ntains?--in
the southern part of the United States?

What are meant by the following terms: No. 1 spring, a corner, a disk
harrow, a cradle, a flail, a separator, futures, warehouse certificates?

In 1855 the price of a barrel of flour in New York or Boston was about
twelve dollars; at the close of the century it was less than five.
Explain how the lessened price came about.

From a census or other report make a list of the ten leading
wheat-producing States; the ten that produce the most corn.

Why are the foreign shipments of oats less than those of wheat?

What are the prices current of wheat, corn, oats, and barley to-day?

FOR STUDY AND REFERENCE

Obtain samples of the different kinds of wheat, oats, barley, corn,
millet, and rice. Put the grain in small, closely stoppered vials;
attach the heads of the small grains to sheets of cardboard of the
proper size.

Read "The Wheat Problem"--Chapter I.

[Illustration: PICKING COTTON, ALABAMA]

[Illustration: TRANSPORTING COTTON FROM WHARF, CHARLESTON, S.C.]

[Illustration: COTTON PRESS YARD, NEW ORLEANS, LA.]

CHAPTER IX

TEXTILE FIBRES

Under the term "textile" are included the fibrous substances that can be
spun into threads, and woven or felted into cloth. Some of these, like
the covering of the sheep, goat, and llama, or the cocoon of the
silk-worm, are of animal origin; others, like cotton furze, the husk of
the cocoanut, and the bast of the flax-plant are vegetable products.
Their use in the manufacture of cloth antedates the period at which
written history begins; it probably begins with the time when primitive
man gradually ceased to have the hairy covering necessary to protect him
from the conditions of climate and weather.

As body coverings all these substances are dependent on a single
principle, namely--they are poor conductors of heat; that is, they do
not permit the natural heat of the body to pass away quickly, nor do
they allow sudden changes of the temperature to reach the body quickly.
In other words, because of the artificial covering which mankind alone
requires, bodily heat is not dissipated more rapidly than it is created;
if it were, the covering would be worthless. A suit of clothes made of
steel wire, for instance, because it conducts heat so rapidly, might
chill, or perhaps heat the body more quickly than the open air.

With respect to warming qualities wool surpasses all other textiles. It
is employed for clothing