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' GOD gives us all that we enjoy : He gives us corn for bread, Sweet herbs to eat, and pleasant fruit, That we may all be fed."

T. NELSON AND SONS, LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK.

1 TO THOSE WHO TEACH. BVKRY one who has attempted to instruct the meaning, and, in many cases, the derivation of children must acknowledge the desir words. Such words as "ingredient," " cereals," and ability of rendering instruction amusing, "beverages," are explained in Lessons on Food and or at the least interesting. But the diffi Raiment, in which information is given on the "Step culty of attaining such an end is to he by Step " principle. I have not attempted to describe appreciated only by those who have encountered it in detail the processes by which Our Vegetable Food in earnest. Concise descriptions are often obscure and is prepared. Most teachers are familiar with the kind liable to mislead; precise descriptions are wearisome of information, given in children's books, as to the and confusing. way in which bread is made. Such descriptions, This little book may be regarded either as a con though not absolutely faulty, are correct only in a tinuation or as a seijuel to Lessons on Food and Rai-' limited sense. As a rule, it will be found that the ment. In the allotted space I found it impossible even more general the statements the more accurate is the to name, except in the dr.vest and most uninteresting information. No real practical good results from de way, the various items of Our VegetahU Food. In scribing to children the details of processes which are tlie compilation of this series I have endeavoured to performed in various ways. avoid, as much as possible, all that has, with good 1 have endeavoured to give such outlines of the cause, cast ridicule on "Derivation of Words," " Ob subject as will, I hope, prompt in young leai-ners a% ject Lessons," an4 " Lessons on Common Things." desire for the " iilling in " of it. It is easier to translate from one language into The catechetical or rote method has no attraction another.than to translate scientific and technical terms for children. I would remind the young or inexperi into colloquial language; and, on the other hand, it enced teacher, tliat though what is called the " cate is a great mistake to class the capacities 6t children chetical system " is objectionable, cateoliising or ques with " the meanest capacities." I believe that a child tioning is one of the best ways of teaching. But let who can read this book has "capacity" to understand your pupils answer in their own words. You will it. A word or an expression may, now and again, invariably find that from any instructive book, occasion a little difficulty. Generally, however, the properly written for children, you can readily form book will be found as well "suited to the capacities questions, and the pupils* answers will not unfrc- of children" as any of the "cateohisras"and "con quently bo in the very words of the book. versations," which are now as much dreaded as they Lessons can be formed according to the length de were once admired. sired by the teacher. I have been careful to explain terms, and to give EDWARD N. MARKS. •*.

INDEX. Page Page Ab«rae'thr Bfsculta 19 Cassia...... 17 French Beam. 18 Lemonade. 8 Onions 18 sago 14 Add 9 Ca-sava...;.* 18 Fungi as Lemon Feel 8 Ornngo Peel 8 Salads 23 AclduUted Dropi.. 9 Catsup, srfKetchup., Garden Cress S2 Lettuces.: S3 Oranges. 8 Salep. or Saloop.. 17 AgawWlne, «J Careniie Cepper... 19 Gherkins 19 Lentils 19 Orleans Plums.... 7 Scotch Barley 6 Ale. 6. M Cauimower.....I9, S2 Ginger IS LImea 8 Paddy 4 Semolina 6 Ale-hoof. 20 Celenr-... 21 Gingerbread. 18 Loaf (or . Lump) PalmSugar. 5 Shaddocks 9 Allspice. 17 Champagne. 7 Ginger Wine....18, 22 Sugar..'....,.-... 6 Paraley 2a Sherbet 9 Almoiida 13 Chetries.., 10 Gooseberries 10 Liquorice 18 Parsnips 18 Sherry 7 Annntto SI Chenril....'. 22 Gooseberry Fool... 10' Long Pepper 19 Pastry S Spanish Nuts 12 Apples 10, U Chestnuts 1:1 Gourds 11 Macaroni 6 Peaches 10 Spice 17 Apricot 7 Chlcoiy 17 Grain... 8 Mace 17 Pearl Barler 6 Spinach 22 Arrack 14 Chocolate 15, 18 Grapes 7 Madeir» 5, 7 Pears '....10, 11 Stone Fruit. 7 AiTO«.roofe 18 Cider. 10 Qvm 4,5,6, 23 Maise.....;: 4 Pease J9 Stout 6 Asparagus, 19 Cinnamon 17 Groats 3 MallcAcid.. 9 Pepper 19 Strawberries M Bausnas 12 OltrlcAcid 9 Ground Try. 20 Malmsey 7 Perry. 10 Succory. 17 Bu-ler. 3,6 CItrona 8 Grout 3 Malt.... 6 Physio Rhubarb.. SI Sugar 6, 6 BarlerSugar 6 Citron Feel K Gruel 4 MaUKOes 12 Pickles 22 SugarOndy « Bann 6 Cloves 18 Gunny Bags 15 Maple Sugar 5 Pimento 17 SugarSorgho. 6 Beans. 19 Cocoa 15, 18 Haricot Beana.... 19 Marigolds 21 Pine Apples...... II Sweet Herbs 22 Beer 20 Cocoa.nut 13. 14 Hautboys In Marjoram 32 Plums. :... 7 Tamarinds 22 Bere 6 Coffee. 15 Herbt.. 32 Marmalade. 8 PomfVet Cakes.... 18 Tansy S3 Beet-rout 18 Coir 14 Hock 7 Mat« 15 Pomegranates 11 Tapioca. 18 Bigg 6 Comfiu 19 Hominy 4 Mead 20 Port Wine 7 Tarragon 23 Biscuits. 6 Confectlonarr 6 Honey 6, 20 Meal 3,4,13, 19 Porter 6 Tartaric Add 9 Blackberries 10 Coperah 13 Hops 30 Melons 11 Potatoes 18 Tea 14, 15 Blackcurrants.... 1(1 Com 3, 4 Horve Radish 23 Metheglin 20 HBerres 6, 18 Toddy 14 Bordeaux. 7 Coriander Seeds... 19 IndianCom. 4 Meilcai SS Prunes 10 Tokay 7 Bnn 6 Cranberries 10 Indian Cress 22 Mexican Sugar.... 6 Pulque. 23 Tomatoes IS Brands 7, 18 Cream of Tartar... 9 Indian Sairron.... 21 Millet 4 Also 18 Treade. 6 Brank 7 Crocus SO ItalUn Paste 6 Mint 22 VRnpkins 12 Truffles 33 BraiilKuts. 13 Cucumbers 12 I»y 20 Molasses.. Quass. 6 Turmeric. 31 Bread 9, 6 Currants 7, 10 Jaggery..... a Morel . 22 Quinces 8, 11 Tumi|>s. la^ Bread Fnilt. 13 Curry Fowder. 21 Jamaica Pepper... 17 Muscatel 7 Raspberries 11 Turnip Tops SH BritlshBnuidr.... 18 Damsons 10 Jama 6 Muscatels .,.7,1:1 Radishes. 18, 22 Vanilla,.... iP British Wines..... SS Dates. 10 Jellies 6 MushroomKetchup 22 Raisin 7 Vegetable Marrow. 11 BrocoU 19,33 Dough 6 Jerusalem Arti Mushrooms...... 22 Ratalla. 7 Vermicdli 6 Broma Itf Dried Fruits 10 chokes 18 Musurd..... 19 Revalenta Arablca. 19 Vinegar, 9, 10 Buckwheat 8 Elderberries. 10 Jordan Almonds.. 13 Nasturtium 22 Red Cabbage S3 Walnut Ketchup,, 13 Candled PeeL 7, 8 ElderWitie.....lLemons 8 OHrcs 19 Sag 15 Verba IS •ii^ ^Pl

