Chapter II: English and American Literature -- Outline Charts of English and (8)

_Meerschaum_ or sepiolite (magnesium silicate), comes from Asia Minor and New Mexico. It is easily carved and made into pipes and cigar holders. Austria and France use large quantities. It is largely imitated.

_Asbestos_ is a fibrous variety of serpentine (a magnesium silicate). Mineral wool is an artificial fibrous mineral. It is mined in Quebec, Canada. Another variety of asbestos comes from Italy. Mines have been recently discovered in Wyoming. It is used as a fireproofing material. This mineral fiber is spun and woven into fireproof fabrics for theater curtains or made into felt building paper, pipe covering, etc.

=Mercury= (or quicksilver) is a heavy metal which is liquid at ordinary temperatures. It is produced in Spain, the United States, Austria, Italy and Russia. California supplies most of this country’s quota. It is obtained by distillation of the ore.

_Cinnabar_ (sulphide of mercury) is the source of the metal, although a little is found in nature in the pure state.

_Vermilion_ (artificially prepared cinnabar) is used in paints.

_Calomel_ and _corrosive sublimate_ are used in medicine and _fulminates_ of mercury in explosives.

It is used principally in the extraction of gold and silver from their ores by amalgamation. Employed in thermometers and barometers, silvering mirrors, and in making amalgams for dental work.

=Mica= is a common mineral found in rocks in many parts of the world. It is mined in India, Canada, North Carolina and South Dakota. Several varieties occur (muscovite, biotite, etc.)--valuable only when found in large sheets which can be split smoothly. Transparent sheets are used for lamp chimneys and stove doors. It is also employed in electrical work, and lubricating. Some is imported from India.

=Molybdenum.= See rare metals.

=Nickel= is found in the ores pyrrhotite and garnierites, mined in largest amount in New Caledonia and Canada. Norway produces other ores.

_Garnierite_ (a silicate of nickel and magnesium) is the common ore. Magnetic iron pyrite (_pyrrhotite_) often carries several per cent of nickel. Sulphides and other compounds occur. _German silver_ contains nickel, copper and zinc. It enters into other alloys.

France and Germany refine nickel from imported ore, chiefly from New Caledonia. Nickel steel, being especially hard and tough is used for armor plate, special machinery and wire rope. Nickel is extensively used for cheap electro plating.

Nickel and nickel oxide are exported to Holland and England from the United States and ores and matte are imported from Canada.

=Petroleum= (or coal oil) is obtained from wells in the United States, Russia, Dutch East Indies, Galicia, Roumania and other countries. More than half of the world’s output is from the United States, the leading districts being (1) Kansas and Oklahoma, (2) California, (3) Illinois, (4) Pennsylvania and (5) Texas. Crude oil is transported from the wells for hundreds of miles through pipe lines to the refineries.

In its crude state, petroleum is a dark colored liquid. It yields by distillation, first: light oils, _gasoline_, _naphtha_, _benzine_; second: _illuminating oils_, _kerosene_, _headlight oil_, etc.; third: _lubricating oils_, _engine oil_, _cylinder oil_, _machine oil_; fourth: _petroleum residuum_ (for asphalt paving) and _coke_. _Petrolatum_, _vaseline_ and _paraffin wax_ are by-products in petroleum refining.

American kerosene oil is exported to all parts of the globe. Crude oil is also exported as well as other petroleum products.

=Platinum= is a rare metal found with gold, iridium and other rare metals in placer mines. It comes chiefly from Russia. Smaller amounts from Colombia, California, Canada and Australia.

It is used in the terminals of incandescent electric lamps, and also employed by chemists, jewelers and dentists.

=Potash= (or potassium) is an alkaline metal. Chlorides, sulphates, etc., are found in Germany. Wood ashes and sugar beet refuse furnish much of the world’s potash. Stassfurt, Germany, possesses the only known large deposit of natural potash salts. These salts are the source of potash in many chemical industries and in fertilizers. It is exported in large amount from Germany to England, France and America.

=Quartz= (silica) is of many varieties, crystalline to amorphous.

_Rock flint_ is mined in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and also comes from the chalk cliffs of England and France.

_Sandstones_ are quarried and used for building in almost all parts of the world. Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York supply the greatest quantities in the United States. _Honestones_ and _whetstones_ are mostly sandstone, and in this country are largely quarried in Arkansas, Michigan and New Hampshire.

_Rock crystal_ is employed for lenses. Many semiprecious stones are varieties of quartz, as _agate_, _moss agate_, _onyx_, _sard_, _chalcedony_, _chrysoprase_, _jasper_, etc.

_Rock flint_ and _quartz sand_ are used in making glass and pottery.

Outside of building stones, quartz is used in greatest amount in making glass and pottery. For glass it is melted with alkali (soda ash) and either lime or lead oxide. Glass is either blown or molded. Belgium, Austria, Germany, France, Great Britain and the United States manufacture glassware. Pennsylvania, Indiana and New Jersey are the leading states.

=Radium= is the most characteristic of those substances which possess the property of radio-activity--i.e. have the power of producing photographic or electric effects by a process identical with or analogous to radiation. The property was first observed in _uranium_ by Becquerel in 1896--hence the name “Becquerel rays.” In 1898 Schmidt and Madame Curie discovered almost simultaneously that the compounds of _thorium_ had the same radio-active property; and further elaborate investigations led to the discovery of _polonium_, _radium_, and _actinium_, as new substances with radio-active properties. Polonium was the name given by M. and Mme. Curie to the radio-active component of bismuth separated from pitchblende. Its activity is transient. In the new field of research thus opened up important work has been done by Rutherford, Crooks, Ramsay, Soddy, Huggins, and others.

Radium is derived from _pitchblende_, in which it exists in very small quantities. After a long-continued process of fractional crystallization it has been prepared in the form of a tolerably pure salt. The process of obtaining the element is very tedious. One to two kilograms of impure radium bromide can be procured from a ton of pitchblende residue only after processes extending over months. For the remarkable chemical properties of radium, see further under Radio-activity.

=Rare Metals.= These include chiefly the following: _Tungsten_, _molybdenum_, _vanadium_ and _uranium_. They are found in Colorado, Arizona, Germany, England and Sweden. The ores of these metals are unusual minerals, and the metals themselves are used in making special high grades of steel. Their salts are used in dyeing.

