you the various disasters the potatoe is subject to. Worms spoil the root; insects attack the stem and leaves; the blight may wither it; too much moisture rots it; too little rain cramps its growth; and one keen frosty night will spoil the whole crop. Can man prevent these evils? Oh, no; they are far beyond his power: we are quite dependent upon God for this, and all the other fruits of the earth. We may say in natural things, what is so beautifully spoken of spiritual things, Paul may plant, Apollos may water; but God alone gives the increase, 1 Cor. iii. 6.

In whose reign were potatoes brought to England?'

By whom are they said to have been brought?
How many years ago?

What part of the world did they come from?
What first made them common in this country?
What is the potatoe flower like?

What succeeds the flower?

Is this good for food?

Is it planted?

What part of the potatoe is used for propagation?
How is the ground prepared for planting?
What season of the year is this done?

When the young plants appear, what do they require ?

What do we know when the flower and apples are past?

How are the potatoes taken up?

How kept from frost?

What are the other uses of the potatoe ? What lessons may we learn from this plant? What does God's word say of the diligent? Since God orders every thing, how should work?

What does labour bring?

Who are always miserable?

What else does the potatoe teach us?
How may its growth be stopped?
Who can alone prevent all this?
What, then, is our duty?

DOGS.

You have all seen many dogs, and could tell me their colour, and shape, and size, if I wished to know; and, therefore, I need not describe these things to you. Instead of doing so, I am going to tell you a true story about a dog.

This dog was called Gifford, and its master was named Llewellyn; it was very large and strong, and loved its master very much. Llewellyn had an only son, who was quite a baby at the time I am speaking of; one day he went out to hunt, and when he came back he went into his little boy's room, and there he saw the cradle turned upside down, and the great dog lying beside it, covered with blood. The poor father was dreadfully alarmed at this sight; he thought that the dog had murdered his child. This made him very angry indeed; and, in his passion, before he took time to find out the truth, he drew his sword, ran it through the dog's body, and killed it.

Soon after the dog was dead, Llewellyn heard a cry like that of his little son, and he soon found that it came from the cradle. He turned it over, and, to his great joy, he found his baby

quite safe and sound. He took it up in his arms with great delight; but, when he looked round, what do you think he saw? A great wolf laid dead in one corner of the room. Now he understood every thing; but it was too late. The fierce wolf had come to devour his baby; but the faithful dog had turned over the cradle to keep it safe, and then fought with the wolf, and killed it. It was the blood of the wolf which was upon the dog.

Llewellyn was very sorry indeed when he saw what he had done; he would have given anything to have had his good dog back again, but that was impossible: so he buried it with great care, and placed a handsome stone over its grave, and the sad story was written upon the stone. I am sure that Llewellyn must have wished that he had not been so hasty and passionate. If he had only looked round the room before he killed the dog, he would have seen what great service it had done him in defending his child. You ought never to do anything in a passion, but to consider first what you are about.

Now, tell me what you may learn from poor Gifford. Was he not a noble dog? Well, first, he was very brave: he did not run away when the wolf came, but he stayed to take care of Llewellyn's little son. He was a very faithful dog, and quite deserved to be trusted with the care of the baby. I hope that you will always be faithful when you are trusted with the care of anything, and that you will not think of anything else so much as of doing your duty carefully and well.

Boys and girls should be better than dogs,

L

because they know more than dogs know. You have been taught that God made you, and takes care of you, and gives you every good thing you have. Dogs do not know this; yet the dog loves his master, because he feeds and takes care of him you should much more love God, who is so good to you. But how did the dog

Gifford show that he loved his master? Was

it just by jumping upon him, and licking his hand? Oh no, it was far more; by taking such care of Llewellyn's child. You may learn something from this. If you love God, you must show that you do so, by loving God's children, and by doing them good. Those who love and obey God are his children; therefore, we must love those who love God. Jesus said to his disciples, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another," John xiii. 35.

WHAT was the name of Llewellyn's dog?
How many sons had Llewellyn?

What sad mistake did Llewellyn make one day, when he came home from hunting?

Had the dog murdered his child?

What had the dog done?

What lesson does the dog teach us?

And what may we learn from Llewellyn's hastiness? How must we show that we love God?

CORN.

You have often been in a cornfield, and seen the long yellow stalks waving in the wind. Perhaps, you thought more of the bright-coloured flowers which grew amongst it, and did not

care about the corn. But, if you did, you valued what is of no use, and despised what is very precious. When all the pretty flowers are withered and dead, the corn will be made into flour, and supply us with food. Corn is sown in the ground, but the ground must be made ready for it first. This is done by ploughing. The ploughshare is made of iron, and, when it is drawn through the ground by horses, it turns it up like a spade; only it does the work much more quickly. After the ground is ploughed, it is raked smooth by a harrow, the large stones are taken out, and manure is put in to enrich the soil. When all this is done, and the ground is made soft and smooth, the seed is scattered over it, and then it is raked over by the harrow, that it may be covered with earth.

After a time the corn begins to grow, and soon the whole field is covered with green blades, which look like grass. But during the summer, the corn grows taller and taller, and at last the ears are seen peeping through the leaves which surround them. The ears grow larger and fuller, and, at the same time, become dry and yellow. When they are quite ripe, the reapers go with their sickles, and cut them all down, and tie the corn into bundles, which are called sheaves. The sheaves stand in the field till they are quite dry, and then they are carried home, and either put into a barn, or made into stacks, to keep them safe.

When the corn is wanted for use, it must first be thrashed, by which the grains of corn are separated from the straw and chaff. It is then taken to the mill to be ground. This is done by putting it between two heavy stones,