our Lessons on Food and Raiment we learnt that the vegetable kingdom supplies us with the greatest num ber of things that we use for food and clothing. I intend;, now, to tell j'ou about some of the many vege table productions that we use for food. I may have obcasioDi to .speak of some which, though scarcely known in Britain, are most useful food in distant lands. Wheat is the chief cereal iii every country in Europe. The word means "white." From no other grain ; grown in Europe can bread so white be made as it can from ' wheat. Bread is from a Saxon word, which means " crushed," or " pounded." In ancient times, corn was " brayed," or crushed to make what we call " flour," or " meal." Meal means what has been ground in a mill. The man who grinds corn in a mill, is called a miller. The man who makes bread of the meal and bakes it, is called a baker. In Scotland, in olden times, a baker was called a baxter. Barley has all the good qualities of wheat; but a loaf made of it does not look so nice, nor ^it the taste of so many persons, as a wheat-flour loaf. Barley yields a larger crop than any other grain grown in Britain. Oats are, for some p#sons, as wholesome as wheat or barlej^ In Scot land oatmeal is much used for the food of man. Oats are not much used Tor muking bread or cakes in the south of Britain. Groats are crushed oats. One of our poets says—- ,, " King Hardicanute, 'mitJst Danes, and Saxons stout. Caroused on nut-brown ale, and dined on grout." Grout was the old name of groats, which in many parts of England are

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THINGS THAT A CHILD OUCJHT TO KNOW.

still called grits. They are u.sed in England foi' making gruel. Observe, though we often hear of " wheat-meal," we seldom or never hear of " oat- flour." Flour means "fine," and the word is correctly used to denote sifted .meal. Maize, or Indian Corn, is an American cereal. Much of it is ii]^j»6rted into Britain. In America maize-meal is called hominy. Rye is not so much used in Britain as it was when wheat was much dearer. Rye-flour is dark. The bread made from it is called black bread. The word rye means "rough" or* " hairy." Rico is a native of tlie East Indies, but it is cultivated in Asia and America. Of all " bread-stufis," rice is used most for human food. It is the only well-known cereal that is ever found growing wild. Rice in the husk is called paddy. The rice grown in Carolina, in America, is the finest in tne world. • . The original seed of the Carolina rice was brought from England. 0 Millet is a name given to the seeds of .several sort of bread grasse.s. The grains are much smaller than those of other cereals. We use millet merely for making puddings and custards, but in some countries it forms the principal food of the people. One sort, which was a few years since introduced into England from the north of China, is the seed of a grass ^- -i^. called " Chinese sugar millet^' or ûga^ Sorgho. is also called the " .sugar-cane of the north. x'*=«i» - " In all the grasses there is sugar^ tn^t'^he grass that yields most sugar is the Sugar-cane. It is from the steni of theûgar-cane that sugar is made. The best sugar is obtained from the sugar-i^nes of the West Indies. Jamaica is the most famous of all the West Indian islands for " brown sugar," or " raw sugar." The sugar-cane was originally brought from Asia into Europe. It was first planted in Madeira in 140.3,-and about a century later it was first planted in the Wêst Indies. Mexican sugar is made from maize. Maple sugar, made from the sap of the maple tree, is much used in Canada and North America. Palm or date sugar i.s, in India, called jaggei'y. Sugar is obtained from vfirious other vegetable productions. Before we speak about the food we get from other trees and plants, let us say a little more about the useful grasses which we have already mentioned. The " grain " of all grasses is covered with husk, for, until it is fiill grown and ripe, it is very soft and milky. But for the husks, the grain might be all eaten by insects and birds; or damaged by cold, rain, and wind. Wheat is used most)}' for making bread, cakes, and pastry. White bread tî tx- vc- fmmimimmmmi^ mmmmm'if'ifimimmm

