +coming, that they may not go to sea if a violent storm is expected. +Father says very many lives and much property are saved every year in +this way. + +[Illustration: FIG. 48.--Winnowing and Barreling Cranberries.] + +I have not told you what we do with the cranberries after they are +picked. Of course we cannot help gathering some leaves and twigs with +the berries, and these must be taken out. For this purpose the berries +are put into a winnowing machine. I will send you a picture of one. As +the man turns the crank, wooden fans within turn rapidly, blowing out +the leaves, twigs, and dirt. The berries drop through a screen and run +out of a spout into a barrel, as you see. We then put them into crates +or barrels for sale. Father tells me that cranberries are shipped from +our country to Europe, because those raised here are much better than +the European berries. + +There are great quantities of cranberries raised in this part of +Massachusetts. I have been reading lately that they are produced in New +Jersey, on Long Island, in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Canada, and +some other sections. From what I have read, I guess they are not raised +in Southern California. Wouldn't it seem strange if you were to eat +berries raised on our bog, three thousand miles away? + +Now I want you to tell me about the orange groves of Southern +California, for none of us have ever seen an orange growing. + +I wish you all a very "Merry Christmas" and a "Happy New Year." + + Your loving friend, + + WILL. + + + + +THE COCOANUT ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC + + +Imagine yourself on a great ocean steamship, gliding over the blue water +of the Pacific Ocean toward the Samoan Islands. Among the first things +that you will see as you near the shores of these islands will be tall, +slender, graceful trees, rising without a branch to a height of thirty +to eighty feet. At the top is a sort of crown, composed of long, +drooping leaves. These beautiful trees lean out over the water and toss +their leaves in the strong and steady breeze from the ocean. They seem +to nod a friendly greeting to you as you approach, and to wave a loving +farewell to you as you sail away. These trees are the cocoanut palms. +They grow on all of the tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean, in the +West Indies, and along the shores of most warm countries, but never far +from the sea. + +When the cocoanut falls into the water, it is rocked and tossed by the +waves and drifted about by the currents, but it is safe within its +shell, for the salt water cannot penetrate this. When it finally comes +to rest upon some strange shore, it is ready to give to the world +another cocoanut palm, if the climate is like that from which it sailed. +In this way nature has helped the trees to become widely distributed. + +There are cocoanut plantations as well as wild groves of the trees. When +a plantation is to be established, the planter selects the ripest nuts +and dries them for several weeks. They are then planted, and by and by a +little palm springs from the small end of the nut and the roots from the +large end. When the young trees are from six months to two years old, +they are transplanted in rows thirty or forty feet apart. They begin to +bear nuts in about five years, but they do not yield a full crop for +fifteen or twenty years. Do you think that a poor man could afford to go +into the business of cocoanut raising? + +[Illustration: FIG. 49.--A Cocoanut Grove.] + +As you see in the picture, cocoanuts grow in clusters. You notice +also that they grow close to the stem instead of at the ends of the +branches. They do not all ripen at once, but nuts may be picked at +almost any time. A tree will produce from fifty to one hundred nuts each +year. If you were to go into an apple, a peach, or a cherry orchard, you +could easily pick the ripe fruit. Gathering cocoanuts is quite a +different matter, however. Let us observe this shiny-skinned Samoan boy +and see how he picks them. He fastens a short piece of rope in the form +of a loop to each foot. Letting one of the loops catch on a rough place +on the bark of the tree he places the hollow of his foot against it, +clasps the trunk with his hands, and raises himself a little. Then the +other loop is fastened a little higher up, and he raises himself again. +In this way he finally reaches the nuts. With a knife he cuts off the +ripe ones, which fall to the ground and are then piled up. They are then +placed in baskets which are hung from a pole and carried on the +shoulders of two men or are loaded on to donkeys and taken to the shed. + +The ripe cocoanut is a valuable article of food just as it is picked +from the tree. It contains also a milk which is a nourishing drink. Most +of the cocoanut sent to other countries, however, is in a form known as +_copra_. + +At the shed the hard shell, which covers the meat, is split open by +means of an ax. The meat is removed with a knife and is then spread out +on mats to dry. This dried cocoanut is copra. + +The inhabitants of these cocoanut islands live in a much more simple +style than we do, and the cocoanut tree supplies many of the things that +they use daily. + +Let us examine the home of a native Samoan. The frame and posts of the +house are made of the slender trunks of the cocoanut palm, while the +roof is covered with its leaves instead of with shingles. The cups, +bowls, dippers, and many other household utensils are made of the +shells. If a whole shell is wanted, the "eyes" are pushed in, the milk +is used, and ants are allowed to eat the meat. These make excellent +water bottles. Baskets, curtains, and twine, are made from the fiber of +the leaves, and the bark is used for fuel. + +From the copra an oil is pressed which is used in the manufacture of +soap. It makes a perfectly white soap that will float on the water. It +is also used to furnish light, and the people rub it on their bodies to +prevent sunburn. The sap of the tree is made into sugar, vinegar, and a +liquor. + +While in our country the cocoanut is important chiefly to bakers and +confectioners, in these far-away islands it is the most useful of +plants, and one of the chief articles of food. Would you not like to +visit the cocoanut islands and learn more of their interesting people? + + + + +A BUNCH OF BANANAS + + +Every day, as you walk along the streets you see great bunches of +bananas hanging in front of fruit and grocery stores. You find them at +the corner fruit stand, and peddlers carry them from house to house. + +Although bananas are so common now and so cheap that all can afford to +eat them, this was not so when your grandparents were children. In those +days the fruit was regarded as quite a luxury, for there were few people +engaged in carrying it from its tropical home to the cities of our +country. Now many small but swift ships, called "fruiters," carry on +this business. They get their cargoes of fruit in the West Indies or +Central America, and within a week after sailing they are unloading at +New Orleans, Baltimore, New York, or Boston. If the number of bananas +which reach our country each year were equally distributed, each person +would receive twenty-five. + +[Illustration: FIG. 50.