and if the work appears to be sufficiently advanced the plants are all lifted out, which enables them to be gathered cleaner than if the water were run off. The water is found to have drawn from the stems almost every ingredient which they have drawn from the soil, and is thus so far poisoned as to destroy any fish in the river.

The stems are then spread out to bleach in a meadow, by exposure to the sun and air for several days, which process is called "grassing;" they are then allowed to dry for a few hours, and afterwards tied up in bundles and stacked like corn. Like the corn-farmer, the flaxgrower has his barn and threshing-floor, and here he spreads the flax-straw on the floor, and beats it with a mallet to separate the wood from the flax. When this scutching" is done by machinery, the straw is passed between two wooden rollers, similar to the cotton-gin; and whether scutched by hand or machine, the straw and the fibre have to be separated by hand afterwards.

The growth of flax is by no means confined to Ireland, although the western isle produces the larger share of the yield of the United Kingdom. There is not sufficient flax grown in the three kingdoms to meet the needs of the trade of Ulster and Belfast, the chief seats of the home linen trade; therefore flax is largely imported from foreign countries. The principal supplies are derived from Russia, Germany, Holland and Belgium.

The various processes connected with linen fabrics are four in number, termed spinning, weaving, bleaching, and printing; but they are so nearly allied to those of the cotton trade as not to need a special description. The flax is spun into yarn for ordinary linen goods, and the fibres are twisted into a hard cord

for what is commonly termed "thread;" and these are woven in looms, bleached and printed in a similar manner to that practised with cotton.

The weaving by hand-looms is fast giving place to that by machinery, which latter disposes of the work more rapidly and with greater regularity. And in the process of spinning, although a single spindle is not much quicker than a pair of hands, it has the advantage of never tiring, and therefore turns off twice as much work in a week as could be done by a woman from her wheel; and one girl can attend to 150 spindles at one time. It would be impossible to find a sufficient number of people to perform the amount of work now necessary to supply the great demand for linen. By the application of machinery we obtain a large supply of this useful material at reduced prices; and this increased production leads to the employment of many thousands of people in other branches of work to minister to our comforts.

Linen is manufactured in Belfast, and many other towns and villages in the province of Ulster; in Leeds and other parts of Yorkshire; and in Scotland, principally in the neighbourhood of Dundee.

DICTATION EXERCISE.

As we rode onwards we saw a cloud in front of us, looking like a snow-storm; it was so dense that it quite obscured our view of distant objects, and at first we thought it was a very heavy hail-storm or thunder-shower; but, as we rode towards it, we saw some of the advanced guard coming down on the ground, and we then found we were approaching a flight of locusts.

"THE frigate-bird is possessed of a power of flight superior, perhaps, to that of any other bird. The swiftest of our hawks are obliged to pursue their victims at times for half a mile at the highest pitch of their speed before they can secure them; but the frigate pelican comes from on high with the velocity of a meteor, and on nearing the object of its pursuit, which its keen eye has spied while fishing at a distance, darts on either side to cut off all retreat, forcing it to drop or disgorge the fish which it has just caught.

"Yonder over the waves leaps the brilliant dolphin as he pursues the flying-fishes, which he expects to seize the moment they drop into the water. The frigate-bird,

who has marked them, closes his wings, dives towards them, and immediately ascending, holds one of the tiny things across its bill.

Already, fifty yards across the sea, he spies a porpoise in full chase, launches towards the spot, and, in passing, seizes the mullet which had escaped from its dreaded foe; but now, having caught a fish too large to be at once swallowed, he rises with it into the air, as if bound for the skies. Three or four of his own tribe have watched him and observed his success. They shoot towards him on broadly extended pinions, mount upwards in wide circles, smoothly, yet as swiftly as himself. They are now all at the same height, and each, as it overtakes him, lashes him with its wings and tugs at the prey. See! one has robbed him; but before he can secure the contested fish it drops. One of the other birds has caught it, but he is pursued by all. From bill to bill, and through the air, rapidly falls the fish, until it drops quite dead on the water, and sinks into the deep.

"When the morning light gladdens the face of nature, and while the warblers are yet waiting in silence the first rays of the sun, whose appearance they will hail with songs of joy, the frigate-bird sails from his roosting-place. Slowly and gently, with retracted neck, he glides, as if desirous of quietly trying the renovated strength of his wings. Towards the vast deep he moves, rising apace, and, before any other bird, he views the bright orb emerging from the waters.

"Pure is the azure of the heavens, and rich the deep green of the smooth sea below. There is every

prospect of the finest weather. And now the glad bird shakes his pinions; and far up into the air, far beyond the reach of man's unaided eye, he soars in his quiet but rapid flight. There he floats in the pure air, but thither can fancy alone follow him. "But now I see him again, with half-closed wings, gently falling towards the sea. He pauses awhile, and again dives through the air. Thrice, four times, has he gradually approached the surface of the ocean; now he shakes his pinions as violently as the swordsman whirls his claymore; all is right; and he sweeps away, shooting to this side and that in search of prey.

66

Mid-day has arrived, and threatening clouds obscure the horizon. The breeze, ere felt, ruffles the waters around. A thick mist advances over the deep; the sky darkens, and as the angry blasts curl the waves the thunder mutters afar. All nature is involved in gloom and all is in confusion, save only the "man-of-war" bird, who gallantly meets the gale. If he cannot force his way against the storm he keeps his ground, balancing himself like a hawk watching his prey beneath. But now the tempest rages, and rising obliquely, he shoots away, and ere long surmounts the tumultuous clouds, entering a region calm and serene, where he floats secure until the world below has resumed its tranquillity.'

The albatross is the the great ocean birds.

largest and most powerful of It often weighs sixteen or seventeen pounds, and measures ten feet across the outstretched wings. It is not abundant in the South Seas, but its journeys extend almost over the globe.

1 Audubon.