^ %S5 " THINGS THAT A CHILD OUGHT TO KNOW. is made from wlieat that has been separated from the husks, which are called bran. Brown bread is made from wheat that has not been entirely separated from the bran. The finest white wheat grows in the south of Italy, and it"is from that wheat-flour that macaroni, vermicelli, a.nd Italian paste are made. Naples is famous for these pastea They are imported into Britain in boxes. Mcbcaroni means " delight." It is food in which Italians delight. Vermicelli means " little worm.s," because the cut paste looks like worri&s when it is boiled in soup. Italian paste is made of the same ingredients as macaroni and vermicelli, but the.'.paste is cut very small, and in a variety of shapes. Semolina is made in the form of small seeds. The word means " little seed.' Flour and water mixed together form what is called biscuit paste. Bis- cM.it.*aeans " twice baked." We get the word from the Latin. The bread of tlie Roman soldiers was in the form of cakes. These cakes had to be twice baked. Biscuits were formerly called biscuit cakea Bread is made of dough, which difiers from biscuit paste in being " leavened," or puffed lip, and the paste forums what is called "sponge." Lea,ven is from a word which means to raise. Loaf means raised dough. Yeast, or yest, which is also called barm, is used as leaven. Barley is used for making m,aU, from which malt liquors, such as ale, porter, and stout, are made. Malt is made by soaking the grain of barley, and then placing it so that it begins to sprout, and then drying it in a kiln. Bere, or Bigg, is .a common sort of barley, used only for malting. Rye, maize, and millet, are used for making beer, but not in Britain. Rye beer is made in Russia; it is called quass. Pearl barley is made from the finest sort of barley, with the husk re moved. Scotch barley, which also is used for broth and " barley water," is made in the same way as pearl barley, but is of a coarser grain. Lump, or loaf sugar, is raw sugar refined and baked. Sugar is refined in England. Sugar candy is melted sugar, which is poured over thin strings, and left to cool slowly. Barley sugar is refined sugar melted and pulled out whilst cooling. Sugar is greatly used as an ingredient in food. It is used in most cakes, puddings, and pastry. It is used in tea, coKFee, and other beverages. It is the chief ingredient in all "confectionary" or sweetmeats, and it is used for making preserves, and jams, and jellies. * Molg^Bses (from the Greek word for " honey ") is another name for treacle. It is that part of the juice of the sugar-cane which will not form into grains, or crystallize, as " sugar." A thin sort of treacle is called golden syrup. The seeds of various grasses are used as food in foreign lands, and many other vegetable productions are also used as " bread-stufis." Buck-wheat (also licm-i o8o

OUE VEGETABLE FOOD. called brank,) is used in Britain as pheaSants' food; in America it is used as food for man. In some parts of Europe it is mixed with wheat flour. Buck-wheat cakes are much liked in America.. As I have told you the meaning of the word " bread," you maj' wish to know also the meaning of the word cake. It means to "cook," by baking, what has been mixed into a sort of dough. Bread, not made from wheat, is often made flat in the form of cakes. No doubt, the cakes, that King -Alfred should have turned whilst they were bakin.g on the hearth in the herdsman's cottage, were' cakes of barley bread. They were not plum cakes, I am quite sure. Such plums as are pot in plum-puddings and plum-cakes do not grow jn Britain. We give the name of plum to several sorts of fruit, such as Orleans plums and green gages. The plums used for making plum-pud dings and plum-cakes are dried grapes. They are called raisins, from a Latin word whicK means a cluster or bunch of grapes. Raisins are im ported from Spain, Grapes are the fruit of the vine. There are many sorts. The currants sold by grocers are dried grapes. They were called "currants" because they were first imported from Cori%<^. Our word " currant" is a corruption of " Corinth." In France, currants are called raisins de Corinthe—" Corinth raisins." Sultanas, or Sultana raisins, are, like currants, stoneless ; l>ut they are larger than currants, and their colour is lighter than that of other dried gi'apes. They are brought from Turkey. The sovereign of Turkey is caUfed a " sultan," and his wife is called a "sultana." The kind of grapes that are dried for dessert raisins are called muscatels. The fruit is very tempting to flies, bees, and other insects, hence the name, from {musca) the Latin word for " a fly." Wine is made mostly from grapes. Our best wines are imported. France produces the choicest. Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy are named from the places in France where they are made. Port is so named from Oporto in Portugal. Sherry is named from Xeres in Spain, Hock is named from Hochstadt in Germany. Tokay is named from Tokay in Hun gary. Madeira is named from the island of Madeira. Malmsey is named from the island of Malvasia. Canary is made in the Canary Islands. MuscateKcalled also muscat and muscadine)is made from "muscatel"grapes. Brandy means " burnt wine." The best brandy is disjjpted from wine and flavoured with peach kernels. Ratafia is made fronlp)K«Hj|5#avoured with the kernels of apricots, green gages, and other storis-fruit. When we spoke of raisins and currants we were led to speak about wine, the juice of the grape, but we must not forget the plum-pudding and plum-Cfikes. Candied peel must not be left out of them. It is fruit peel

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±^- THINGS THAT A CHILD OUGHT TO KNOW.