_Thorium_, _cerium_, _lanthanum_ and _yttrium_, found in North Carolina, Norway, Brazil and Ceylon, are also to be classified under this head. Monazite, samarskite, thorite and other rare minerals contain these elements. They are used in preparing the mantles for incandescent gas lights.

=Silver=, the more common precious metal, is produced in greatest amount in the Rocky Mountains and the Andes. The United States, Mexico, Australia, Bolivia, Chili, Peru and Germany contribute nearly the entire supply. Montana, Colorado, Nevada and Utah lead in silver production in the United States. The ores are usually smelted and refined to purify the metal.

_Argentiferous galena_ (lead ore) is the commonest ore of silver. The amount of silver per ton varies greatly. Zinc and copper ores often carry silver. Many sulphides of silver (argentite, pyrargyrite, etc.) are found, as well as chlorides and bromides (cerargyrite and bromyrite). _Chloride_ and _nitrate of silver_ are used in photography.

Silver is manufactured into innumerable articles for household use and personal adornment. The cheapest articles are not solid (sterling) but are electrically plated with a very thin coating of silver. Silver coins form the bulk of the currency of the world, although in most countries gold is the standard.

=Sodium= is the most important alkaline metal, and has a wide use.

_Salt_ (rock salt, sea salt, lake salt, halite or sodium chloride) is the commonest natural compound of sodium. Important for food and in chemical manufacture.

Rock salt is mined in Germany, Austria, Spain, England, Louisiana, Kansas, India and other parts of the world. Obtained by evaporating salt water from wells in England, Michigan, New York, Ohio and China, or by evaporating salt water in the West Indies, Great Salt Lake, etc.

Besides its use for meat packing, curing fish, domestic purposes, etc., it is employed in silver refining, and the preparation of hydrochloric acid, soda ash, carbonate of soda and other chemical products.

_Soda niter_ (nitrate of sodium) is a very easily soluble mineral. It is found in quantity only in the deserts of northern Chili, and is exported in large amounts to Europe and America for fertilizer and the manufacture of nitric acid and other chemicals.

_Borax_ (hydrous sodium borate) occurs in nature in an impure form and is prepared also from calcium borates. Borates are found in Tuscany, Central Asia, California and Nevada, and in South America.

Borax and boracic acid are used in pottery manufacture, for the preservation of meat, in dyeing and in medicine.

=Strontium= is found in Germany, Scotland, Texas and New York. Strontianite (strontium carbonate) and celestite (strontium sulphate) contain this element. Strontium salts are used in sugar refining and making red fire.

=Sulphur= or brimstone is found in a pure state in volcanic regions or associated with gypsum and limestone. Pyrite (sulphide of iron) is also a source of sulphur compounds.

Sicily, Italy, Japan, Louisiana and Utah have mines of native sulphur, which is used in manufacturing sulphuric acid, gunpowder, matches, as a disinfectant, for bleaching and vulcanizing rubber.

Blue vitriol, green vitriol and alum are sulphates. Sulphur is imported from Sicily and Italy.

=Thorium.= See rare metals.

=Tin= is less abundant than most of the common metals. The Malay peninsula and nearby islands (Banca and Billiton) produce over half the tin ore of the world. The remainder is mined in Bolivia, Australia, Tasmania and Cornwall, England. Small deposits occur in the United States.

Tin melts at a low temperature and is easily refined.

_Cassiterite_ (tin oxide) is the only important ore. This mineral is commonly found as pebbles (stream tin) in gravel.

_Tinplate_ and alloys containing tin are of enormous importance in the arts. Of these, _bronze_ is chief. _Gun metal_, _pewter_, _solder_, _type metal_ and _britannia metal_ are other alloys. Salts of tin are used in dyeing, glass making, etc.

Tinplate, used for tin cans, roofing and kitchen utensils, is made by dipping sheet iron or steel in a bath of melted tin, thus covering it with a thin layer of tin. Tinplate is manufactured in the United States and imported from England. Tin metal is imported from England and Straits Settlements.

=Tungsten.= See rare metals.

=Uranium.= See rare metals.

=Vanadium.= See rare metals.

=Zinc= is one of the most useful metals. Germany, United States and Belgium supply most of the zinc. In this country, Missouri and Kansas lead in zinc production.

_Sphalerite_ or blend (zinc sulphide) is the chief ore. Carbonates, silicates and oxides of zinc are found. Crude zinc (_spelter_) is distilled from roasted ore.

_Brass_, _German silver_ and other alloys contain zinc. _Galvanized iron_ consists of a coating of zinc on sheet iron. _Zinc oxide_ (zinc white) resembles white lead and is used in paints.

Used in electric batteries, making hydrogen, zinc etchings, etc. The greatest amount of zinc is used in alloys and zinc compounds. Zinc and zinc ores are both imported and exported by the United States, the imports exceeding the exports. Zinc oxide is exported in larger amount than any other form.

=THE PRODUCTIVE CALIFORNIA SALT BEDS=

The United States produces one-fourth of the entire output of the world. Salt was one of the first two great articles of international commerce in the history of the world trade.]

The most wonderful salt mines in the world are those of Galicia, in Austria. In this region there is a mass of salt estimated to measure 500 miles in length, 20 miles in breadth, and 1,200 feet in thickness.]

SCIENTIFIC TERMS USED IN THE EARTH SCIENCES

=Acanthodus= (_a-kan-thō´dus_).--Fossil fish, having thorn-like fins.

=Aërodynamics= (_ā-ẽr-ō-di-nam´iks_).--The science which treats of the air and other gaseous bodies under the action of force, and of their mechanical effects.

=Aërognosy= (_ā-ẽr-ŏg´nô-sy_̆).--The science which treats of the properties of the air, and of the part it plays in nature.

=Aërolite= (_ā´ẽr-ô-līt_).--A stone, or metallic mass, which has fallen to the earth from distant space; a meteorite; a meteoric stone.

=Aërology= (_ā-ẽr-ŏl´ôjy̆_).--That department of physics which treats of the atmosphere.

=Aerometer= (_ā´ẽr-ŏm´ê-tẽr_).--An instrument for ascertaining the weight or density of air and gases.

=Ammonites= (_am´mo-nitz_).--Fossil mollusks of spiral form, found in all strata from the palæozoic to the chalk; very numerous, varying greatly in size; all now extinct; sometimes called snakestones.

=Anemology= (_ăn-ĕ-mŏl´ô-jy̆_).--The science of the wind.

