"Very true."

"The fruits of trees are, besides, more liable to rot than those of
grain; the latter have their flowers in the form of spikes, often
bearded with prickly fibres, which not only protect them from
marauders, but likewise serve as little roofs to shelter them from the
rain; and besides, as Fritz has just told us, owing to the pliancy of
their stalks, strengthened at intervals by hard knots and the
spear-shaped form of their leaves, these plants escape the fury of the
winds."

"That," said Willis, "is like a wretched cock-boat, which often
contrives to get out of a scrape when all the others are swamped."

"Therefore," continued Becker, "their weakness is of more service to
them than the strength of the noblest trees, and they are spread and
multiplied by the same tempests that devastate the forests. Added to
this, the species to which this class of plants belong--the
grasses--are remarkably varied in their characteristics, and better
suited than any other for universal propagation."

"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