GRAPES. RASPBERRIES. APPLE, GRAPES.

PEAR, CHERRIES. APPLE. ORANGE. LEMON. PLUMS. STRAWEERRIES. CURRANTS. candied by being preserved in sugar. Oi'ange, lemon, and citron peel are candied. Oranges are imported from Spain and Portugal. They were first brought into Europe from China. The best are now imported from St. Michael, the largest island of the Azores. Blood oranges come from Malta; Mandarine oranges from Tangier. Seville oranges are bitter; they are used for making marmalade. " Orange" is from a Latin word which means "golden." A beverage made from juice of oranges is called orangeade. "Marmalade" is from the Portuguese word for quince. Quinces were much used in making marmalade. The quince is so named from Cydonia in Crete, whence it was first brought. Lemons are impor^d chiefly from Spain and Portugal. The juic^ of lemons is much used for flavouring. Lemonade is made from it Citrons^ are much like lemons, but very much larger, and their rind, or peel, is much thicker. They were brought into Europe from Asia." f Oranges, lemons, and citrons, belong to the " orange tribe " of fruit; soi do limes, shaddocks, and other fruit that have rind or peel similar to thatf of oranges. Limes are like small lemons. Lime juice in water is drunk by sailors, to prevent disease that might come from continually eating salt

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mammatk provisions at sea. It is used in cookery. In Persia, Turkey, and other hot countries, a beverage called sherbet is made from it. Shaddocks are like very large oranges : they ai-e sc^called because they were first brought from India to the West Indies by a captain named Shaddock. There are still larger fruits of the orange tribe, but they are seldom seen in Britain. The delicious Forbidden Fruit of the West Indies is one of these. All juicy fruits contain acid as well as sugar, and that makes them whole some as well as nice. The acid in fruit of the orange kind is called citric • acid. The acid of apples and pears is called malic acid, from malum the Latin for "apple." Cxearti of tartar is made from the "crust," or "tartar," that gathers round the sides of wine vats, wine caslcs, and wine bottles. From cream of tartar tartaric acid is made. Cream of tartar and tartaric acid are used in making gingerbeer poivders, and other powders for " sum mer beverages." Tartaric acid is used for making acidulated drops. Vinegar is so called because it was made only from " sour wine." Our English word cpmes from the French vinaigre, which comes from two Latin Avords, vinum, "wine," and acer, "sharp" or "sour" tasting. Mast of the vinegar commonly used is made from the wort of malt, or from an acid ^ •UPPPPi mmmmm''m^^' mrmmm&ifM

10 THINGS THAT A CHILD OUGHT TO KNOW.

distilled from wood.. Wort is the unfermented infusion of which beer IS made.-- 'To make-^'eer, the wort is fermented with yeast. Besides ra.isins, • other £jried fruits are imported into Britain. The Best figs are importedfrom Turkey. Prunes are dried French plums. DeUeS are the fruit of the date-paljn tree. Normandy pippins are (Ui^d apples imported from Normandy iffi^ance. . Apples were brought originally from Persia. The beverage ffiade from the juice of apples is called cicZer. The word "cider" is said tooe from a •Greek word which means any strong drink except wine. Pear fe perhaps from a Welsh word, which means "«^et." The beverage or wine made ftom pears is called perry. Peaches and nectarines were also brought from Persia into Europe. iPecK^' means " Persian." Nectaritve means " nectar fruit." Nectar was the driuk of the gods, in heathen mythology. Necta rines may be called smooth-skinned peaches. Damsons were originally brought from Pamascus. "Damsons" is a corruption of a Latin >yord which means " of Damascus." •:'.', Gooseberries were firet brought from Flanders in the Netherlands. Goose berry means "prickly-berry." The first part of the word is a corruption of " gorse," or*^goss,"- err "gehos," which means sharp or prickly. Gooseberry fool does not mean a berry between a goose and a fool. In the name, neither " goose " nor " fool" refers to a biped or two-footed being. " Goose," as I have just told you, is a corruption of a word which means "prickly;" and "fool" is a corruption of a French word, foul/, which means " pressed " or "crushed." Cherries are named from the place whence they were originally brought—Cerasus, a city of Pontus. Red, black, and white currants are quite a difi'erent sort of fruit from that which is named from Corinth. They belong to the same sort of plants as the gooseberries, but they were perhaps called currants, because, when growing, they look much like those small grapes that are so named. The currant vines are not trained as vines commonly are; they are like bushes. It would take a long time to speak about all the difi'erent berries, from the blackberry, the fruit of the common bramble, to the choice strawberry. Strawberry is a Saxon word; it means the berry of the spreading plant. The stalks of wheat were called stroAO because they were " spread " on the ground. The strawberry is a British fruit. The hautboy, or oboe, is a large kind of strawberry. The name is a corruption of the French haul bois, " high wood." The fruit was first found on the hill wooda of Hun gary. Raspben-ies make excellent jam. Cranberries are used for making tarts ; the best are imported from Sweden. The berries of the elder are used mostly for making elder wine. They are said to be poisonous to poultry.