=Anemometer= (_ăn-ĕ-mŏm´ẽ-tẽr_).--An instrument for measuring the force and velocity of the wind; a wind gauge.

=Attrition= (_ăt-trĭsh´ŭn_).--The act of rubbing together; friction; the act of wearing by friction, or by rubbing substances together; abrasion.

=Aurora= (_aw-rō´rȧ_).--The rising light of the morning; the dawn of day; the redness of the sky just before the sun rises.

=Aurora Borealis= (_bō´rẽ-ā´lĭs_), i. e., northern daybreak; popularly called northern lights. A luminous meteoric phenomenon, visible only at night, and supposed to be of electrical origin. This species of light usually appears in streams, ascending toward the zenith from a dusky line or bank, a few degrees above the northern horizon. Occasionally the aurora appears as an arch of light across the heavens from east to west. Sometimes it assumes a wavy appearance. They assume a variety of colors, from a pale red or yellow to a deep red or blood color.

The =Aurora Australis= (_aws-trā´lĭs_) is a corresponding phenomenon in the southern hemisphere, the streams of light ascending in the same manner from near the southern horizon.

=Barometer= (_bȧ-rŏm´ẽ-tẽr_).--An instrument for determining the weight or pressure of the atmosphere, and hence for judging of the probable changes of weather, or for ascertaining the height of any ascent.

=Calamites= (_kal´a-mīts_ or _kal´a-mī´tēz_).--Reed-like plants, found in coal.

=Carboniferous= (_kär´bŏn-ĭf´ẽr-ŭs_).--Producing or containing carbon or coal.

=Conglomerate= (_kŏn-glŏm´ẽr-ât_).--Pudding stone, composed of gravel and pebbles cemented together.

=Corona= (_kô-rō´nȧ_).--A circle, usually colored, seen in peculiar states of the atmosphere around and close to a luminous body as the sun or moon.

=Cosmogony= (_kŏs-mŏg´o-ny̆_).--The creation of the world or universe; a theory or account of such creation.

=Cosmology= (_kŏz-mŏl´ô-jy̆_).--The science of the world or universe; or a treatise relating to the structure and parts of the system of creation, the elements of bodies, the modifications of material things, the laws of motion, and the order and course of nature.

=Crystallography= (_krĭs´tal-lŏg´rȧ-fy̆_).--The science of crystallization, teaching the system of forms among crystals, their structure, and their methods of formation.

=Cyclone= (_sī´klōn_).--A violent storm, often of vast extent, characterized by high winds rotating about a calm center of low atmospheric pressure. This center moves onward, often with a velocity of twenty or thirty miles an hour.

=Denudation= (_dĕn´û-dā´shŭn_ or _dē´nū-_).--The laying bare of rocks by the washing away of the overlying earth, etc.; or the excavation and removal of them by the action of running water.

=Deposit.=--A body of ore distinct from a ledge; pocket of gravel or pay dirt.

=Diplacanthus= (_dip-lä-kăn´thus_).--A fish, belonging to Acanthodii, known only by fossil remains in Old Red Sandstone.

=Drifts.=--Tunnels leading off from the main shaft, or from other tunnels or levels, through and along the vein.

=Drift Matter.=--Earth, pebbles and bowlders that have been drifted by water, and deposited over a country while submerged.

=Druse= (_drṳs_).--A cavity in a rock, having its interior surface studded with crystals and sometimes filled with water.

=Elephas= (_el´e-fas_).--The Latin name for Elephant. The primitive elephant was what is known as the Mammoth.

=Fata Morgana= (_fä´tȧ môr-gä´nȧ_).--A kind of mirage by which distant objects appear inverted, distorted, displaced, or multiplied. It is noticed particularly at the Straits of Messina, between Calabria and Sicily, Italy.

=Fire-damp.=--An explosive carburetted hydrogen of coal mines.

=Fissures.=--Seams or crevices in rocks formed by volcanic or earthquake action, and when filled subsequently by metal or metallic ores they become fissure veins.

=Fog.=--Watery vapor condensed in the lower part of the atmosphere and disturbing its transparency. It differs from cloud only in being near the ground, and from mist in not approaching so nearly to fine rain.

=Geography= (_je-ŏg´rȧ-fy̆_).--The science which treats of the world and its inhabitants; a description of the earth, or a portion of the earth, including its structure, features, products, political divisions, and the people by whom it is inhabited.

ASTRONOMICAL, or MATHEMATICAL GEOGRAPHY treats of the earth as a planet, of its shape, its size, its lines of latitude and longitude, its zones and the phenomena due to the earth’s diurnal and annual motions.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY or PHYSIOGRAPHY treats of the conformation of the earth’s surface, of the distribution of land and water, of minerals, plants, animals, etc., and applies the principles of physics to the explanation of the diversities of climate, productions, etc.

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY treats of the different countries into which the earth is divided with regard to political and social institutions and conditions.

=Geology= (_jē-ŏl´o-jy̆_).--The science which treats: (a) Of the structure and mineral constitution of the globe; structural geology. (b) Of its history as regards rocks, minerals, rivers, valleys, mountains, climates, life, etc.; historical geology. (c) Of the causes and methods by which its structure, features, changes, and conditions have been produced; dynamical geology.

=Goniatites= (_gō-ni-a-tī´tēz_).--Fossil remains of Ammonites, many species of which are found in Devonian and Carboniferous Limestone.

=Hail= (_hāl_).--Frozen rain, or particles of ice precipitated from the clouds, where they are formed by the congelation of vapor. The separate particles are called hailstones.

=Harmattan= (_här-măt´tan_).--A dry, hot wind, prevailing on the Atlantic coast of Africa, in December, January, and February, blowing from the interior or Sahara. It is usually accompanied by a haze which obscures the sun.

=Hoarfrost= (_hōr´frŏst_).--The white particles formed by the congelation of dew; white frost.

=Hydrography= (_hī-drŏg´rȧ-fy̆_).--The art of measuring and describing the sea, lakes, rivers, and other waters, with their phenomena.

=Hygrometer= (_hī-grŏm´ê-tẽr_).--An instrument for measuring the degree of moisture of the atmosphere.