--A Banana Tree.] + +Let us get aboard that wonderful train upon which all may travel free of +cost, which runs equally well upon land and water. We step off right in +the center of a banana plantation on the island of Jamaica. + +Yes, these are banana trees all about you. See how long and broad the +leaves are and how gracefully they droop! Some of them are ten or +fifteen feet long; almost as long as the trees are tall. The trees, you +see, are simply stalks from which the leaves unroll. Here you can see +some just starting out. They are rolls of bright green, pointing upward, +each starting from the center of the stalk. No, the leaves were not torn +in that way by the pickers. The wind sometimes whips them into ribbons, +for they are very tender. + +These stalks growing from the base of the main stem are called "suckers" +here; in Costa Rica they are called "bits." You remember that there are +no seeds in bananas. It is these "suckers" that are planted when a +farmer wants to start a plantation. They are set out when two or three +feet high and within a year they bear fruit. What did I tell you about +the length of time required for the cocoanut to bear? + +It is but four years since the trees in this plantation were single +"suckers," standing about fifteen feet apart. Now there are several +stalks grouped about each parent plant, and the beautiful leaves, +touching overhead, form shaded aisles of green. + +[Illustration: FIG. 51.--A Banana Plantation.] + +Of course a great number of "suckers" are not allowed to grow together. +Keeping these cut down is called "cleaning the plantation." + +Now let us examine the fruit on this tree beside us. You see that the +great cluster or bunch is made up of smaller bunches. These are called +"hands," and each banana is spoken of as a "finger." Let us count the +"hands" in this bunch. This is an unusually large one, for it contains +thirteen. Nine "hands" make a _full bunch_. As you see, there are from +ten to twenty "fingers" in a "hand." Buyers will seldom take bunches of +less than six "hands." + +Here come the fruit cutters to help get a cargo for the "fruiter" we saw +at anchor. + +Yes, the bananas are green, I know, and they are always green when +gathered. They will ripen in the storehouses when they reach the United +States. + +No, it is not a waste to cut down the stalks, for they die after bearing +their fruit, and the smaller stalks about them will soon yield. Some of +these stalks, you see, have but one bunch and some have two or three. +How odd the bunches look with the "fingers" all pointing upward! + +The banana leaves which the men are wrapping about the bunches are to +protect the fruit. It bruises very easily and great quantities are lost +on this account. They are not always wrapped, however. + +When the fruit reaches the vessel, it is carefully inspected; and if not +in just the right condition, it is refused. The bunches which are +accepted, are taken into the hold of the ship and packed closely +together. The planter receives for these from ten to thirty-five cents a +bunch. Just think of buying eight or nine dozen of bananas for ten +cents! + +[Illustration: FIG. 52.--Loading a Small Boat with Bananas to be taken +to the "Fruiter" in the Harbor.] + +The men will not stop work until the ship is loaded. It may take +twenty-four hours, and it may take twice that long, for a "fruiter" will +carry from fifteen to twenty thousand bunches of fruit. + +In some parts of Central America, where there are no harbors, the +planters float the fruit down the streams in canoes. The vessels anchor +at some distance from the shore, and the bananas are taken out in boats +called _dories_. They are hoisted up to the deck of the ship by means of +pulleys, and then packed in the hold. The thousands of bunches which are +bruised in handling are thrown into the sea. + +While the northern ports get most of their supply of bananas from the +West Indies, the Pacific coast states are supplied from Central America. +The "fruiters" unload at New Orleans into trains, which carry the fruit +to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other places. Banana trains also run +from New Orleans to St. Louis, Chicago, and other parts of the country. + +The fruit ships have great pipes or ventilators, which carry the cool, +fresh air from the sea down into the hold. Sometimes when they reach +port it is so cold that the bananas cannot be taken out for a few days. +Wagons are loaded with the fruit at the wharves, and it is taken to +warehouses where it gradually turns yellow. I am sure you have seen +loads of the green fruit on the streets. + +[Illustration: FIG. 53.--A "Fruiter" taking a Cargo of Bananas.] + +When the wholesale merchant sells the fruit, he often incloses each +bunch in the rough material of which gunny sacks are made, and then puts +a light, circular frame, made of strips of wood, over it. This, you see, +protects the bananas. The grocer or fruit man takes hold of the frame +without danger of mashing the fruit, lifts the bunch, and hangs it upon +a hook. The frame and sacking are then removed. + +Bananas grow in the tropical parts of Asia and Africa and on many of the +islands of the Pacific Ocean. They are also raised in Florida, and they +ripen in sheltered places in Southern California. + +You have seen both yellow and red bananas. The red ones usually bring +the higher price, but they do not keep well and are not so extensively +raised as the yellow ones. + +The banana is an important article of food. It is much more nourishing +than potatoes or even good, white bread. A flour or meal can be made +from the fruit by drying it and then grinding. + + + + +HOW DATES GROW + + +Three thousand years before the shepherds followed the star to the +manger at Bethlehem, the beautiful date palm was cultivated beside the +banks of the Euphrates and the Nile rivers. The date was the bread of +the people who lived in these fertile valleys, and it is an important +article of food in northern Africa, Arabia, and Persia to-day. + +Look at a map of northern Africa, and you will see that the great Sahara +covers a large part of it. Here and there across the drifting sands wind +caravan routes, traveled by camels ridden by strangely dressed men. +These routes lead to beautiful garden spots called _oases_. Here are +wells and springs, with little streams flowing in the shade of fig, date +palm, and other trees. The people who dwell within these groves beside +the cooling waters look out upon the desert as the inhabitants of an +island might look upon the boundless sea. Find some of these oases and +learn why they are fertile. The people who live in these oases depend +upon dates for their living. The dreary journey from the coast to the +interior is made to procure quantities of this fruit, which are wanted +by the outside world. + +If you were to make a journey in a desert country, you would find that +you could not carry such articles of food as you would have if you +remained at home. The sunshine beats down fiercely, the springs and +wells are far apart, and the patient animals must not be overloaded. The +chief article of food carried is the date. A mass is packed together +until it is so hard that pieces are chopped off with a hatchet when they +are wanted. + +Like the cocoanut palm, the date palm rises to a great height, sometimes +fifty or sixty feet, without branches. It ends in a crown of beautiful +feathery leaves which droop downward. These leaves may be ten or fifteen +feet long. Many of them stand edgewise. Unlike most trees, the trunk +does not steadily increase in size, and you can tell nothing as to +the age of the tree by its diameter. + +[Illustration: FIG. 54.