2. Mark! how we meet thee While all the goodly things that be 3. Flocks on the mountains, And birds upon their spray, Tree, turf, and fountains All hold holiday; And love, the life of living things, Love waves his torch and claps his w And loud and wide thy praises si Thou merry month of May. favourites? Describe the throne of the Shah of Persia. What use do the Chinese make of the feathers of the peacock? Where is the native home of the peacock? How does the peacock seem to show its vanity? Describe its tail. How does the female differ in appearance from the male? On what does the peacock chiefly feed? When do the young birds acquire their perfect brilliancy of plumage? 1. Queen of fresh flowers, In nature's greenest livery drest, To earth and heaven a welcome guest, 2. Mark! how we meet thee While all the goodly things that be 3. Flocks on the mountains, And birds upon their spray, Tree, turf, and fountains All hold holiday; And love, the life of living things, Love waves his torch and claps his wings, And loud and wide thy praises sings, Thou merry month of May. vernal, belonging to spring. welcome, well received. 1. Sugar is obtained from many vegetable substances, such as the maple tree, the beet root, and the sugar cane, but chiefly from the last. 2. The sugar cane is a native of the tropical parts of the world. It was first introduced into Europe by the Saracens, and cultivated in the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. It seems, however, to have been carefully cultivated in India and China from the earliest times. 3. The cane was introduced into the West India Islands shortly after their discovery by Columbus, and the manufacture of sugar has now become one of the chief employments of the people. 4. In preparing a field for planting with the cuttings of the cane, the ground is marked out in rows three or four feet apart, and in these, holes are dug from eight to twelve inches deep, with a space of two feet between them. The cuttings are carefully planted, and for some time the soil has to be hoed to keep them clear of weeds. The hoeing of a field of sugar canes is a most laborious operation, performed as it must be under the rays of a tropical sun. 5. The planting of the canes does not require to be renewed annually, as the crops are obtained for some years from the shoots that spring up from the old roots. 6. The nature of the soil and the mode of culture have a considerable effect on the size of the plant. |