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•Ai 'tiHtilti^^M A^ OUR VEGETABLE FOOD. n Pomegranates are brought to Britain from the south of Europe. "Pomegranate" means "seeded apple" or "grain apple." Pomegranate trees in England do not bear fruit, but they are trained against walls on account of their deep crimson blossoms. Granada in Spain was so named by the Moors, who built it, because its outline is in the shape of a pomegranate. The reason why Mary, Queen of England, had the pome granate for her badge, was because her mother, Katherine of Aragon, was born in Granada, of which the pomegranate is the emblem. The friiit has more the shape of an orange than of an apple. But you must remember, the word " apple " means " a knob or ball that grows." Thus, the lumps that grow sometimes on oak leaves are called oak apples ; and the French call potatoes pommes de terre, "earth apples" Pine apples are not "apples " in the common sense of the term. They do not grow in the way that apples grow, and they are not at all like apples in sha^. You might suppofee, that because the small knobs that grow on oaks are called oak apples, pine apples are large 'knobs that grow on pines. But such is not the' case. Pine apples,do n^t gro\y on pine trees, nor on any other trees. Why^they are called pl^ apples, is because in shape, as well as in scaly rind, they-^re-like pine-tree cones. You may have seen pine apples growing in Britisli hot-houses cdll^d pineries. They are grown in every country in the south of Europe, but they are very dear. Those sold in shops come from the West Indies. There, and in South America, whence they were first brought to Europe, they grow plentifully. Before steamships traded from' Britain to the West Indies, such a pine apple as may be now bought in summer for about a shilling would have cost a pound. L. shall next speak about a very diflferent sort of " apple." The Greek word for " apple " is mehn, from which we get the name of the fruit that we call melons. A melon is of the shape of an apple, but it is very much larger. It is a gourd, and grows much in the same way that pumpkins and vegetable marrows grow in Biitain. In Britain melons are grown only in hot-houses, but in Eastern countries and in the soutJi of Europe they grow in the open ground. Water melons are very highly prized in hot countries, for their juice is cooling and refreshing. In Italy and Spain, in summer, they are cut up and sold in booths, just as pieces of pine apple are sold in the streets of London and other large towns. The Custard apple is not much known in Britain, but it is a choice fruit in the '^est Indies. It is about the size of a large apple, but it has not a smooth peel. The eatable part is a soft pulp like a custard. Love-apple is the common name of the tomato. The only fruits of the real " apple " family are apples, medlars, pears, and quinces.

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12 THINGS THAT A CHILD OUGHT TO KNOW.

COFFEE PLANTATION. In many distant lands, fruit forms the staff of life. In the East Indies, the West Indies, and in South America, thousands live chiefly on the fruit of the banana. Another fruit on which many thousands subsist is called bread-fruit. Bread-fruit trees were introduced from the South Sea Islands into the West Indies and South America. In the East Indies many fi-uits grow of which we know but little in Britain. The mango, a rich fruit, is one of them. Mangoes are some times pickled in vinegar when the}' are hard and green, and they may be bought in almost every town iu Britain. Amongst fruit we reckon cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins, and capsicums, though they are not dessert fruit. Gherkins are small cucumbers pickled. Most of the best nuts used in Britain are imported from foreign countries. " Spanish nuts" are brought mostly fi'om Barcelona. Filberts are im ported from France; very fine filberts grow in Kent. Brazil nuts are brought from Brazil in South. America. The best chestnuts are imported from Spain. Walnuts are so called not from growing on walls, or even from belonging to what is called wall-fruit, though in some parts of Britain they grow as wall-fruit The first part of the word, ival, is from & _-f:ri. i^ OUR VEGETABLE FOOD. i3

TEA PLANTATION. a Saxon wordi<»aaeaning " foreign." Walnut trees were introduced into Europe from Persia, and it is supposed that they were introduced into Britain by the Romans. Walnuts are often pickled before their shells are hardened. From the green outer shell a kind of sauce called ketchup, or catsup, is made. Of mushroom ketchup we shall speak by-and- by. Almonds are the nuts of almond trees which grow in Arabia, and also in France, Spain, Italy, and other warm climates. The best of those used in cookery are imported chiefiy from Valencia in Spain. .Dessert almonds are called Jordan almonds: they are longer and narrower than the other sorts; they are eaten with muscatel raisins and figs. Cocoa-nuts are the fruit of the cocoa-nut palm trees which grow in Africa, and also in the East and West Indies. Tlie great nuts, with their monkey-face shells, are the fruit of very wonderful and very useful trees. On the coast of Malabar there is a grove of a hundred miles, in which there are few trees except those of the cocoa-nut palm. In Ceylon and Brazil the cocoa-nut palm is to thousands of persons—what bread is to Britain—the " staff" of life." The meal that is made from cocoa-nuts in Ceylon is called coperah. From the leaves, with which the flower-buds of