--Date Palms loaded with Ripe Fruit, Biskra, +Algeria. (Year Book U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1900.)] + +In its wild state many shoots spring from the base of the tree. These +may grow as high as the parent stalk, so that in time a jungle or +thicket is formed. + +The flowers, which are clear white, grow in clusters. There are from six +to twenty of these clusters on a tree, each of which produces a bunch of +dates. The female tree bears the fruit. The blossoms are pollinated both +by the wind and by man. + +There are from ten to fifteen pounds of dates in a bunch. A tree will +average from one hundred to two hundred pounds each year, although trees +have been known to yield six hundred pounds. The trees yield when from +four to eight years old, and continue to bear for a century. + +The dates, green at first, later in the year a yellowish brown, are, +when ripe, amber or black in color. + +The trees require a very dry, hot climate, but moist soil. Long, long +ago, this saying was common among the Arabs, "The date palm, the queen +of trees, must have her feet in running water and her head in the +burning sky." + +Although there are lovely date palm trees on the grounds of many +California homes, few of them bear fruit. The temperature must average +from eighty to ninety degrees for a considerable time in the summer, in +order to mature it. What is the average summer temperature in your +locality? + +If an ordinary tree is frost-bitten, it recovers and soon puts out a new +growth; but if the crown of the date palm be frozen, the tree dies. + +When the Moors went to Spain, in the eleventh century, they introduced +this valuable tree which the mission fathers several hundred years later +brought to Mexico and to Southern California. + +How would you like to try to climb a date palm tree? Although they look +so smooth and are without branches, the natives of the desert climb them +without any help whatever. The trunk is always somewhat rough, and this +makes it possible to ascend them. + +[Illustration: FIG. 55.--Date Palm Trees.] + +Not all of the dates in a bunch ripen at once, so they are usually +picked by hand and only the ripe ones selected. Sometimes, however, the +bunches are cut off. Some dates contain so much sap that the bunches +must be hung up to allow it to drain off before they can be shipped. +This sap is called _date honey_, and is saved. They are sent to the +coast towns in bags or boxes called _frails_. Where dates are to be sold +in small quantities, they are repacked in the small boxes such as you +have seen. + +You know that dates are very sweet, and it is no wonder that they are, +for they contain from fifty-five to sixty per cent of sugar. + +The trees are often tapped, and the sap which flows out is made into +sugar. Vinegar and a liquor called _arrack_ are also made from it. The +leaves of the tree are made into bags and mats; from the stones a drink +is made which takes the place of coffee. From the leafstalks baskets are +made, while the trunk furnishes material for houses and for fences. + +If the dates could speak, they could tell us many wonderful stories of +the far East, of the river boats on the Nile, of the drifting sands +which come so close to the river's banks, of the caravans creeping over +the desert toward the green oases and then fading out of sight, bearing +loads of this food to the countries where it is not produced. + + + + +THE ORANGE GROVES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA + + + PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, Jan. 4, 1902. + +DEAR FRIEND WILL: I was very glad to receive your letter, and much +surprised to know that you are living on a farm. I am glad that you +described the raising of cranberries, for I did not know much about it +before. When I told my teacher about getting the letter, she asked me to +read it in the geography class and to show the pictures. I asked our +grocery-man where he gets his cranberries, and found that some of them +came from Wareham. + +You are having cold weather now, I know. Is the skating good? I have not +seen ice as thick as window glass since we came to California, except +that delivered by the iceman. Just now there is a beautiful covering of +snow on the mountains a few miles north and east of town. Just think of +picking roses and callas with snow in plain sight! The snow never +remains more than a day or two on these mountains. + +Soon after we came to Pasadena, father bought an orange grove of +twenty-five acres. We are picking the fruit now. People began to pick +oranges several weeks ago, and the work will continue all winter. + +Orange trees are planted about twenty feet apart, but the groves do not +look as apple orchards do in the East, for no grass is allowed to grow +in them. + +The best orange section is east of here, near Redlands and Riverside, +but some good fruit is raised near Pasadena also. + +Father keeps our trees pruned down rather low, so that it is easier to +pick the oranges than it would be if they were allowed to grow very +tall. + +Orange raising is like cranberry growing in one way--the land must be +irrigated in each case. Here the water is piped from the mountain +streams and from tunnels. We form basins about ten feet square around +each tree and fill them with water. Most of our irrigating is done +during the summer, as the winter is our rainy season. _You_ would not +call it a very rainy time. Our average is about twenty inches for the +whole year. + +The trees in our grove have been set out about six years, and they are +bearing nicely now. Orange trees begin to bear when they are four years +old; so, you see, we have to wait a little longer for a crop than you do +for a crop of cranberries. It costs a good deal to start an orange +grove. Trees cost from one dollar to one and one-half dollars each at +the nurseries. A few years ago they sold for twenty cents each. + +I wish that you could see the trees when they are in full blossom, and +also when they are loaded with the golden fruit. I am going to put some +orange blossoms into the envelope, but I am afraid they will not reach +you in very good condition. They are very fragrant, and you can smell +their perfume some distance from a tree in blossom. + +To-day we picked about two hundred and fifty boxes of oranges. We always +speak of _picking_ them, although they are not picked, but cut. You +see, if they were picked off, the part where the stem pulled off would +soon begin to decay. + +We take a wagon load of fruit boxes, and, while father drives slowly +between the rows of trees, I throw them off. + +[Illustration: FIG. 56.--Picking Oranges in California.] + +Each picker carries a sack slung over one shoulder, and as fast as he +cuts off an orange, he drops it into the sack. The sacks are emptied +into the boxes, and these are loaded on to the wagon. Father pays five +cents a box for picking, and a good picker will gather about forty boxes +in a day. + +We sell most of our oranges to fruit companies. These companies pack and +ship the fruit. At the packing houses the oranges are placed in tubs of +water and scrubbed with small brushes. Many women, girls, and boys work +at this. The washing is to take off dirt, and also _scale_. + +[Illustration: FIG. 57.