II
1.Rice is a grain-plant which grows in warm countries such as India and China.Many of the people in India live on rice.They do not use beef or mutton，as they think it wrong to kill animals for food.
2.The head of the rice-plant is a little like oats，only the seeds are closer together.The fields where it is grown must be coveredwith water at certain times of the year.This makes work in the rice-fields very unhealthy.
3.A good deal of rice is used in this country for various purposes，either in whole grains or ground into flour.It is brought chiefly fromIndia and the eastern parts of Asia.
4.Millet is another grain which is much used in India，even more thanrice.We sometimes use it for feeding birds in cages.It is hot a large plant，but its head carries a very great number of seeds.When groundand mixed with wheat flour，it forms a very good kind of bread.
5.Maize or Indian corn is the largest of all the grasses which are grown for the sake of their seeds.Itwas formerlycalled Turkishwheat，because it was much used by the people of Turkey.But America is the country where it is most cultivated.It was used by the natives or AmericanIndians，and so we now call it Indian corn.
6.Maize often grows to the height of twelve feet or more，and the heads orcobs are sometimes nearlya foot long and two or three inches thick.It is planted in rows or in “hills，”far enough apart to allow the farmer to pass between them and hoethe ground to keep it clear of weeds.
7.Maize is used for food in many different ways.Sometimes the heads are cooked and eaten while green.When it is ripe，the seeds are ground down into meal or flour，and made into various kinds of cakes and puddings.In this country we use it chiefly in the form of corn-flour.
8.American boys and girls are fond of “pop-corn”.To make this，the grains of maize are put into a little wire basket and heated over a fire until they “pop”or burst their husk，showing the white floury kernel .
9.There is a still larger grass than maize，which we all find very useful in food，though we do not use its seeds.That is the well-known sugar-cane，from whose sweet juice we get most of our sugar.Most grasses have hollow stems，but the stem of the sugar-cane is filled with a soft pulpsweet juice is squeezed out.
10.But we have still to speak of the tallest of all the grasses-a grass so tall that it might almost be called a tree.It is not used for food，but it is a very useful plant in many ways.It is called the bamboo.
11.You have seen bamboo canes or walking-sticks，and you may know how hard and strong，and yet how light they are.These sticks are made from small bamboo plants.Thebamboo sometimes grows to be eighty or a hundred feet high，and more than a foot thick.
12.Its hard，hollow stern is used for hundreds of purposes in the countries where it grows，such as building houses and bridges，making water-pipes，pitchers and dishes，masts for boats，spears，and almostevery sort of thing which we would make of wood or even of iron in this country.
13.There are other grasses which might be mentioned，but these are the best-known kinds.Do you not see from what has been said that grasses are our most useful plants？We use many fruits and vegetables as well；but with these cereals，and with the help of the sugar-cane，we could live very well.Indeed we might say that these grasses supply us with all the food we need，and that everything else is more or less a luxury .