=Ignis fatuus= (_ĭg´-nĭs făt´ûŭs_).--A phosphorescent light that appears, in the night, over marshy grounds, supposed to be occasioned by the decomposition of animal or vegetable substances, or by some inflammable gas,--popularly called also Will-with-the-wisp, or Will-o’-the-wisp, and Jack-with-a-lantern, or Jack-o’-lantern.

=Ichthyosaurus= (_ĭk-thē-ō-saw´rus_).--A large marine reptile, known only by fossil vertebræ and other bones, found in oolite rocks.

=Labyrinthodon= (_lab-i-rin´thō-don_), or Mastodon. A large animal, belonging to Amphibia, remains of which are found in Upper Trias rocks and strata.

=Lepidodendron= (_lep-i-dō-den´dron_).--Coal-plants, belonging to the Lycopods, of which very many remains are found in coal.

=Lepidosteus= (_lep-i-dŏs´te-us_).--Bony-pike fish, the fossil remains of which are found in rocks and earth strata.

=Lightning= (_līt´nĭng_).--A discharge of atmospheric electricity, accompanied by a vivid flash of light, commonly from one cloud to another, sometimes from a cloud to the earth. The sound produced by the electricity in passing rapidly through the atmosphere constitutes thunder.

=Lithology= (_li-thŏl´ō-jy̆_).--The science which treats of rocks, as regards their mineral constitution and classification, and their mode of occurrence in nature.

=Lode= (_lōd_).--A metallic vein; a longitudinal fissure or chasm filled with ore-bearing matter and having well-defined side walls; lode, lead, vein and ledge are synonymous; a mineral vein in the rock.

=Mastodon= (_mas´tō-don_).--An extinct elephant-like mammal of America, whose teeth have a nipple-like surface.

=Metallurgy= (_mĕt´al-ler-jy̆_).--The art of working metals, comprehending the whole process of separating them from other matters in the ore, smelting, refining and parting them; sometimes, in a narrower sense, only the process of extracting metals from their ores.

=Meteorology= (_mĕ-tē-er-ŏl´o-jy̆_).--The science which treats of the atmosphere and its phenomena, particularly of its variations of heat and moisture, of its winds, storms, etc.

=Min´er-al´o-gy= (_mĭn-er-ăl´ō-jy_).--The science which treats of minerals, and teaches how to describe, distinguish, and classify them.

=Mist= (_mĭst_).--Visible watery vapor suspended in the atmosphere, at or near the surface of the earth; fog.

=Monsoon= (_mŏn-sōōn´_).--A wind blowing part of the year from one direction, alternating with a wind from the opposite direction--a term applied particularly to periodical winds of the Indian Ocean, which blow from the southwest from the latter part of May to the middle of September, and from the northeast from about the middle of October to the middle of December.

=Oceanography= (_ō´shan-ŏg´rȧ-fy̆_).--A description of the ocean.

=Oceanology= (_ō´shan-ŏl´ô-jy̆_).--That branch of science which relates to the ocean.

=Oreography= (_ō-rē-ŏg´rȧ-fy̆_).--The science of mountains; orography.

=Palæotherium= (_pā-lē-ō-thē´ri-um_).--A tapir-like mammal, having canine teeth, known only by fossil remains found in Tertiary rocks.

=Pampero= (_pȧm-pâ´rô_).--A violent wind from the west or southwest, which sweeps over the pampas of South America and the adjacent seas, often doing great damage.

=Parhelion= (_pär-hēl´yŭn_ or _hē´lĭ-ŏn_).--A mock sun appearing in the form of a bright light, sometimes near the sun, and tinged with colors like the rainbow, and sometimes opposite to the sun. The latter is usually called an _anthelion_. Often several mock suns appear at the same time.

=Petrology= (_pē-trŏl´ô-jy̆_).--The science which is concerned with the mineralogical and chemical composition of rocks, and with their classification; lithology.

=Physiography= (_fiz-e-ŏg´rȧ-fy̆_).--The science which treats of the earth’s exterior physical features, climate, life, etc., and of the physical movements or changes on the earth’s surface, as the currents of the atmosphere and ocean, the secular variations in heat, moisture, magnetism, etc.; physical geography.

=Plesiosaurus= (_plē-zi-ō-saw´rus_).--An oolithic reptile with crocodile-like head, known by fossil remains, chiefly vertebræ, found in lias and oolitic rocks, named from its fossil remains being found near those of the ichthyosaurus.

=Pneumatics= (_nû-măt´ĭks_).--That branch of science which treats of the mechanical properties of air and other elastic fluids, as of their weight, pressure, elasticity, etc.

=Pterodactyl= (_ter-ō-dak´tīl_).--Winged lizard: extinct reptile; fossil remains found in Kentish chalk.

=Pyroscope= (_pĭr´ô-skōp_).--An instrument for measuring the intensity of heat radiating from a fire, or the cooling influence of bodies. It is a differential thermometer, having one bulb coated with gold or silver leaf.

=Rainbow.=--A bow or arch exhibiting, in concentric bands, the several colors of the spectrum, and formed in the part of the hemisphere opposite to the sun by the refraction and reflection of the sun’s rays in drops of falling rain. Besides the ordinary bow, called also primary rainbow, which is formed by two refractions and one reflection, there is also another often seen exterior to it, called the secondary rainbow, concentric with the first, and separated from it by a small interval. It is formed by two refractions and two reflections, is much fainter than the primary bow, and has its colors arranged in the reverse order from those of the latter.

=Seismology= (_sīs-mŏl´ô-jy̆_).--The science of earthquakes.

=Seismometer= (_sīs-mŏm´e-tẽr_).--An instrument for measuring the direction, duration, and force of earthquakes and like concussions.

=Simoon= (_sĭ-mōōn´_).--A hot, dry, suffocating, dust-laden wind, that blows occasionally in Arabia, Syria, and the neighboring countries, generated by the extreme heat of the parched deserts or sandy plains.

=Sirocco= (_sĭ-rŏk´kô_).--An oppressive, relaxing wind from the Libyan deserts, chiefly experienced in Italy, Malta, and Sicily.

=Sivatherium= (_siv-a-thē´ri-um_).--A large four-horned antelope, known by fossil remains found in Pliocene rocks of Hindustan.

=Strophomena= (_strō-fŏm´ĕ-nä_).--A genus of shell-like animals similar to the nautilus, found in numerous fossil forms in Lower Silurian and the carboniferous strata.

