VI PREFACE. 



even poisonous, but by cultivation it 

 becomes crisp, sweet, juicy, and of an 

 agreeable flavor. Turning to the animal 

 kingdom, we see our domestic cow, which 

 otherwise would secrete only enough milk 

 to suckle her young and, this accomplished, 

 go dry the rest of the year, made by the 

 art of man to yield for her owner ten, 

 twenty, and sometimes even more quarts 

 of milk daily. And in the matter of beef 

 production, we see how the intelligent 

 labors of Colling, Bates, Quartly, Turner, 

 and their compeers, have resulted in the 

 production of animals which convert their 

 food almost entirely into the most valua- 

 ble portions of meat. 



Again, we must remember that many 

 of our common vegetables are natives of 

 tropical or very warm climates ; in which 