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14 THINGS THAT A CHILD OUGHT TO KNOW. the cocoa-nuts are covered, a kind of wine called toddy is extracted. Some trees yield twenty-five gallons of toddy in twenty-four hours. Toddy fermented, is in the East Indies called arrack. In all the islands of the India,n Ocean sugar is extracted from the flowers of the cocoa-nut palm, just as it is from s.sgar-canes in the West Indies. The fibres or thready covering of the nut is called coir; ropes, matting, and other things, of which we shall speak in another book, are made of it Cocoa-nuts, from which the beverages called cocoa and chocolate are made, ai-e from another kind of tree. Before I speak about them, I shall say something about tea. and coffee; but I have first to say a little about " sago " palin trees. Sago is the " staff of life " to the inhabitants of the Indian islands—the MalaySj^who 'make cocoa-nut sugar. Sago is made from' the pith of the stem. V Ted is the Ariedi leaves of evergreen pl&.nfe which grow principally in China. Tea was first brought into Britain "abdiat two hundred years ago. It was sold at such a high price that few could afford to buy it. An ounce then cost njore than.a pound does now; The * 'first of our queens who drank tea was iCtiry the wife of James II. Funny tales are told of persons who did not know how to cook tea! One boiled it and ate it, like cabbage, with roast meat; another, an old lady whose name is now forgotten, invited friends to "a dish of tea." She boiled the foreign leaves till she thought they were quite done, she carefully strained off the water, and served up the leaves with butter, pepper, and salt! I was once staying for a time in a village in Lancashire. The clergyman, who had many pleasant tales of by-gone years to tell, told me of an old farmer who was invited to tea by a former clergyman of the place. The farmer had never drunk tea. When his cup and saucer were handed to him, he emptied the whole cup of tea into the saucer, held the saucer in both hands, and blew on the tea to cool it. This amused the companj', and I am afraid that it made some of the very young ladies titter. But the farmer, to show how polite he was, bowed to each one at the table, and said, •' Your good health," and then drank off the saucerful of tea at a draught! " Tea " is the name, not only of the dried leaves, but also of the beverage which is made by infusing or soaking them in boiling water; and more than this, the meal or food-time after dinner is called " tea," and the time when that meal is taken is called " tea-time." Tea is exported from China in wooden chests or boxes lined with lead. There are many sorts of tea, and there are different ways of drying the leaves, which are picked from the trees, one by one, by labourers, who wear gloves, keep themselves very clean, and forbear from eating anything

•Jfa-MiiiiiMiiiiiiiiMiifteiilihi OUR VEGETABLE FOOD. 15 likely to make their breath smell unpleasantly. The leaves are washed, twisted bj' the hand, and dried. Black teas have the leaves slightly fermented, and are mo.stly dried on heated plates of metal. , Green teas consist of the same sort of Ijaves-'W "the-..black teas, but they are not fermented, they are mostlj^dried in the sun, ^f^they are younger leaves. In South America tl^ leaves of a plant, much- Iijfee a holly-bush, are used as we use tea. It Wc&\[eA^Paraguay tea, or mc^.. This tea is also called Verba; the word means "-the plant," and the tea is so called by w&V of showing its superiority over other plants. Assam, tea is so named from its being grown in Assam in Asia. As.sam has belonged to Britain since the year 182.5, and tea-plants from China have thriven so w'ell there that large quantities of tea. ai-e exported. Brick tea is made from the wast^ of the tea-farms or " plantations." The leaves and stalks are moistened, pressed into moulds in the shape of bricks^ and dried. It is cooked in a way that would not be much liked in Britain. A piece of the brick is broken off and boiled ; milk and salt are added, sometimes flour also, and the mixture is fried in oil. It is liked by the peof in Asiatic Russia. I could tell you the names of more than thirty different sorts of foreign plants, the leaves of which are regularly used as the leaves of the Chinese tea-tree are used. A great number of plants which gi'ow in Europe have been used at different times as tea. The Dutch were the flrst Europeans who brought tea from China. They exchanged it for sage, the infusion of which was at that time thought by the Chinese to be so much better than that of tea that they wondered why "barbarians" should want tea when they had sage! Coffee is the name of the beans of an evergreen plant, and also of the beverage that is made from them. Coffee trees grew first in Abyssinia, thence they were imported into Arabia, which soon became famous for coffee as well as for spice. The finest coffee is still brought from Mocha, a place in the Yemen province of Arabia. But we get excellent coffee from Jamaica, Ceylon, and other countries. Coffee was introduced into England in the year 1652. The coffee tree bears white, sweet-smelling flowers, and soft berries, which are first green, then red, and at last purple. The berries are shaken off" the trees and left to fei-ment, then the soft part is taken away; the hai'd part of each berry consists of two seeds in a skin called a parchment; each of the seeds is a coffee bean. The beans are exported in casks or in gunny bags, bags made from jute, an Indian plant of which we shall speak when we talk about furniture. The colour of the beans when imported is a dull green or olive colour. The beans are tough; they cannot be crushed to powder though they may be

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flattened. When coffee is roasted, the colour of the beans is a beautiful dark brown. The beans are then brittle and crisp, they can be easily crushed, and they smell much nicer than when they were raw. They are ground in a mill, and thie powder is infused to make the beverage called " coffee." Cocoa and chocolate of all sorts are made from the beans or seeds of the cacao trees of America. The plants bear fruit much in shape like cucumbers. Inside the fruit there is a soft pulp something like that in Windsor beans. In the pulp are the beans, seldom fewer than twenty, sometimes as many as thirty. The beans are separated from the pulp, and dtied, first in holes in which they are covered with fine sand, then they are spread out on mats in the sun. When tliey are roasted, the husk is taken off, and the bean or nut falls to pieces; the pieces are called nibs. W^e give the name of chocolate mostly to preparations of cocoa which are sweetened and flavoured. Eating chocolate is sweetened with sugar and flavoured with vanilla, the fruit of a Mexican plant Broma is a fine, nutritious powder, made from chocolate. The name of the cocoa or chocolate tree is Tlteobroma Cacao. Theobroma is from two Greek words signify ing "food of the gods."

