ee feet high, bearing on the
top a bunch of pretty blue flowers. A field of flax in bloom is a very
pretty sight.

The flax does not grow in a pod like cotton. The stalk of the plant is
covered with a bark, or skin, containing fibers. These fibers are spun
into thread, which is woven into a cloth called linen.

[Illustration: "A PLANT THAT YIELDS NO FOOD."]

The seeds are used for making an oil called _linseed oil_. For what is
linseed oil used?

Do you think people who live in hot countries need the same kind of
clothing as those who live in cold countries?

What kind of clothing should you think was needed in cold countries?
Would such clothes be comfortable in hot countries?

There is a plant that yields no food, drink, or clothing, yet it is used
in nearly every country in the world. Can you tell its name?

Every one has seen it growing. It is tobacco.

Do you think the tobacco plant is as useful as the cotton and flax
plants?

Everybody eats sugar. Did you ever see a table set for supper without a
sugar bowl?

[Illustration: "SUGAR-CANE IS A TALL PLANT."]

The sugar in common use in this country is made chiefly from sugar-cane.
The sugar-cane is a tall plant which looks much like Indian corn when
growing. It is called the sugar-cane because it is filled with the sweet
juice that is made into the sugar.

When the stalks are cut they are taken to a sugar mill. Here they pass
between great rollers which press out the juice. The liquid is then
boiled until it turns to sugar.

Much sugar is made from the sap of the sugar-maple tree. In the early
spring the sap begins to rise. A hole is bored in the tree and a tube
inserted, through which the sap passes to a bucket or other vessel
placed to receive it. The sap is boiled in large kettles and becomes
syrup. More boiling turns the syrup into sugar.

_Write_ what you have learned of _cotton_ and _linen_.

LESSON XXXIII.

FOREST TREES.

In your walks what things please you the most? Is it not the trees?
Trees are very useful to us, and we ought to be very grateful for them.

Name some trees along the streets and in the parks. Are they useful to
us, especially on a hot day? Why? Then what kind of trees do we call
them? (Shade.) Which of these are the first to put on their green
dresses in the spring? Which are the brightest in autumn?

Name some trees that grow in the woods.

[Illustration: A SHADY STREET.]

Name a tree whose wood is dark. A t