82 



VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



between a pair of mill-stones, placed at such a dis- 

 tance from each other as shall serve to remove the 

 husk by friction, without crushing the grain. This is 

 besides enveloped by a thin pellicle, which for the 

 most part is rubbed off by trituration in large mortars, 

 with pestles weighing from two to three hundred 

 pounds. 



Ear and Plant of Rice. 



There is little reason for doubting that this grain 

 is of Asiatic origin. From the earliest records it has 

 formed the principal, if not the only food of the great 

 mass of the population on the continent and islands of 

 India and throughout the Chinese empire. 



The introduction of rice as an object of cultivation 