=Tornado= (_tor-nā´dô_).--A violent whirling wind; specifically a tempest distinguished by a rapid whirling and slow progressive motion, usually accompanied with severe thunder, lightning, and torrents of rain, and commonly of short duration and small breadth; a small cyclone.

=Typhoon= (_tï-fōōn´_).--A violent whirlwind; specifically, a violent whirlwind occurring in the Chinese seas.

=Wind.=--Air naturally in motion with any degree of velocity; a current of air.

=Zosterites= (_zos-ter-ī´tez_).--Sear-wracks: marine plants, resembling sea-weeds, with small naked flowers, found at the bottom of the sea.

BOOK OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

REALMS OF LIFE UPON THE EARTH

CHIEF DIVISIONS OF THE PLANT KINGDOM:

(1) CEREALS, GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS

(2) KITCHEN VEGETABLES

(3) THE FRUIT TREES

(4) FRUIT-BEARING SHRUBS AND PLANTS

(5) FLOWERS AND OTHER ORNAMENTAL PLANTS

(6) WILD FLOWERS AND FLOWERLESS PLANTS

(7) TREES OF THE FOREST

(8) FIBER AND COMMERCIAL PLANTS

(9) POISONOUS PLANTS

(10) SOME WONDERS OF PLANT LIFE

BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS

SCIENTIFIC TERMS USED IN BOTANY, ILLUSTRATED

WORLD MAP SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF PLANT LIFE

THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

RELATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE

Life in the world is represented by the _Vegetable_ and _Animal_
kingdoms. Plants and animals, unlike minerals, grow from germs, and
develop into individuals with definite forms and organs. After a
limited existence they die, their species being perpetuated by seed
or offspring. The _functions_ of plants and animals in nature are,
however, entirely unlike. Plants are rooted in the soil; animals are
free to move over the land, through the water or air. The plant,
moreover, transforms the lifeless, inorganic elements (earth and
air) into organic matter and thus prepares food for the animal. In
its quiet, steady growth it gathers a store of force which the
animal uses up in action. Thus the distribution of vegetation
regulates that of animal life. Besides, vegetation clothes the
surface of the land with that rich mantle of verdure and flowers
which is its greatest ornament.

All living things are termed _organisms_, and the science which
takes account of them with special regard to their common
characteristics is termed _Biology_, or Life-lore. The
classification and life-history of plants are the objects of that
part of biology known as _Botany_. That part similarly occupied with
the study of animals is known as _Zoology_.

Throughout the entire realm of nature, in the _animal_ world as well as in the _vegetable_, the development of life increases in energy, and in the variety and perfection of the types, with the increasing intensity of light and heat, from the poles to the equator.

TROPICAL LIFE

Within the tropics, under the stimulating rays of a vertical Sun, grow the most dense and varied forests, the most expanded foliage, and the largest and the most brilliant flowers. Here, also, are found the most delicious fruits, the most powerful aromatics, the greatest variety of plants capable of affording sustenance to man, and the largest number of those which contribute to the luxuries of civilized life.

In the tropical regions, also, are found the greatest variety of land animals; with the highest types, the greatest stature, the most intense activity, and the keenest intelligence exhibited in the brute creation.

WHERE THE MOST POWERFUL ANIMALS ARE FOUND

This zone is the home of the gigantic elephant and giraffe; of the lion and the tiger, the most powerful of all the beasts of prey; and of the gorilla, chimpanzee, and ourang-outang, of all animals most resembling men.

Here, also, are the ostrich, the largest and most powerful of birds; the condor, surpassing in size all other birds of flight; and the humming-birds of South America, the smallest of the feathered tribes, unsurpassed in brilliancy of coloring, rapidity of motion, and grace of form.

In the same zone are those enormous reptiles, the crocodile and the boa-constrictor, with the hooded snakes and other serpents of most deadly venom; and insects of all sizes in indescribable profusion.

LIFE IN THE TEMPERATE ZONES

In the Warm-Temperate Zone, though the Sun never reaches the zenith, yet during the long summer his rays are almost vertical; while the winter is so mild that snow and ice are of rare occurrence.

Here the vegetable world is less prodigal in species, and less luxuriant in growth, than in the tropical regions; still, verdure is continuous throughout the year, and fruits and flowers succeed each other almost without interruption.

The animal world shows a similar, though less marked, decrease in the exuberance of life. The higher orders are less numerous, the individuals less gigantic and powerful; yet the antelopes, among the most graceful of animals, and the camel, one of the most useful, especially characterize this zone.

HOW THE LIFE OF THE TEMPERATE ZONE DIFFERS FROM THAT OF WARMER ZONES

In the Temperate Zone, farther from the tropics, and receiving the Sun’s rays with greater obliquity, all the forms of vegetable growth are more modest than in the preceding. The forests are less dense and varied, the foliage is less luxuriant, and flowers of brilliant hues are confined to shrubs and herbaceous plants.

Though useful plants are numerous, yet scarce a species is of value in its spontaneous growth; and, above all, the long dormant season, when the trees and shrubs are bare and apparently lifeless, stamps the vegetation of this zone with an aspect of inferiority.

The animal world still shows a large number of noble species; yet there are some orders which, like the plants, are dormant during the winter; while many of the birds migrate to warmer climes. Associated with deciduous forests, boundless fertile prairies, and arid steppes--are the bear, the wolf, the lynx, the bison, and many species of elk and deer.

ORIGINAL HOME OF OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS

Here is the home of the horse, the ass, and many varieties of oxen, sheep, and goats,--those animals which, domesticated by man, have accompanied him to all climes, adapting themselves to all circumstances. The American turkey, the European pheasant, and the Asiatic parents of many of our domestic fowls, also belong to the temperate zone; together with a multitude of song birds, whose sober plumage, contrasting so gloomily with the brilliant colors of their neighbors of the tropics, is compensated by the sweetness of their notes. Here, also, is the home of the honey-bee, and of the silk-worm, almost the only insects directly useful to man.

LIFE IN THE COLD ZONES

In these regions, where the sun is always low, and in winter is above the horizon but a small part of the time, all nature becomes increasingly monotonous. The conifers, with their stiff forms and sombre hues, impart a dreary aspect even to the summer landscape; and, during the long winter, all life seems suspended.

The animal world, however, is more rich and varied than the vegetable.

Here we meet the great moose and the brown bear, the beaver and other rodents, in large numbers; the sable, the mink, the ermine, and a host of other animals whose fine, soft furs form one of the main resources of this inhospitable clime.

