when in bloom. Flax is raised very largely in Kentucky, and other States
in the Union. Do you know what part of the plant is the stalk? I will
point it out to you in the picture.

[Illustration: FLAX.]

"Well, from this stalk the thread, or fibres, are got, out of which
linen cloth is made. The flax is pulled a little before the seeds are
ripe: it is stripped, and the stalks are soaked in water. The flax is
then dried, and broken and beaten till the threads, or fibres, of the
bark are fit for spinning. From the seeds, linseed-oil is made.

"Is it not strange, Arthur, that out of the stalk of this little plant
should be made the nice white linen of your apron and my handkerchief?"

Arthur thought it very strange. Then, pointing to another picture, he
said, "What's this, Uncle Oscar?"

[Illustration: BARLEY.]

"That, Arthur, is a picture of barley as it grows in the field. It
yields a very useful kind of grain. You have eaten it in soup, and also
boiled. Stripped of the husk, and rounded and polished in a mill, the
grains are pearly white; and then they are known as pearl-barley."

"Here's another picture, Uncle Oscar."

"Did you ever eat rye-bread, Arthur?"

"Why, yes, Uncle Oscar! we had it for breakfast."