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OUR VEGETABLE FOOD. 17

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In France a beverage is often made from chicory, which in Britain is used mostly for mixing with coffee. Chicorj'^ is made from the root of endive, a salad plant which grows in every country in Europe. The roots are washed, dried, roasted, and powdered, and the pov/der is much like ground coffee both in taste and smell. Chicory is also called succory. Salep, or saloop, a beverage made from the roots of several plants of the orchis kind, was much used in Britain before tea was introduced. The spices mostly used in Britain are allspice, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, mace, cinnamon, and cassia. Allspice is the dried berries of a large kind „ of myrtle, called Pimento, that grows in Jamaica. "Allspice" is so call^|,' because it is said to have the flavour of all other spices. Sometimes it ' is called " pimento," and sometimes " Jamaica pepper." Nutmegs are the kernels of fruits which grow on trees in the Spice Islands. Mace is a kind of network covering of the nutmeg; it is found between the nut and the shell. " Mace" is an Indian word. Cinnamon is the inner bark of the cinnamon laurel. Most of the best cinnamon is imported from the island of Ceylon. Cassia is similar to cinnamon in appearance, smell, and tastd'; it is often sold as cinnamon, but it is not so good. It is imported

iuhi Mfe "" $^lBf ' 18 THINGS THAT A CHILD OUGHT TO KNOW. from China. Cloves are the dried flower-buds of trees which gr-ow in the Spice Islands. " Cloves " means " nails." Their shape is that of little nails. Ginger is the dried root of a plant which grows in the East and West Indies, and in China. It is asH^ni^^i^iS^-gingerbread, ginger beer, and ginger wi/ne. Pi'sservecZgriTtgrer is imported frdn> China We have spoken aU'eady of sevei'al sorts of roots, useful, as food, to man, but we have yet others to talk about. Potatoes are commonly called roots because they gi'ow under ground, but they ai-e really tubers—thick, knobby, under-ground stems. The potato is a native of Peru. Potatoes were introduced into England from Virginia, by Sir Walter Raleigh, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. They are used in bread-making: when boiled and mashed they mix well with wheat flour. Bntish brandy is distilled from- potatoes, and nearly all the cheap arrow root is made from them. Arrow-^'oot is a sort of flour made from the root of a West Indian plant. The best is imported from Bermuda. Tapioca is made from the milky juice of the roots of cassava, a South American plant. In many parts Cassava, bread i.s the " staff of life." Yams are not often seen in Britain, but in the West Indies and in South America they are quite as common as potatoes are witli us. Jerusalem Artichoke is a curious name for the root of a plant whicli is a species of sun-flowei\ The first part of the name has nothing to do with the city in the Holy Land. It is simply a cori-uption of an Italian word (girccsole), that means " turn to the sun." The second part of the name was given to the root because the taste of it is said by some persons to be like that of the artichoke. Liquorice is a juice extracted from the root of a plant which grows in many parts, but which is cultivated mostly in Spain and in England. The Spanish liquorice is imported into Britain in the form of short, thick, black sticks. Pomfret cakes, or Pontefract cakes, are liquorice lozenges; so called because they were first made at Pontefract in Yorkshire. Beet-root is, in Britain, eaten chiefly as a salad. It can be used instead of malt for making or " brewing " beer. More sugar can be made from beet-root than from any other root. A great quantity of beet-root sugar is made in France. There are many other sorts of roots used for food, such as turnips, carrots, parsnips, radishes, leeks, and onions, all of which grow in Britain. Spanish onions are much larger and finer than other sorts. Pulse is the name given to all sorts of grains that grow in pods like beans and pease. The plants tlmt bear pulse are called leguminous plants. Beans of some sorts, such as French beans and scarlet runners, are eaten in the " pods" or shells. Some, such as broad beans, or Windsor beans,

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are taken out of the pods. Haricot beans are a large sort of French beans. Th'ey are taken out of the pods and dried. Peas are taken out of the pods. In summer they are eaten when they are '• fresh gathered " and green. Many of them are dried, the husks are removed from them, and they are tlien called split pease, and are used for making pea-soup, and ^ease-pudding. Meal is sometimes made of them, and of the meal a sort of porridge called pease-brose is made in Scotland. Lentils are smaller than peas. They form the common food of thousands of persons in different parts of the world. In Britain they are not much used.: A meal made from them is called Revalenta Arabica. Mustard is the name of a plant, of the seeds that it bears, of the ^our that is made from, the seeds, and of the condirnent which is made from the flour. Mustdrd grows wild in many parts of Britain: the best is cultivated in Durham. Bepper is the dried fruit of creeping plants which grow in the Molucca or ^^ce Islands, and other tropical countries. White pepper is exactly the saiMe sort as black pepper, but the berries are decorticated; that is, their outer coat or husk is taken off, and they are then bleached. The dried berries are called pepper corns. They are used whole for making pickles, but they are ground for use at table. Long pepper'is of the same sort as blaick, but different in shape. It ,is used in making pickles. Cayenne pepper is the powder of the fruit of chillies. The chilli plant grows in Cayenne in Guiana. This kind of pepper is also brought from the East and West Indies, and other tropical countries. <' Garraway seeds are used for seed-cakes and A bernethy biscuits. Carraway comfits are known to most children. Coriander seeds are the seeds of an Eng lish plant: like carraway seeds, they are aromatic; that is, they have an aroma or spice-like smell, and they are used in cookery and confectionary. Olives are the fruit of the olive tree. They are brought into Britain pickled in salt and water. The finest are imported from Spain and the north of Italy. It is from olives that salad oil is pressed. It is known by different names, such as olive oil, sweet oil, Lucca oil, and Florence oil. Other flower-buds besides cloves are used for food. Cauliflowers are in reality flower-buds of one of the many sorts of cole or cahbage. BrocoU are the flower-buds of another sort of cole. The Scotch word kale or kail is only another " form " or v?ay of writing and speaking the word " cole." The heads or top pai'ts of cabbages are eaten. Of asparagus the young buds of the plant are eaten. The artichoke is one of the few vegetables of which the flower-scales themselves are eatable. Capers are the buds of a small creeping plant which grows in several countries in Europe, as well as in Asia and Africa. The finest sort grow

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20 THINGS THAT A CHILD OUGHT TO KNOAV.

