16 THE CORN-FIELD. 



" not a sparrow falls to the ground without our 

 heavenly Father." From this we should learn, 

 that what appears to us the meanest and most 

 insignificant part of the creation, is worthy of 

 being looked into, because it is His work; and 

 when we admire His consummate wisdom and 

 goodness in causing the earth to bring forth grass 

 for the service of man, we should not be influenced 

 wholly or principally by selfish motives, but join to 

 our gratitude for benefits conferred on ourselves 

 an acknowledgment of His universal benevolence. 



The particular kind of corn which is most im- 

 portant in this country is wheat. Of this there 

 are several varieties, differing from each other 

 more or less in appearance, productiveness, or 

 the season at which they ripen, but still retain- 

 ing sufficient resemblance to each other to prove 

 that they have been derived from a common stock. 

 It is not known of what country wheat is a native, 

 that is, where it grows wild; but this fact proves to 

 us that it has been cultivated as long as there have 

 existed any records of agriculture ; and, indeed, it 

 is most probable that if we were to find the ori- 

 ginal of the varieties of wheat now cultivated, it 

 would be unlike them all. God has declared, that 

 in the sweat of his face man shall eat bread ; it is 

 most probable, therefore, that wheat even in its 

 native country, as an article of food, is not nearly 

 so valuable in its wild state as it is when culti- 

 vated, and in those countries in which it is to be 

 considered a foreigner, it quickly degenerates, and 

 becomes comparatively valueless, unless continued 

 labour be bestowed upon its cultivation. 



The best modes of cultivating the various kinds 

 of grain are a subject for the consideration of the 



