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and dry there are miles and miles of vineyards. Here they make raisins by drying the grapes in the sun. From the juice of the grapes wine is made.

Upon the plains and prairies we find wheat fields stretching as far as the eye can reach. How

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pretty the grain looks, when. nearly ripe, waving in the afternoon breeze. From these fields the grain, after being ground into flour, is shipped to all parts of the world.

Near the cities there are extensive gardens where many people are employed. Each morning some one comes to our doors bringing berries and vegetables fresh from these gardens.

The best farms are where the soil is deep and there is plenty of water. In most places it rains enough so that the farmer can raise all he wishes. In other places ditches many miles long are dug. Through these, water is led from some river, and

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then allowed to flow over the land. This is called irrigation.

In selecting a farm we think that the kind of soil is important. Water is even more important. Without water the richest soil would be only a desert.

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What are the advantages of living on a farm?

Where would you look for a farm, in the valley or on the mountain? Why?

Mention some of the grains which a farmer raises.

What is necessary to make a good farm?

What do the farmers raise near your home?

Of what use are meadows?

What kinds of work does the farmer boy have to do?

How do farmers raise fruits and vegetables where it does not rain?
Would you rather live on a farm or in the city? Why?

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STOCK RAISING.

In the eastern part of our country the farms are small. Each farmer raises a few horses, cattle, and perhaps sheep.

In the west the farms or ranches are often very large. They reach for miles and miles across the plains and over the mountains. Upon these large ranches they often raise nothing but stock.

The farmer in the east keeps his cattle in a little field called a pasture. He may drive them to the barnyard every night.

The land over which the cattle wander upon the great stock ranches is called the range. The men who look after the cattle are called cow-boys or vaqueros. Few people live upon these large ranches and the cattle become almost as wild as deer.

The

Once a year the cattle are rounded up. cow-boys ride over the ranch on horseback and gather all the cattle in a great bunch. It often takes them many days to do this.

The steers that are full grown are separated in order to be driven away to market. The little calves are marked with a hot iron so that it may be known

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