HOPS. HOP GATHERING. HOPS. in the south of France. They are used in cookerj^ mostly for making cajjer sauce. They are pickled before they are imported into England. It is said that in England the buds of the broom plant are sometimes pickled and mixed with real capers. " Caper " is an Arabic word. The flowers of the hop plant are used for making beer. Hops were introduced into England in the reign of Henry VIII. They were brought from Flanders. It was then that the name of beer was first given to malt liquor in Britain. Ale had been brewed in Britain for hundreds of years. The flowers of the ground-ivy were used in the same way that hops are now. Ground-ivy is called ale-hoof in some parts of England. From flowers honey is gathered or extracted by bees. A beverage made from honey, and fermented with a little yeast, is called vnead. When the honey is boiled in water and fermented, the beverage is called metheglin. Mead or metheglin was the only intoxicating drink known to the ancient Britons. Narbonne in France is celebrated for its beautiful, fragrant honey. Saffron is used in cookery and in confectionary. It is the dried pistils of the flower of the saffron crocus. " Saffron" is the English way of writing an Arabic word which means " yellow." Crocus is from a Greek

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OLIVES. OLIVE TREE. FIGS. word which means "thread." The dried pistils look like small pieces of thread. Saffron buns are coloured with saffron. Petals or flower-leaves of garden m,arigolds are used sometimes instead of saflron. Marigold flower-leaves are still used in some parts of Britain to colour and flavour soup and broth. Annatto (also called annotto and arnatto,) is a colouring stuff made from the seeds of a plant which grows in the East and West Indies. It is used to give a reddi.sh tint to butter and cheese. In Holland it is used as saffron. Turmeric is made from the root of a plant which also grows in the East and West Indies. It is sometimes called Indian saffron, because Indians use it to give a yellow tint to their boiled rice and other food. It is turmeric that gives the yellow colour to curry poiuder. In Britain the principal stems or sialics used for food are those of I'hubarb and celery. Rhubarb which is used for tarts, pies, and preserves, is a different species of the genus from which the " physic " rhubarb is derived. The physic rhubarb is made from the root of the plant. Celery is eaten raw; and it is also cut into small pieces and used in soup, broth, and sauce. Other vegetables besides celery are eaten raw. Salads are made with raw vegetables. Lettuces, water-cresses, and radishes, are eaten raw.

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22 THINGS THAT A CHILD OUGHT TO KNOW.

. Lettuce is a white milky juice found in the stalks of lettuces when they are old. Lamb's lettuce, a wild plant of which lambs are fond, was in the olden time much used for salads. Lettuces were introduced into Europe from America. Crms is perhaps only another form of the word grass, whicli means to " grow " or " spring up." The wa,ter cress is one of the most wholesome salad^ plants. The botanical name of cress is Nasturtium, The garden cress, used for " .small salad," was introduced into Britain' from Siberia. Radishes were introduced into Europe fi'om, China. We hav§ spoken of the dried leaves of the I^S, tree; we have aho spoken of leaves which are eaten uncooked or in sa^laxls. The leaves that are cooked in Britain include spinach, turmp fops, and all sorts of cafcbage, :,. > except cauliflower and brocoli. -Red caWage is used.jnostly for pickHng: it is often cut into shreds and dressed as a s|3iad, ijtt thî same'way as endive. Parsley, and what are called sweet herbs, must aipt be ftiigptten. Thyme, Tnaiyoram, savory, and mint, are the sweet hgfbs mostly, used. Fennel chfîl£,ta,rragon, samphire, tansy, horse-radish, and other plants, are used fon'|ftt^]^jr|ents and for garnishing. !F(3«î! is a fungus. Funguses, or fungi, area k^nd. of plants that I caffidioiiSescrjbe to you in few words. But when I tell you that mushrooms are fungi, yOtf %ill have a pretty good idea of what a fungus is. Mîny British fungi are poisonous. Mushrooms are coolceS^ in different ways, but they are used mostly for making ketchup (or caisup). Two other sorts of fungus are eaten in Britain, namely, morels and truffles. Yeast grows chiefly out of grape juice. A little is enough to ferment thou sands of gallons of wort. Most of the barm used by bakers grows from wort. Dry yeast is imported chiefly from Holland. It is made from very strongly fermented wort. It looks like dough. Ginger wine and elder wine are called British wines, as are also the wines made from currants, raspberries, or any fruit except grapes that have not been first dried. A refreshing beverage is made from tamarinds, a preserved fi-uit imported from the East and West Indies. Agave wine or pulque is the national wine of Mexico. It is made from the juice of the stem of the agave or aloe. Mexical is a spirit distilled frjm pulque. We have spoken of many kinds of vegetable food, from that which is obtained from palms, the loftiest trees, down to the fungus that does not show itself above ground. Yet we have said but very little of what might be said on the subject. The wiser you become, the more clearly you will see how much you have to learn, and how greatly the wisdom and goodness of GOD axe displayed in the bounteous variety of Our Vegetable Food.

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