"
"Which was remarked by Homer," observed Ernest "who usually
distinguishes a country by its peculiar fruit, but speaks of the
earth generally as _zeidoros_, or grain-bearing."
"There, Willis," exclaimed Jack, "is another great admiral for you."
"An admiral, Jack?"
"It was he who led the combined fleets of Agamemnon, Diomedes, and
others, to the city of Troy."
"Not in our time, I suppose?"
"How old are you, Willis?"
"Forty-seven."
"In that case it was before you entered the navy."
"I know that there is a Troy in the United States, but I did not know
it was a sea-port."
"There is another in France, Willis; but the Troy I mean is, or rather
was, in Asia Minor, capital of Lesser Phrygia, sometimes called Ilion,
its citadel bearing the name of Pergamos."
"Never heard of it," said Willis.
"To return to grain," continued Becker, laughing. "Nature has rendered
it capable of growing in all climates, from the line to the pole.
There is a variety for the humid soils of hot countries, as the rice
of Asia; immense quantities of which are produced in the basin of the
Ganges. There is another variety for marshy and cold climates--as a
kind of oat that grows wild on the banks of the North American lakes,
and of which the natives gather abundant harvests."
"God has amply provided for us all," said Frank.
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