--Grading and Packing Oranges.] + +After the oranges are washed, they are placed in a sort of trough which +is highest at the end near the tub. They roll down this trough to the +_grader_. This is a machine so arranged that the oranges pass through +different openings according to their size, and come out sorted. + +In the warehouse close by they are wrapped and packed. Chinamen often do +this work. Each orange is wrapped in a separate piece of paper, which +has the brand of the company stamped upon it. It is then packed firmly +in a box. A certain number of oranges of each grade fill a box, +ninety-six of the largest grade, and about two hundred of the smallest. +Those which are too small, as well as the imperfect oranges, are +rejected. These are called _culls_. Sometimes these are sold for a low +price, and sometimes they are thrown away by wagon loads. + +After the boxes are filled, they are placed in special fruit cars and +hurried to St. Louis, Chicago, New York, Boston, and other cities. + +Yes, the Weather Bureau is of great help to fruit growers. Of course we +have very little winter here, but oranges will not endure much cold. The +mercury falls below the freezing point but a few times each season. On +New Year's Day the temperature here was fifty-eight degrees. I looked up +the Boston temperature for the same day and found that it was only four +degrees above zero. When the Bureau predicts a sharp freeze, the farmers +build small fires in their orchards, or turn on a good deal of water. +The fires are built in small wire baskets. They make a smudge instead of +a flame. The people in the raisin districts watch the weather reports +pretty closely, for rain injures the drying grapes. + +Growers have to _spray_ or _fumigate_ the trees to destroy the scale +that I spoke of which is a great enemy of the orange, to kill the +insects, and to wash off dirt. This is sometimes done by putting a great +piece of canvas over the tree, forming a sort of tent which prevents the +fumes from escaping. It was found that the ladybugs would eat the scale +and so they were brought into California from the East. They do a great +deal of good, but still we have to spray the trees. + +Orange trees are raised from the seed, and the trees produced in this +way are called _seedlings_. By _budding_, a fruit much better than the +oranges grown on the seedling tree has been produced. There were five +acres of seedlings in our grove, and father budded the trees. He cut +off the limbs rather close to the trunk of the tree. Then he slipped +buds from _navel_ trees into cuts made through the bark in the end of +each limb left on the tree. He then wound cord tightly about the limb +and put on some wax. After a time a new growth started out where these +buds were placed. These new branches will bear much improved fruit. + +We have a very fine variety of oranges called Washington Navels. Trees +of this variety were obtained by our government from Brazil. Two of +these were brought to Riverside, a town about seventy-five miles east of +Pasadena, and planted on a ranch belonging to a Mr. Tibbits. They did +well, and all of the trees of this variety in Southern California were +obtained from these two through budding. These trees are still living. + +California and Florida are the two important orange-growing states of +our country. Father says the industry is much older in Florida than in +our state. Florida growers can ship their fruit to market much cheaper +than we can. It costs us ninety cents for each box. + +Mexico, the West Indies, Italy, southern France, and Spain are also +orange producers. These countries have the advantage of cheap labor, +father says. + +I wish that you could visit us. We would have fine times, I am sure. + +The next time I write I will tell you about some of the other fruits +raised in California. + + Your sincere friend, + FRANK. + + + + +A VISIT TO A VINEYARD + + + PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, Oct. 1, 1902. + +DEAR FRIEND WILL: Last week father went to Fresno, which is about three +hundred miles northwest of here, in the San Joaquin valley. He took me +with him, and we visited some of the great vineyards and raisin-packing +establishments near and in that city. + +Raisins are simply dried grapes. Although there are many countries where +grapes grow, there are few where raisins are made. Dew, fog, and rain +injure the fruit, so that the San Joaquin valley, with its dry, hot +atmosphere, is well adapted to this industry. + +There are a great many different kinds of grapes but only the green +variety is used in making raisins. The raisin grapes are called +_muscats_. If the grapes are left on the vines long enough, they become +raisins. I have picked some pretty good raisins from the vines. Of +course by being spread out, they dry quicker and more evenly. + +The sugar that you find on and in the raisins is not put there by the +people who dry the grapes. It comes from the juice of the grape. + +Grapevines grow from both roots and cuttings. Of course cuttings are the +cheaper. Often they may be had for the asking. Many think that it is +better to set out rooted vines than cuttings. + +They are planted in rows from six feet apart to twelve or fifteen feet. +During the first year the young vines will grow several feet. In the +fall, when the flow of the sap has been checked by frost, the vines are +pruned. A vineyard in California looks quite different from one in the +East. During the winter it is simply so many rows of stumps several +inches in thickness and one or two feet high. During the summer the +branches grow from these stumps and produce their beautiful clusters of +grapes, only to be cut off in the fall or winter. + +The trimmings are generally burned in the vineyard at the same time that +they are cut off. A sort of furnace made of sheet iron is fastened +between two wheels and drawn by horses up and down between the rows. A +man pitches the cuttings into it, and they burn as it moves along. + +In the early summer men go through the vineyards sprinkling a coating of +sulphur on the vines. This is to prevent mildew, which damages the fruit +very much. + +During the last half of August and September the grapes are picked. +Sometimes the harvest continues into October. Most of the grapes had +been gathered when we visited the vineyards. + +When the juice of the grapes is one fourth sugar, they are ready to +pick. The grower generally tells the condition by the taste and color of +the fruit, although there are instruments for determining the amount of +sugar. + +Like oranges, grapes are cut from the vines and not picked. We saw great +companies of Chinamen going through the vineyards cutting off the +beautiful clusters. These they placed on shallow, wooden trays to dry. +In a week or two, when the upper side of the clusters is pretty well +dried, the grapes are turned. We saw the workmen place an empty tray, +upside down, over the filled one. Then, holding the two together, they +turned them over, and the grapes dropped into the tray that had been +placed on top. + +[Illustration: FIG. 58.--Picking Grapes.--Notice the Mountains in the +Background.] + +[Illustration: FIG. 59.--Drying Raisin Grapes.] + +During this drying time the people watch the reports of the Weather +Bureau. In some places flags are displayed when rain is expected. As a +rule the grape season is over before the rains begin. + +When the grapes are taken from the trays, they are placed in boxes +holding about one hundred pounds each. These are called _sweat boxes_. +Here the driest grapes absorb some of the moisture from the others, and +the mass becomes more uniform. + +[Illustration: FIG. 60.