a new pair of yokes was carried forward with energy. They were in
the midst of the planting season which had been interrupted when the
last journey was undertaken.

Hitherto it had been the custom to devote at least one day each week to
hunting, on which occasions they also made trips to such points in the
island as had not been previously visited; and it was also a part of
their duty to examine the woods and the fields to find new specimens of
plants, fruits and flowers; and among the hills and ravines were many
kinds of ore, some of which they had been fortunate enough to find on
their entry to the island.

The metals thus found were utilized, because they had set up a workshop
alongside the sawmill, and in it had a crude lathe adapted to work in
wood or iron. It will thus be seen that each tour was for prospecting
purposes, to supply their needs, as well as to learn what the island
contained.

Each evening it was the habit to have a general discussion concerning
the events of the day, or with reference to matters of moment about the
work to be done on the morrow.

George was much interested in the planting program. "What kinds of
vegetable would it be most advisable to plant in the space we have
prepared?"

"One of the important points to consider in the planting of all crops is
whether the soil is adapted for it. When the United States were first
settled it was a surprising thing that many of the original settlers
would go miles inland, exposed to every sort of danger, to find land,
when there was plenty nearer the seashore or close to civilization.
There was a reason for that which we are only now beginning fully to
understand. Plants have a habit of growing in soil adapted for their
needs, and it would be an interesting study in going over our island to
consider the habits of plants in this respect."

"Is that the reason why different countries have such different kinds of
plants?"

"Yes; plants select their soil, and owing to these habits, every variety
of soil, in every climate, supports its own vegetable tribes. Of the
five thousand flowering plants of central Europe, only three hundred
grow on peaty soils, and those are mainly rushes and sedges. In the
native forests of northern Europe and America, the unlettered explorer
hails with joy the broad-leaved trees glittering in the sun among the
pines, as a symptom of good land, which he knows how to cultivate. The
rudest peasant in Europe knows that wheat