THE Cartmell family stayed a week or more in Washington, as related in the last chapters of Part I. They enjoyed the Capital to such a degree that they were surprised that time had passed so swiftly.

"Now," said Mr. Cartmell, "it is best for us to depart southward, to a warmer clime."

"We are all ready," said the children, "although we have enjoyed Washington so much."

The ride through Virginia, "the home of Presidents," was interesting, because Mr. Cartmell told his children about the plantation life of the South, which formerly resembled somewhat the life of the nobility in Europe. In both cases there were great estates under one manage

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ment; great mansions with fancy names, such as "Oakland," or "Rosewell," or "Stanton Hill;" many servants, generous hospitality, high culture, lofty ideas, happy homes, and intense love of country and State.

"What other crops are raised here besides Presidents?" Mr. Cartmell asked.

"Sweet potatoes, tobacco, and peanuts," replied George. "Our best sweet potatoes come from about Norfolk. The tobacco crop has so exhausted the land that Kentucky now raises more tobacco than this State. Many of these fields which we see from the car window are beautiful in spring with the crops that George mentioned. Peanut stacks we are frequently seeing in the fields near the train, as we pass along."

"Do peanuts, Papa,” Nellie asked, “grow in the ground, or out of the ground?"

"The peanut plant blossoms when about ten inches high. Soon after the plant falls over, and runs along the ground like a vine. The flowers fade and fall off, and the pods are forced into the ground, and the seed ripens in the warm earth about the time of the first frost. A plough is run under each row to throw out the pods, and the vines and pods are made into stacks in the field in order that the nuts may become thoroughly dried. The peanuts are picked from the vines by hand in the winter time, and sent to the Northern cities, where they are so much liked."

A short stop was made in Richmond to see the city, and visit the capitol, which contains Houdon's celebrated statue of Washington, and other famous statues. While riding through the beautiful streets they saw many tobacco factories and flour mills,

Mr. Cartmell took a Pullman Sleeper at Richmond on the Atlantic coast-line, at 3.36 P. M., and the next morning he and his family were in Charleston. They found the climate balmy and pleasant, although it was in winter time. The city seemed to be built upon low and level land at the extreme end of a peninsula between two rivers, the Ashley and the Cooper. The Battery here, as in New York, appeared to be a popular promenade, lying near

"Rice requires to be grown on land which can be flooded and drained at the will of the rice farmer. The land is prepared by making embankments and ditches, so that water can be turned on when needed from the river or some other source. About this time of the year

the land is ploughed or dug over with the hoe. I have seen men at work in these fields several times lately, for we are now in the greatest rice-raising State in the Union. After being ploughed, the land is covered with water for the rest of the winter. In March the water is drained off, and the land kept dry.

"The seed is sown the last of April, or the first of May. It is covered lightly with soil, and then the water is let on. The water is allowed to remain till the seeds sprout, which is in about six days, when it is again drawn off. In five or six weeks the plant is hoed,' and the 'long water' is put on for two weeks. At the end of this time the water is again drained off, and the grain hoed once more, after which the land is again flooded for two months, or till the rice matures."

"Why, Papa, I never supposed there was so much work in raising rice!" exclaimed Nellie.

"There is much more to be told, my daughter. Rice is a grain, and grows about three feet high, on a stalk like wheat or oats. It is cut with a sickle, bound into sheaves, and stacked. When thoroughly cured it is threshed by machinery. The grain or rough rice is called 'paddy.' In this state it is frequently shipped to New York, where it is milled, that is, separated from the hulls; then it is sorted, and the prime rice is cleaned and polished."

"Where is rice largely raised in this country?"

"In the two Carolinas, in Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas."

As Mr. Cartmell finished his description of rice culture, the train approached the Savannah River, and after crossing the iron bridge, they entered the city of Southern culture and wealth. They found Savannah a