POPULAR 

 ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



CHAPTER I. 



SUBSTANCES USED FOR FOOD. 

 FARINACEOUS PRODUCTS. 



When the fiat went forth, " In the sweat of thy face shalt 

 thou eat bread," Almighty Justice pronounced a deserved 

 sentence ; but, much as fallen man had offended his Divine 

 Creator, he was not forgotten entirely : labour, it is true, had 

 become his lot, but the fruitful earth was left, as before the 

 fall, clothed with every necessary for man's wants, and re- 

 quiring only the full exercise of those powers with which 

 his Maker had gifted him, for their development. 



The class of substances which come under this chapter 

 are peculiarly of this character : the staple food of more 