In the Arctic Zone--where the forests give place to dwarf trees, stunted or creeping shrubs, mosses, and lichens--the reindeer, the musk-ox, and the white bear are the only representatives of the larger land animals, though the smaller furry tribes are still numerous.

The sea, however, more genial in its temperature than the land, swarms with living creatures of innumerable species, among which are the largest representatives of the animal kingdom. The whale, the walrus, and the seal, inhabit the Arctic seas; with every grade of marine life, down to the animalculæ, which are so numerous as to give their color to great areas of sea-water; and water-fowl, without number, and of many varieties, enlivens the icy shores.

CHIEF DIVISIONS OF THE PLANT KINGDOM

The great divisions of the science of plant life, or botany, are: Structural Botany which treats of the gross anatomy of plants; Plant Histology, of their minute anatomy; Plant Morphology, of the forms of plants and their organs; Plant Physiology, of the functions of these organs; Systematic Botany, of the relationship and classification of plants; Geographical Botany, of the distribution of plants over the surface of the globe; Paleobotany, of the vegetable life of past ages and the successive appearance in the world of the great classes of plants, as traced in their fossil remains; and Economic Botany, which deals with the products of plants and their uses.

It is in the last division of the subject that our greatest practical interest lies, and, consequently, it is best to reverse the general order of treatment pursued by many botanists. Foremost in importance are those plants grown for food, which form the great products of _agriculture_, _gardening_ and _horticulture_. Scarcely less important are those which yield fibers used for industrial purposes, such as cotton, flax, jute and hemp; nor must we forget those producing vegetable oils, rubber, and the large number of drugs so valuable to the science of medicine in the alleviation of suffering.

(=See page 176 for scientific classification of the Vegetable or Plant Kingdom.=)

_I. CEREALS, GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS_

Among all the plants in the world, the first place must be given to the food-producing cereals upon which our very existence depends. The most important among these are undoubtedly wheat, barley, oats, rye, rice, Indian corn or maize, millets, sorghum and others less widely used. More than one-half the whole population of the world subsists to a great extent on rice, and the vital importance of wheat needs no demonstration. For our present purposes the use of the word “cereal” is extended to include buckwheat and other starch-yielding plants, but these are not true cereals.

HOW OUR CEREALS WERE DEVELOPED

The cereals are members of a great family of the grasses which have been cultivated by man from time immemorial. Originally, no doubt, they were wild plants which attracted attention owing to the comparatively large quantities of foodstuffs they yielded, the ease with which they could be collected, and their edible qualities. Now, in the majority of cases, the original wild forms are no longer known, and as is common with plants cultivated in many lands and during long periods, innumerable species and varieties have been evolved as the result of selection by man of the forms which appeared desirable for one or other of their qualities.

HOW THE WORD “CEREAL” ORIGINATED

Their very name--cereals or cerealia--indicates the great value attached to them in early historic times. These are so named after the goddess Ceres, as the Romans called her--Demeter of the Greeks--the patroness of agriculture and all the fruits of the earth.

WHERE THE CEREALS GROW

In the temperate regions of the world wheat is the principal cereal grown, and there are many different varieties suited to varying conditions. As we go farther north, barley, oats and rye increase in importance, and although they are grown for special purposes along with wheat, it is important to note that they will thrive in countries and under conditions not suited to wheat. Starting again from the temperate zones and traveling north or south, as the case may be, we enter the warmer countries where wheat cultivation is often associated with that of rice, corn, sorghum, etc. In the tropics, however, wheat will not thrive at low elevations, but rice, corn, sorghum and various millets form the great cereal crops, their relative importance varying in different countries.

The grasses proper grow upon our meadows, pastures, fields and in the woods and are only used as food for cattle.

HOW THE BOTANIST DESCRIBES CEREALS AND GRASSES

The roots of most kinds of grasses are persistent; the stems are hollow and knotty, and the leaves consist of sheaths and discs. Their flowers are arranged either in spikes or panicles, and are essentially the same in form as those of the herbs. In the interior there is an ovary, from which project two pistils with feathery styles. Close to the ovary are three stamens, with very long filaments and large anthers. These internal organs are generally surrounded by two tender bracts called the _paleæ_, and two harder outer bracts forming the _glumes_. In the grasses also self-fertilization does not take place, the wind here taking the place of the insects. Consequently the anthers are suspended from long filaments, and contain a quantity of pollen. As the grasses do not need to attract insects, their flowers are small with little color, and have no scent; nor do they secrete honey. The fruit is enclosed in a husk.

=Alfalfa= (_Medicago sativa_) is a cultivated hay and pasture plant, yielding per annum, without reseeding, three to six or more cuttings of hay, averaging a ton each and often much more, for an indefinite period. It is the richest forage plant known, and while old in history is comparatively new to the agriculture of North America.

Alfalfa thrives on all soils except those too wet or having too much acidity. The former calls for drainage and the latter demands lime. Besides its abundance of rich forage, the leaves of which approximate the value of wheat bran in animal rations, it is highly prized as a soil improver, as it restores and enriches the land in which it grows, and improves extraordinarily the physical character of the soil. Its roots reaching to great depths, make it drought-resistant; they also gather much nitrogen from the air, and it yields assuredly whether the season be wet or dry. It has been demonstrated the greatest fertilizing and soil renovating plant known to agriculture.

For hay it is cut whenever the first blossoms appear or when sprouts for a new growth from the root crowns are discovered, which in some regions is every month in the year. It is relished by all live stock, and is particularly valuable in dairy husbandry, affording at lowest cost important ingredients of the well balanced feeding ration. As pasturage it is excellent for hogs and horses, but ruminants, such as cattle and sheep are not safely grazed upon it, owing to its liability to cause bloat, which if not promptly treated may bring speedy death.

Alfalfa requires a carefully prepared seedbed, with a thoroughly fine, smooth surface, as the seeds are small. From fifteen to twenty pounds of seed per acre are generally sown, although often much more, or less, either with drills or broadcast, preferably in early fall and without a nurse crop. Where the winters are long or severe from two to ten tons of hay per acre in a season, and from two to seven bushels of seed.