--A Vineyard after being Pruned.] + +After the drying process has been finished, the stems are rather +brittle. To make them softer and easier to handle, the grapes are next +placed in a cool room and left there for a time. + +After visiting some of the vineyards, we drove to one of the great +packing establishments in Fresno. These packing houses are nearly always +in the cities and towns, because there help can be easily obtained. The +packing house that we visited employs four hundred people, mostly girls +and women. + +The raisins are first placed on wooden or metal frames the size of a +raisin box. These are called _forms_, and the packers are paid according +to the number of forms filled. When these are filled, the raisins are +carefully transferred to the boxes. + +A box of raisins weighs twenty pounds, but there are half boxes and +quarter boxes put up also. A paper is placed on the bottom of each box, +and over the raisins another is placed. On top of this there is a fancy +paper on which the name of the packer is stamped. + +In most establishments there are three grades of raisins, Imperial +Clusters, London Layers, and the loose and imperfect stems. + +Sometimes a second crop of grapes is gathered a little later in the +fall. Of course these do not dry so well because the days are shorter, +it is cooler, and rains sometimes occur. On this account they are dipped +in lye and then rinsed in water. The lye cracks the skin, and so the +juice evaporates more quickly. These are called Valencia raisins. There +is not a very good market for these, so that people do not dip them so +commonly now as they used to. + +We saw the machine where the raisins are _stemmed_. They pass from a +hopper into a space between two woven-wire cylinders. The inner one +revolves within the other. In this way the raisins are broken from the +stems. They are then run through a fanning mill which cleans them, and +they are finally graded by passing through screens having openings of +different sizes. + +Most of the seedless raisins are made from seedless grapes, but there +are machines for removing the seeds from the grapes which contain them. + +The superintendent of the packing house said that nearly all of the +raisins that we import come from Spain, and that they are exported +chiefly from the city of Malaga. + +The purple and other _wine grapes_ are taken to the wineries and sold by +the ton, to be made into wine. + +There are many other things that I should like to write about, but my +letter is a pretty long one now, so I will close. + + Your loving friend, + FRANK. + + + + +NUTTING + + +Have you ever gone into the woods on a beautiful autumn day? The bright, +warm sunshine floods the earth where the trees are far apart and sifts +down through the branches. All nature seems to invite you to lie down +under a tree and dream. It was on such a day that Rip Van Winkle fell +into his long sleep. + +How pretty the trees look in their fall suits of yellow, crimson, red, +and brown! What a rustling is made as your feet tread the carpet of +leaves! + +The breezes pass among the branches and whisper a message to the +bright-colored leaves. They understand and obey. Singly, in groups, and +in showers, they silently float downward. By night and by day they fall, +but soon this carpet will be changed for one of white. + +Listen! The leaves are not the only things that are falling. You can +hear the _thump_, _thump_ of nuts as they drop from their lofty perches +in the walnut and hickory-nut trees. + +Sit down quietly on that log and you will soon see the busy nut +gatherers. With their tails curled over their backs, they race up and +down the trees, or spring from branch to branch, carrying their precious +burdens to their homes in the hollows of trunk or limb. Now one sits up +straight, holding a nut between his paws, and turning it slowly as he +cracks and eats it. If he sees you, he whisks out of sight, or scolds +you from a safe place far above the ground. + +When the winter winds are whistling through the leafless trees, and +snows are drifting over the ground, these little nut gatherers feast to +their hearts' content. + +The squirrels do not gather all of the nuts. Children and grown people +enjoy nutting. When there are not enough nuts on the ground, the men and +boys climb the trees to shake them off. Then everybody hunts among the +leaves for the treasures. + +Some of the most important nuts are walnuts, hickory nuts, hazelnuts, +almonds, chestnuts, Brazil nuts, pecans, and peanuts. + +Many of the hickory nuts fall out of their coverings bright and clean. +Walnuts generally have to be _shucked_, and the juice stains the hands +almost black. + +As hazelnuts grow on bushes, they can be easily picked. They usually +drop out of their burs after there have been a few frosts. + +Many nuts are gathered in the woods, but in some places the trees are +cultivated just as fruit trees are. + +We usually eat nuts between meals, or as a dessert. They are not simply +dainties, but are very valuable articles of food. In some countries the +poor people depend upon them for food. + +In almost any city of our country are to be found the nuts that I have +mentioned, with perhaps several other kinds. These have come from +different states, some from Canada, some from Brazil, and some from +Spain. + +I am sure you will enjoy gathering nuts of different kinds, so let us +set out on a nutting expedition. + + + + +A WALNUT VACATION + + +How would you like to have your school close for two weeks, so that you +could gather walnuts? Every year many of the boys and girls of Southern +California are given a vacation just for this purpose. It is called the +"walnut vacation," and occurs in the month of October. + +These children do not take their baskets and go off to the woods where +they can romp and play, watch the squirrels, and gather beautiful autumn +leaves. They gather nuts from the trees which their parents own, for in +Southern California there are many walnut ranches or groves. You see the +vacation means a vacation for work instead of for play. + +Walnut trees are set out in rows just as apple trees are, but their +roots and branches extend to such a distance from the trunks that they +need to be about twice as far apart. + +The walnut harvest, which begins about the first of October, is a busy +time. Men, women, boys, and girls may be seen in the groves, shaking the +nuts from the trees, picking them up, and putting them into sacks. + +[Illustration: FIG. 61.--A Walnut Grove.] + +The men shake the trees, and there is a shower of nuts to the earth. Do +not go under the branches now unless you want to be pelted. A single +tree has been known to yield three hundred pounds of nuts in a season. + +When the trees have been given a good shaking, there are still some nuts +clinging to the branches. These are obtained by shaking the limbs +separately, by means of long poles, to the ends of which wire hooks are +fastened. As all of the nuts do not ripen at the same time, the trees +are sometimes gone over two or three times. + +Now the boys, girls, and women go to work filling pails and baskets and +emptying them into sacks, for they can do this work as well as men. + +Usually the nuts drop out of their covering or _shuck_ when they strike +the ground; but if they do not, the _shuck_ must be removed. Sometimes +the covering is cut off. If you handle the nuts with your bare hands, +they will be stained almost black, and you will have to let the color +wear off. + +The days are bright and warm, and this sort of nutting becomes rather +tiresome before sundown. The work must be done and the vacation is not a +very long one, so each does his part cheerfully. + +When the nuts have been gathered, they are taken to the shed or place +where they are to be washed. Here they are poured into a large wire +cylinder which revolves in a tank filled with water. The machine is +turned by a horse walking round and round, and it both washes and grades +the nuts. The smaller ones pass through the meshes in the wire and are +called _second grade_. The larger ones are known as _first grade_. + +[Illustration: FIG. 62.