“Which was remarked by Homer,” observed Ernest “who usually distinguishes a country by its peculiar fruit, but speaks of the earth generally as zeidoros, or grain-bearing.”

“There, Willis,” exclaimed Jack, “is another great admiral for you.”

“An admiral, Jack?”

“It was he who led the combined fleets of Agamemnon, Diomedes, and others, to the city of Troy.”

“Not in our time, I suppose?”

“How old are you, Willis?”

“Forty-seven.”

“In that case it was before you entered the navy.”

“I know that there is a Troy in the United States, but I did not know it was a sea-port.”

“There is another in France, Willis; but the Troy I mean is, or rather was, in Asia Minor, capital of Lesser Phrygia, sometimes called Ilion, its citadel bearing the name of Pergamos.”

“Never heard of it,” said Willis.

“To return to grain,” continued Becker, laughing.  “Nature has rendered it capable of growing in all climates, from the line to the pole.  There is a variety for the humid soils of hot countries, as the rice of Asia; immense quantities of which are produced in the basin of the Ganges.  There is another variety for marshy and cold climates—­as a kind of oat that grows wild on the banks of the North American lakes, and of which the natives gather abundant harvests.”

“God has amply provided for us all,” said Frank.

“Other varieties grow best in hot, dry soils, as the millet in Africa, and maize or Indian corn in Brazil.  In Europe, wheat is cultivated universally, but prefers rich lands, whilst rye takes more readily to a sandy soil; buckwheat is most luxuriant where most exposed to rain; oats prefer humid soils, and barley comes to perfection on rocky, exposed lands, growing well on the cold, bleak plains of the north.  And, observe, that the grasses suffice for all the wants of man.”

“Yes,” observed Ernest, “with the straw are fed his sheep, his cows, his oxen, and his horses; with the seeds, he prepares his food and his drinks.  In the north, grain is converted into excellent beer and ale, and spirits are extracted from it as strong as brandy.”

“The Chinese obtain from rice a liquor that they prefer to the finest wines of Spain.”

“That is because they have not yet tasted our Rockhouse malaga.”

“Then of roasted oats, perfumed with vanilla, an excellent jelly may be made.”

“Ah! we must get mamma to try that—­it will delight the young ladies.”

“And, no doubt, you will profit by the occasion to partake thereof yourself, Master Jack.”

“Certainly; but I would not, for all that, seek to gratify my own appetite under pretence of paying a compliment to our friends.”

“I know an animal,” said Willis, “that, for general usefulness, beats grain all to pieces.”

“Good! let us hear what it is, Willis.”

“It is the seal of the Esquimaux; they live upon its flesh, and they drink its blood.”