=Blue-Grass= (_Poa pratensis_), frequently designated Kentucky Blue Grass, is a perennial, and the most highly prized pasture grass, but is not a profitable hay plant. Its growth has a wider range than timothy. It is sown in autumn or spring, the former being preferable, as it can endure cold better than heat, and thrives rather best when partially shaded. One approved way is to sow the seed on snow, where the ground is free from weeds. It is broadcasted at the rate of about one bushel of seed in the chaff to the acre. Blue-grass is an extremely aggressive and persistent plant voluntarily spreading among and displacing others where it has not been sown. Its taking possession of and thriving on land that has not been cultivated is not uncommon. The seed weighs fourteen pounds to the bushel.

ENGLISH BLUE-GRASS or Meadow Fescue (_Fescuta elatior_) is a valuable and hardy grass either for mowing or pasture. It thrives on soils not too dry, and being long lived, is especially valuable for permanent pastures. It is sown either in the spring or fall, by drilling or broadcasting from one to three pecks per acre if for seed, and three pecks to an acre if for pasture. It is harvested and handled much the same as wheat. Kansas produces nearly seventy-five per cent of the seed raised in America and ninety per cent of the total for the United States is exported, Germany being the largest taker. This grass is very nutritious and grazing animals are fond of it. A bushel of seed weighs twenty-two pounds, and the yield of seed per acre is from five to fifteen bushels.

=Brome-grass= (_Bromus inermis_) is a vigorous, hardy perennial pasture and hay plant, with strong, creeping rootstocks, and is valuable for dry regions. It is not adapted to a rotation, as its sod becomes too matted and tough for comfortable cultivation. Owing to this tendency, after three or four years of hay cropping its better use is for pasture. It yields luxuriantly, is rich in flesh-forming elements, and much relished by farm animals. It is sown broadcast, in spring or fall, eighteen to twenty pounds of seed to the acre. The seed is chaffy and weighs but fourteen pounds per bushel.

=Barley= is grown chiefly in the states of Minnesota, California, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, in the order named, these states raising seventy-five per cent of the output grown in the United States. It is used as food for live stock, and as an article of commerce is in demand principally for the making of malt in brewing beer, but in California and other western states, where Indian corn does not flourish, barley is used as a substitute grain for horses and mules. About two bushels to the acre are sown in the spring, with a drill or a broadcast seeder. It is admirably adapted as a nurse crop, as it stands up well and does not shade the ground so much as many other plants.

Barley for malting should be cut before fully ripe and put in well-capped shocks to cure; the price paid is largely governed by the color acquired in curing, which should be bright. A bushel weighs forty-eight pounds, and the yield is from twenty-five to forty bushels per acre.

=Buckwheat= (_Fagopyrum esculentum_) is a grain of minor importance, its flour being used as human food, mostly in the form of griddle cakes. The plant is esteemed for plowing under in summer, to supply humus, and its blossoms for the honey bee. Most of it is grown in New York and Pennsylvania, and it does well in soils too poor for most other crops. It is sensitive to frost, and used as a sort of catch crop, sown generally about the beginning of July, broadcast. Forty bushels, weighing forty-eight pounds per bushel, is a maximum yield.

=Clover= (_Trifolium pratense_). In the states east of the Missouri river _red clover_ is highly esteemed. It has much the same qualities as alfalfa, except it is a biennial, enduring but two years without re-seeding and at best gives two cuttings of hay per year, aggregating two to three tons. It is from the second cutting that seed is usually saved. Four quarts of seed is a common quantity to sow per acre. Red clover makes excellent hay, except for horses. Its seed, like that of alfalfa, weighs sixty pounds per bushel, and its yield is from one to five bushels per acre.

WHITE CLOVER (_Trifolium repens_) is a very useful pasture and honey plant, but is not used for hay. It spreads rapidly, and is widely used for sowing with other pasture grasses.

ALSIKE CLOVER (_Trifolium hybridum_) is largely sown on lands not well adapted to red clover, where land is either too wet or too dry for the latter, and it does not require so sweet a soil.

The champion ten ears of corn shown in the illustration average ten and one-half inches in length and seven and three-quarters in circumference, each ear carrying twenty rows of kernels, the depth of the kernels being three fourths of an inch, and the average weight of each ear was twenty ounces. They were sold at the rate of $2,345 per bushel or $335 for the ten ears. The champion single ear of corn was sold at the Omaha National Corn Show for $85.]

=Corn= (_Zea mays_). Indian corn, or maize is a product native to America, an annual, and is the most important member of the grass family. It is America’s foremost cereal, with a wider adaptability than any other, and is grown in every state and territory. The temperate climate of the Central States is most favorable to it, and Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, Kansas and Ohio are the leading states in its planting. The bulk of the world’s production of maize is grown in this country, although it is an important crop in Hungary, Italy, Egypt, South Africa, and other parts of the world.

ECONOMIC USES.--Corn is of primary importance as a food for live stock, enormous quantities being used to fatten cattle and swine.

The manufacture of starch and other products from corn is an industry of increasing magnitude. The chief starch derivatives are dextrine and glucose or grape sugar (used in brewing beer and as a substitute for true sugar).

Corn oil may be called a by-product in starch manufacture, yet the annual value of corn oil is greater than that of cornstarch produced in the United States. It is used in soap and paints. Vulcanized by heating with sulphur, it forms a widely used adulterant and substitute for rubber.

Among the dozens of useful products made from corn are corn meal, corn grits, hominy, breakfast foods, beer, whisky, alcohol, cologne spirits, cornstarch, dextrine, glucose, grape sugar, corn sirup, corn oil, soap, rubber substitute and cattle foods.

A special variety of corn is raised to make cob pipes. Compressed corn pith is packed between the double hulls of warships. Corn husks are used in mattresses and paper is made in very limited amount from the leaves and stalks. Large amounts of popcorn, plain and candied, are eaten in the United States.

METHODS OF CULTIVATION.--Owing to its widespread growing, the methods of corn culture vary greatly, and no rigid rules can be laid down for all conditions. For maximum results the cornfield must be rich in humus, its soil finely pulverized, mellow and well drained. Many successful growers in the so-called corn states find these conditions best assured by plowing deeply in the fall, turning under liberal quantities of organic matter such as stable and barnyard manure and leaving the subsoil upturned to benefit from the action of the elements during winter, following with the disk harrow or other like implement in the spring. Planting is done when the soil is thoroughly warmed and when danger of frost is past.

