Excerpt from The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom, Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures: Forming a Practical Treatise and Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &C., , Of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants

I had not originally contemplated touching upon the grain creps and food plants of temperate regions, but the prospect of a failure in our harvest, the disturbed state of political affairs on the Continent, with short supplies from Russia and the Danubian provinces, and the absence of any reliable statistics and information for convenient reference on this all important subject, added to the recommendations of one or two well-informed correspondents, induced me to go more into detail on the Food-plants and Bread-stuffs than I had at first intended, and to treat very fully upon Wheat, Barley, Potatoes, and other subsidiary food crops. This has trenched somewhat largely on my space, and although the volume has been swelled to an unexpected size, I am reluctantly com pelled to omit some few Sections, such as those treating of elastic and other Gums, Resins, Ste. On tropical Fruits, and on textile substances and products available for cordage and clothing. The latter section, which includes Cotton, Flax.

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