--Washing, Drying, and Sacking Walnuts.] + +When the walnuts come out of the washer, they are spread out on shallow, +wooden trays to dry. Sometimes several thousand trays may be seen on +one ranch. They are loaded on to a small car and pushed to the part of +the field where they are wanted. + +If there is no foggy or cloudy weather, they will dry in about five +days, but if there is, it may take ten. + +After the nuts are thoroughly dried, the trays are placed on the car and +pushed to the _bleacher_. This is a large box made of tarred paper. It +is placed over the trays, and a quantity of sulphur is burned in it. +This is simply to whiten the shells, for they sell for a higher price +when they are bleached. Sometimes the nuts are whitened by dipping them +into a liquid preparation. + +The nuts are now sacked and marked, ready to ship. Soon after the boys +and girls have finished their "walnut vacation," the nuts are on their +way to the eastern part of the United States. + +Most of the walnuts raised in California have soft shells. Some have +such thin shells that they are called "paper shells." The walnuts that +grow in the woods of Indiana, Illinois, and other states have hard +shells. They are dark in color and are called _black walnuts_. The trees +are quite valuable, as the wood is used in making furniture. + + + + +CHESTNUTS + + +Let us go on a chestnutting expedition to the southern part of France. +We can gather the nuts in many of the states of our own country, but the +trip to a strange land will be enjoyed by all. + +The chestnut trees, many of which are very old, spread their branches to +great distances. The nuts, as you see, are inclosed in a _bur_ or coat +which covers the shell. There are generally two nuts in each bur. + +When _you_ eat chestnuts, you eat them as a sort of dainty, not as a +regular article of food. This is not the case in the home of Jean, the +boy who is helping his father fill those sacks. In his home, as in many +homes in southern Europe, the nuts form one of the chief articles of +daily food. + +In the winter Jean sells the freshly roasted nuts on a street corner in +the city of Lyons. He gets a good many pennies each noon from workmen +and poor people generally, who use them for their midday meal. He sells +ten nuts for a penny. + +This is not the only way in which they are eaten. Jean's mother boils +them with celery and mashes them as we do potatoes. The nuts are also +ground into a flour from which bread is made. They are often used in the +dressing for fowls. + +Confectioners use great quantities of chestnuts. In Lyons there are +establishments where as many as two hundred persons are employed in +preparing them. + +The nuts are first peeled, and then boiled in clear water, which removes +the thin coating next the kernel. They are then placed in a sirup +flavored with Mexican vanilla, in which they remain for about three +days. After draining, they are coated with vanilla or chocolate and +packed in attractive boxes. In this form they are worth forty-five or +fifty cents a pound. + + + + +A BAG OF PEANUTS + + +Last summer Harry's parents took him with them on a visit to Virginia. +Harry has always lived in New York City, and the country life of the +South was very interesting to him. + +They visited friends who live on a beautiful _plantation_, as the farms +in the South are called. A driveway lined with grand old trees leads +through the flower-studded lawn up to the retired manor house, whose +wide verandas completely circle it round. + +Beyond the house are the stables where work horses, driving horses, and +saddle horses are kept; and beyond these is the pretty little boathouse, +standing on the bank of a small river that winds its way through the +plantation. + +The morning after Harry arrived, his friend Bert asked him if he would +like to go across the river to see the men harvest peanuts. + +Now whenever Harry had wanted peanuts, he had always gone to a stand +and bought a sack. He had never thought about where they came from. He +had heard of shaking nuts from trees, so he supposed that they were +going to the woods. + +He was therefore much surprised when Bert took him to a field across the +river where men were plowing vines from the ground. + +"Do peanuts grow in the ground?" he asked. + +"Why, of course they do," answered Bert. + +"I thought that nuts grew on trees," said Harry. + +"Father says that the peanut is not a _real_ nut," replied his friend. +"He says they should be called _ground nuts_ or _ground peas_." He +pulled up one of the vines, and the boys threw themselves down under a +tree to examine it. + +When the small clods of soil clinging to the roots of the plant had been +removed, Harry saw a number of pods which he recognized as peanuts. + +Opening one of the pods, Bert took out the kernels. + +"These," said he, "are the _seeds_, and they are planted much as other +seeds are. + +"Before they are planted the shell must be removed, but we have to be +careful not to break the thin skin that covers the kernel. If that be +broken, the seed will not grow. + +"The kernels are planted about one foot apart, in rows that are, as you +see, about three feet apart. Sometimes they are planted by hand and +sometimes by machinery." + +"I wonder if peanuts are raised in the country around New York," said +Harry. + +"No, I think not," replied Bert, "for they are very easily killed by +frost. Great quantities are raised in North Carolina and in Tennessee. +Father says that the negroes of western Africa raised them long, long +before they were known in the United States. He says that they are a +very important article of food there, and that whole villages take part +in the planting and harvesting. + +"After the vines blossom," continued Bert, "a very strange thing +happens." + +"What is it?" asked Harry. + +"The flower stalks bend downward and push themselves right into the +soil, and on these the pods develop. If the stalks do not enter the +earth within a few hours after the flowers fall, they die." + +Harry now watched the plowing. The plows were drawn up and down the rows +and ran directly under the vines, lifting them out of the soil. After +they had been plowed out about two hours, men took them upon pitchforks +and piled them up. Harry noticed that some of the piles were covered +with corn fodder, and asked why this was. Bert told him that it was to +keep out the rain. + +"What happens to the nuts after the vines have been piled up?" said +Harry. + +"They remain in the piles fifteen or twenty days, and are then spread +out on the ground or hauled to the barn, where the nuts are picked off," +answered Bert. "Sometimes they are picked by hand and sometimes by +machinery. Let us go to the lower field; we have an earlier variety +there, and the nuts are being picked now." + +They found men, women, and children picking the pods one by one and +dropping them into baskets. These were emptied into sacks. Harry tried +to lift one of these, and was surprised to find it so heavy. Bert told +him that it weighed