There are two methods of planting commonly practiced, one by drilling or dropping the seed (three or four grains) in hills with a machine drawn by horses and completing two rows at once. The other is planting with an implement known as a lister, dropping and covering one grain in a place in the bottom of a furrow, at intervals of eight to twelve inches. The latter method is quite extensively followed in the more western of the corn states, such as Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. The lister is a plow and planter combined, with moldboards at once turning the soil to the right and left, opening a furrow, dropping and covering the seed at the same time, economizing labor, time and expense. Corn is planted about two inches deep, and if in hills or rows generally three and one-half feet apart each way. A bushel of fifty-six pounds of seed suffices for planting nearly eight acres. For soiling, forage or ensiling it is planted more thickly.

Cultivation, with horse-drawn cultivators, cleaning one row at a time, and by some implements two rows, repeated three or four times in a season, is given to kill weeds, aid in the retention of moisture, and aerate the soil. This begins in many instances before the plants appear, and often in the earlier stages is done with a harrow and later by using the cultivator, upon which the operator usually rides.

HARVESTING, done after the grains have become hardened is by cutting the stalks from the hills where grown, by hand or machinery, and standing them in large shocks to be husked later, or, husking the ears directly from the stalks without cutting or shocking. No machine equal to human hands has yet been invented for husking corn. The yield ranges from twenty-five to one hundred bushels of sixty pounds, shelled, or seventy pounds unshelled, per acre. The stalks and husks, whether harvested or not are used as food for live stock, and somewhat in manufactures.

=Emmer.= See Spelt.

=Johnson Grass= (_Sorghum halapense_) is a coarse perennial, most extensively grown in the South or the Gulf States, for hay. It spreads so persistently and is so difficult to eradicate that its growing is frowned upon by most of the best authorities. One bushel of seed, or thirty-five pounds per acre is about the quantity sown. It is propagated by roots also. Never plant Johnson grass with the expectation of destroying it.

=Millet= (_Panicum miliaceum_) is a native of the East Indies, and is about three feet high; each panicle contains five to six hundred grains. Hungarian grass is one of the most common grown for hay and grain. In the United States they are principally grown for forage. It is a general rule to sow after corn planting has been done but they may be safely sown considerably later, as a catch crop when the regular hay crop is short or a probable failure. Millets are excellent for ensilage, and a succession of cuttings for that purpose or for soiling can be easily secured by sowing at intervals of two or three weeks from early May to late July. The seed is sown broadcast or with grain drills, mostly broadcast, at the rate of two to three pecks per acre, for hay and somewhat less for seed. The hay is harvested and handled after the manner of other hay crops, and the seed crop as that of other small grains. Well drained, rich, warm, loam soils are preferable for millet, and it does not prosper on thin or poor land. A crop of millet leaves the soil where it grew in a delightful condition of tilth. Its yield of seed is from twenty to forty bushels per acre.

=Oats= (_Avena sativa_) have a broad panicle; the individual ears are two-rowed, with and without beards. Another much-cultivated species are the bearded oats (_A. orientalis_). The greater portion of the oats crop of the United States is grown in the north central states, more than one-half in the six states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Ohio, ranking in order named. Russia is also a large producer and it is cultivated throughout the temperate parts of the civilized world. The yield per acre ranges from twenty-five to one hundred bushels, weighing thirty-two pounds. Oats thrives best in cool weather with abundant moisture, and in the principal oats territory should be sown as early as possible in the spring--earlier than any other spring grain. The ground for oats should be plowed, but it is not uncommon to merely disk harrow the land before sowing. If the latter, about four bushels is sown to the acre, broadcast or drilled, but on well prepared ground ten to twelve pecks of clean, graded seed is sufficient. In the main the oats crop is harvested, stacked and threshed as other small grains.

Oats is used chiefly for horse feed, and in lesser amounts for making oatmeal and breakfast foods.

The manufacture of oatmeal is of relatively small importance since the more nourishing products of wheat are increasingly used.

=Orchard Grass= (_Dactylis glomerata_) is a hardy, nutritious perennial, growing two to five feet high, that does well in either shade or sunshine. It flourishes in nearly every state between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, and is profitably grown in all the states east of the Mississippi River lying between thirty-five degrees and forty-seven degrees north latitude, but is partial to a rich soil. Two to three bushels of seed are sown to the acre, from about the middle of March to the middle of April. It provides either hay or pasturage, and is prized for the latter, as “it comes early and stays late.”

=Rape= (_Brassica napus_) is a valuable farm crop, supplies an abundance of succulent green food in a short time, for soiling or pasture, especially for sheep and swine, being ready to use ordinarily six weeks after sowing, and is prized chiefly as a catch crop. Three pounds of seed per acre sown in rows thirty inches apart is customary, and the favorite is the Dwarf Essex.

=Redtop=, or Herd’s Grass (_Agrostis alba_) is a meadow grass and also one of the best pasture plants. It prospers on land where blue-grass, timothy and clover are not thrifty. It is most at home in a moist soil, flourishing in swampy places unfit for almost any other useful grass, and it also has ability to withstand severe drought. On thin soil it makes excellent pasture, but yields lightly of hay. It may be sown in the fall or spring, alone, or with a nurse crop. For meadow, it is best sown alone, using one bushel of seed in the chaff, or half as much if winnowed. A bushel of recleaned seed weighs thirty-five pounds.

=Rice= (_Oryza sativa_) is grown in nearly all the warmer countries of the earth, and forms the daily food of many millions of people. It is estimated that one-third of the people of the world live principally on rice.

There are two general varieties--the mountain rice and the marsh rice, the latter being the most cultivated. It is usually grown in swampy land or else on irrigated fields. In most countries rice is grown in the most primitive fashion. Immense irrigating plants and modern agricultural machinery make possible the large production in parts of the United States.

It is the chief crop in southeastern Asia, from India through Indo-China, a great part of China, southern Japan and many islands of the Pacific. Rice of excellent quality is raised in Texas, Louisiana and South Carolina, and an amount about equal to the production of this country is imported from eastern Asia.

ECONOMIC USES.--Rough rice or paddy (rice in the hull) is first hulled by machinery and then the grains are polished or whitened. The rice polish, which consists of the powdered outer coats, is a very nourishing cattle food. Saké, the national drink of Japan, is a weak alcoholic liquor brewed from rice. Rice straw is of enormous use in Asia, being employed for hundreds of purposes, some of them as unexpected as the making of bags, ropes and sandals. Rough rice and clean rice are the common commercial articles.