st size down to mere saplings; and their numbers seem to
increase rather than diminish, there being many young trees springing
up.

How is Manna gathered?

From August to September, the Italians collect it in the following
manner, _viz._: by making an incision at the foot of the tree, each day
over that of the preceding, about four inches from one another: these
cuts, or incisions, are nearly two inches long, and half an inch deep.
When the cut is made, the manna directly begins to flow, at first like
clear water, but congealing as it flows, it soon becomes firm: this
they collect in baskets. Manna has been found to consist of two
distinct substances one nearly resembling sugar, the other similar to
a gum or mucilage.

What nation was fed with a kind of Manna?

The Children of Israel, when wandering in the desert wilderness, where
no food was to be procured, were fed by a miraculous supply of manna,
showered down from Heaven every morning on the ground in such
quantities as to afford sufficient food for the whole host.

What is Opium?

A narcotic, gummy, resinous juice, drawn from the head of the white
poppy, and afterwards thickened; it is brought over in dark, reddish
brown lumps, which, when powdered, become yellow.

_Narcotic_, producing sleep and drowsiness.

In what countries is it cultivated?

In many parts of Asia, India, and even the southern parts of Europe,
whence it is exported into other countries. The Turks, and other
Eastern nations, chew it. With us it is chiefly used in medicine. The
juice is obtained from incisions made in the seed-vessels of the
plant; it is collected in earthen pots, and allowed to become
sufficiently hard to be formed into roundish masses of about four
pounds weight. In Europe the poppy is cultivated mostly for the seeds.
Morphia and laudanum are medicinal preparations of opium.

What is Tobacco?

An herbaceous plant which flourishes in many temperate climates,
particularly in North America; it is supposed to have received its
name from Tabaco, a province of Mexico; it is cultivated in the West
Indies, the Levant, on the coast of Greece, in the Archipelago, Malta,
Italy, France, Ceylon, &c. It was not known in Europe till the
discovery of America by the Spaniards; and was carried to England
about the time of Queen Elizabeth, either by Sir Francis Drake or Sir
Walter Raleigh. Tobacco is either taken as snuff, smoked in pipes or
in the form of cigars, or