about one hundred pounds. + +"Do you burn the vines after the nuts are picked?" asked Harry. + +"No," said Bert, "they are fed to the cattle. We call the vines _peanut +hay_." + +Bert explained that his father sold the sacks of nuts to the factory, +where they were cleaned and sorted. + +The next day the boys went to town and visited the peanut factory. + +The nuts were first put through a machine which removed the dirt. They +were then polished and sorted into four grades. The poorest grade is +used in making peanut candy. The nuts were then sacked, and were ready +to be shipped to the North. + +Harry learned that an oil is made from the nuts which is used as olive +oil is used, and also that peanut butter is produced from them. He +found that many men were employed on plantations all through Virginia +and other states of the South, in raising the peanuts that are sold on +the streets of every city and town in our country. + + + + +ASSORTED NUTS + + +After the Thanksgiving dinner had been eaten, the nuts were passed, and +the children asked Uncle John to tell them something about a few of +them. + +"All right," said he. "You pick out the ones that you want to know +about." + +Frank handed him an almond. + +"This nut," said Uncle John, "came from sunny Spain. It grew not far +from the blue Mediterranean. Almonds are raised in most parts of +southern Europe and in the northern part of Africa. Ages ago they grew +in the Holy Land, and are mentioned in the Bible." + +"Do almonds grow in any part of our country?" asked Helen. + +"I think they grow in California," said Frank. + +"You are right," said Uncle John. "There are many almond orchards in the +southern part of the state. + +"An almond tree in full bloom is a beautiful sight. The blossoms are +white, tinted with pink, and as they appear before the leaves do, there +is nothing to hide them." + +[Illustration: FIG. 63.--Almond Trees in Full Bloom.] + +"Does the nut have a covering?" inquired Mary. + +"Yes," replied Uncle John. "When the nut is ripe, the shuck opens +gradually, and sometimes the nuts fall out. + +"When people have large orchards, they spread pieces of canvas under +the trees and then shake them or beat them by means of long poles. + +"The nuts that do not fall out of the shucks are obtained by opening the +shuck with a knife. The nuts are then dried, and are ready for market." + +As soon as Uncle John had finished, Mary handed him a hazelnut. "Please +tell about this one," said she. + +"I have often gone hazel nutting when I was a boy," said her uncle. +"Hazelnuts grow on bushes in thickets. They are six or eight feet high +and very slender. Baskets are sometimes made of them, and I have often +used them for arrows. + +"Sometimes the nuts grow singly, and sometimes in groups of two or +three. A bur covers the nut, which sticks very closely until it is ripe. +Then the nuts often fall out. + +"After I had gathered the hazelnuts, I used to spread them out on the +roof of the wood house to dry." + +"Nuts that look just like these are called filberts," said Helen. + +"Filberts are cultivated hazelnuts," replied Uncle John; "they are +larger than the wild ones." + +"I would like to know how this nut grows," said Helen, handing her uncle +a black nut shaped like a triangular prism. + +"This," said Uncle John, "came from Brazil, and is called a Brazil nut. +Do you know where Brazil is?" + +"It is in the northeastern part of South America," replied Helen. + +"The great Amazon River is in Brazil, and it flows through tropical +forests," said Mary. + +"Much of our coffee comes from Brazil," said Frank. + +Uncle John then told the children that Brazil nuts come from the +northern part of Brazil and from the Orinoco valley. + +Helen asked if they grow as walnuts and hickory nuts do. + +"No," answered her uncle, "they grow inside of a great case or shell. +There are from eighteen to twenty-five in one shell, which is nearly as +large as a man's head." + +"How are the nuts got out of the shells?" asked Mary. + +"When they fall, men break them open and take out the nuts," replied +Uncle John. "Most of them are sent down the Amazon to the city of Para +and from there shipped to the United States and other countries." + +None of the children knew where Para is situated, so they all went to +the library to look at the atlas. After they had located it, Uncle John +told them of his visit to the city and of the wonderful things which he +saw on a steamboat trip up the Amazon River. + + + + +A STRANGE CONVERSATION + + +One evening after I had been reading for some time, I went to the +kitchen to get a drink of water. That part of the house was dark and +quiet, and as I stepped through the doorway, I heard low, musical +voices, apparently in the pantry. I was very much surprised, you may be +sure, and I kept perfectly still, and listened. + +"Yes," said a voice, which I could barely hear, "I am a long way from +home indeed, and sometimes it makes me quite lonely when I think of it." + +"Tell us about your home, and how you lived," said another low voice. + +"Well," began the first speaker, "my name is _Pepper_. With twenty-five +or thirty brothers and sisters I grew in a cluster on a vine. We were +but a small part of the family, for there were similar clusters all over +our vine. We were about as large as peas, and grew somewhat after the +fashion of currants. + +"All about were other vines to which friends and relatives were +attached. Pepper vines are always anxious to get to the top, and so some +of these vines climbed trees and some twined themselves about poles, +which men had set in the ground for this purpose. Our vine was three or +four years old when we appeared on it." + +"How long did you live on the vine?" asked a voice that I had not heard +before. + +"Only a few months," replied Pepper. "You see, we had to make room for +another set of berries. Two sets appear each year for twenty years or +more. + +"Under the influence of the tropical sunshine and the warm rains we grew +day by day, and we were as happy as the butterflies and birds about us. +By and by we began to turn red. All of this time a _hull_ or coat was +forming on the outside of our bodies. + +"Before we became entirely red, workmen came to the field, and, by +rubbing us between their hands, separated us from the stems to which we +lovingly clung. + +"After having been picked, I was, with many others, placed upon a mat to +dry. These mats were all about us, each covered with berries. After +being thoroughly dried we were put into a mill and ground, and I became +what I am now, _Black Pepper_." + +"Are there other kinds of pepper?" asked some one. + +"Oh, yes," said Pepper, "there is _White Pepper_, and _Red_, or _Cayenne +Pepper_. Some of my friends were made into White Pepper. They were +soaked in limewater for about two weeks, and this, of course, softened +and wrinkled their hulls which had always fitted so nicely. This was bad +enough, but it was not the worst." + +"What happened next?" said several voices. + +"They were then," continued Pepper, "trodden under the bare feet of +dark-skinned men, and this rubbed off their hulls completely. After this +they were ground as we had been. + +"Cayenne Pepper is not a member of our family at all, although it has +the same name. I have looked up its genealogy, and I find that it +received its name from the city of Cayenne, in French Guiana, near which +it grows. It is in the form of bell-shaped pods, and grows on low, bushy +plants instead of vines. + +"The pods are green at first, but red when ripe. No doubt you have seen +strings of them hanging in the grocery store when you were on the +shelves. People sometimes use the pods as they are, but usually they are +dried, ground, mixed with yeast, and baked into flat cakes like +crackers. When these cakes are ground, Red, or Cayenne Pepper, is +produced. It is put up in little boxes just as we are. + +"Pepper used to be regarded as a great luxury," the speaker went on. +"Until the eighteenth century the Portuguese handled almost all of it. +It was not uncommon for rents to be paid with pepper. If any of you have +read ancient history, you know that when Alaric took Rome he demanded, +among other things, one thousand pounds of pepper as a ransom. + +"My home was in the East Indies," said Pepper, "but there are members +of our family living in the Philippines, India, Mexico, the West Indies, +and other tropical countries." + +"Your story is a very interesting one," said a voice, "and now, if you +care to hear it, I will tell something of my life." + +"Yes, do tell us," said several at once. + +"Very well, I will follow the example of our friend Pepper and introduce +myself at once. I am known as Ginger. I have relatives living in China, +in India, and in the western part of Africa, but I came from the West +Indies. The Ginger family is not like that of Pepper; it has no lofty +notions." + +Pepper seemed a little inclined to get angry, so Ginger hastened to say: +"I mean that our vines do not climb trees or poles, but run along the +ground. I was a _root_ and not a _fruit_." + +"When I was about a year old I, with countless friends, was dug from the +ground. We were cut from the vines and put into vats of scalding water." + +"That was _dreadful_," said Pepper. + +"We were treated in that way to prevent us from _sprouting_," continued +Ginger. "After being taken out of the water, we were thoroughly dried +and then ground. We were then put up in cans and boxes and sold as +_Black Ginger_. Others were scraped before being ground, and they were +then called _White Ginger_. + +"We were placed on board a great ship and finally landed at New York. +After remaining in a large store there for some time, I was brought to +the corner grocery, and so I found my way to this shelf. + +"I am gradually wasting away, and I shall not last a great while longer. +In my tropical home I seemed to be of no use to anybody, while now I am +called for frequently by the cook, and my services seem to be +appreciated, so I am happy." + +"To be of some real use in this world is the greatest joy of life," +remarked a strange voice. + +There was silence for a moment, and then Ginger said "May we not hear +from you, friend?" + +"Your stories almost make me believe that I am still in the land of my +birth," was the reply. + +There was a peculiar little rattle about the voice, which I recognized +at once as belonging to Cinnamon. + +"For several years I was rocked to and fro by gentle tropic breezes or +lashed about by storms. From my perch I could see beautiful flowers, +bright insects, and even serpents in the thicket at my feet. Birds of +brilliant plumage often perched upon me. My home was on the island of +Ceylon. + +"It is often said that where there is much bark there is no bite. In my +own case that is not so." + +"I do not understand," said Ginger. + +"Why," said Cinnamon, laughing, "I am _all_ bark, and I have +considerable bite, as those who have tasted me know. + +"I was taken from one of the smaller limbs of a cinnamon tree. I was +slipped within a larger piece of bark, for we each rolled up when +stripped from the limbs. A still larger piece was slipped over us and so +on until quite a bundle had been formed. Some were quite short, and some +were three feet in length." + + + + + STORIES OF CALIFORNIA + + BY + + ELLA M. SEXTON + + _With many illustrations_ + + Cloth 16mo $1.00 net + +"As a concise and interesting history of California, it deserves a place +in our schools and libraries, so that every child may read +it."--_Pacific Churchman._ + +"This volume comprises some excellent contributions to history, as it +certainly comprises some notable contributions to romance. The little +book is one which will appeal, therefore, to readers old and young. +Several of the stories explain in some degree the remarkable physical +characteristics of California, but the writer's chief aim has been to +unfold to children and their parents the life of bygone days."--_The +Outlook._ + + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK + BOSTON CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO ATLANTA + + + + + Tarr and McMurry's Geographies + + A New Series of Geographies in Two, Three, or Five Volumes + + By RALPH S. TARR, B.S., F.G.S.A. + CORNELL UNIVERSITY + + AND + + FRANK M. McMURRY, Ph.D. + TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY + + TWO BOOK SERIES + +Introductory Geography 60 cents +Complete Geography $1.00 + + THE THREE BOOK SERIES + +FIRST BOOK (4th and 5th years) Home Geography and the Earth + as a Whole 60 cents +SECOND BOOK (6th year) North America 75 cents +THIRD BOOK (7th year) Europe and Other Continents 75 cents + + THE FIVE BOOK SERIES + +FIRST PART (4th year) Home Geography 40 cents +SECOND PART (5th year) The Earth as a Whole 40 cents +THIRD PART (6th year) North America 75 cents +FOURTH PART (7th year) Europe, South America, etc. 50 cents +FIFTH PART (8th year) Asia and Africa, with Review of + North America (with State Supplement) 50 cents + Without Supplement 40 cents + +Home Geography, Greater New York Edition 50 cents net +Teachers' Manual of Method in Geography. + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY 40 cents net + +To meet the requirements of some courses of study, the section from the +Third Book, treating of South America, is bound up with the Second Book, +thus bringing North America and South America together in one volume. + +The following Supplementary Volumes have also been prepared, and may be +had separately or bound together with the Third Book of the Three Book +Series, or the Fifth Part of the Five Book Series: + + SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUMES + +New York State 30 cents Kansas 30 cents +The New England States 30 cents Virginia 30 cents +Utah 40 cents Pennsylvania 30 cents +California 30 cents Tennessee 30 cents +Ohio 30 cents Louisiana 30 cents +Illinois 30 cents Texas 35 cents +New Jersey 30 cents + +When ordering, be careful to specify the Book or Part and the Series +desired, and whether with or without the State Supplement. + + + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK + BOSTON CHICAGO ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO + + + Tarr and McMurry's Geographies + + COMMENTS + +=North Plainfield, N.J.=--"I think it the best Geography that I have +seen."--H. 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It +seems to me just what a geography should be. It is correctly conceived +and admirably executed. The subject is approached from the right +direction and is developed in the right proportions. And those maps--how +could they be any better? Surely authors and publishers have achieved a +triumph in textbook making. I shall watch with interest for the +appearance of the other two volumes."--Professor EDWARD C. PAGE, +_Northern Illinois State Normal School_. + +=Asbury Park, N.J.=--"I do not hesitate at all to say that I think the +Tarr and McMurry's Geography the best in the market."--F. S. 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