always carry with us a hoe, so that whenever we know of any we may dig them up at once. Prayer is the best thing to take with us. If we use it wherever we go, sinful desires cannot lead us astray. As the farmer carried his "spud," so let us carry our prayers, and ask our Heavenly Father to make our hearts right and keep them right.

A FRUITFUL COUNTY:

KENT.

HE county of Kent is one of the most beautiful and interesting in England. Its surface displays much diversity of scenery. It is bounded on the north by the River Thames; on the west by the counties of Sussex and Surrey; on the south by the English Channel; and on the east by the German Ocean. The portion which adjoins the Thames is, for the most part, low and marshy; the central and eastern parts consist of a range of chalk hills; and that which borders on Sussex, called the Weald of Kent, is a flat, woody tract, damp but fruitful. The western districts include hill and dale, corn and pasture land, and are remarkable for the variety of

products which reward the skill and industry of the husband

man.

There is probably no part of Great Britain in which so many kinds of fruits and vegetables are successfully cultivated as in Kent. Among these is canaryseed, which is grown in that portion of the county called the Isle of Thanet. This seed is cut in September, and is left for some time in the fields until it is fit to be threshed. There are few hedgerows in Thanet to harbour birds, otherwise such a crop as this would be devoured by so many winged pilferers, that little would be left for the threshing-floor. This seed is chiefly used to feed birds kept in cages, and is for this purpose largely exported to foreign countries. Radish-seed is also grown for the seedsmen in London. The demand for it is very great, because every garden, however small, has its bed of radishes, and few people think it worth their while to save seed for themselves. Spinach, cresses, and white mustard are also extensively

sown. Kidney beans are largely cultivated in the vicinity of the town of Sandwich.

In that part of Kent which is nearest to London, there are

remarkably fine peaches are produced in warm situations. In some places hops, apples or pears, cherries, and filberts may be seen growing together on the same spot. The hops last twelve years, the filberts thirty; after that time the apples and pears require the whole ground, and so the hop-gardens are at last turned into orchards.

The growing of filberts is almost peculiar to Kent. This fine kind of nut does not require a very rich soil, but succeeds well in rocky and gravelly localities. The ground is kept clear between the trees, which are placed about twelve feet apart. They are very carefully pruned, and one stem only is left, which is allowed to branch out a few inches above the ground; the branches are then trained and cut into the shape of a bowl, but are not permitted to run above four or five feet high. When the filberts are gathered, they are laid to dry in the sun, or under a shed exposed to the air. If they are well dried, they will keep good for several years.

Hops, for which the county of Kent has long been famous, were brought to England from Flanders about the year 1524. Besides those in Kent, there

are plantations of them in Sussex and Herefordshire; also in Worcestershire, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, and Surrey, with a few in some other counties. The suckers of young plants are sometimes used as a vegetable for the table, when they are dressed like asparagus. A hop-garden requires much care from the farmer, and the produce is very uncertain. Sometimes the grower makes a great profit, and at other times a whole season's labour and expense are quite lost. This is owing to the tenderness of the plant, and its liability to be attacked by a small fly, which sometimes overruns in a few days whole gardens that, till its appearance, have promised a good harvest. The hop-binds are placed in rows at regular intervals, and poles, twelve or thirteen feet high, are stuck in the ground near them, around which they are trained by tying them with string or shreds of Russian mats.

When the binds are

grown to the tops of the poles, and are in full leaf and blossom, a hop-garden, with its long, graceful bowers on every side, is very pleasant to walk through. In September, or early in October, the flower containing

the seed becomes of a fine straw colour, turning to brown, and the picking must now be done as quickly as possible. Great numbers of men, women, and children go out of the towns, and earn good wages for a short time at this kind of work. Many of them sleep during the season in barns and outhouses, a hurtful practice, which the better class of farmers are now trying to prevent. The difficulty they have to contend with is, that if the hops are not gathered just when they are in a certain condition, they quickly spoil, and are not worth picking.

When the binds are cut, the poles around which they have twined are sloped over a frame of wood and canvas called a bin, at which the pickers stand while at work. This is represented in the Cut. As the bins are filled they are carried to the kiln, where the hops are dried on a hair cloth. They are then packed very tight in large bags, and are stored in a dry place till wanted for market. The fibres of the old stems are sometimes made into good cords.

F. F. E.

DOING ONE'S BEST.

STATUARY, who was at work forming a figure

out of a faulty block of marble, was called to account by a neighbour of his, who told him that it was absolutely impossible to make a perfect figure out of such imperfect materials. "All this is very true," replied the statuary; "but this block of marble, such as it is, was sent to me to be cut into a statue; and as I cannot make it better, I must content myself in forming the best figure out of it that I can."

"What a pity it is," said a grazier to a young farmer who had just entered on a little farm, "that that pasture of yours is so overrun with thistles!" "It is a pity," was the reply of the farmer, "but if I fret myself ever so much, it will not root the thistles out of the ground; so I will try whether labour and good management will not put it into better order."

A nurseryman about to plant a number of young saplings, some straight and some crooked, thus reasoned with himself:"These straight saplings will no doubt grow up to be fine trees,

without much attention on my part; but I will see if, by proper training, I cannot make something of the crooked ones also. There will be more trouble with them, no doubt, than with the others, but for that very reason I shall be the better satisfied should I succeed."

OLD TESTAMENT TYPES OF JESUS.

HOSE who lived before
Jesus was born in Beth-

lehem, and died on Mount Calvary, had no history to read, as we have in the Gospels, of the coming, life, and death of the Saviour. But God was so good to them as to teach them about Jesus by means of types. A type means any person or thing used by God to set forth beforehand spiritual things.

Adam was a type of Jesus. As Adam was the head of all the world, Jesus is the Head of the Church; so that as the sin of Adam belongs to all his posterity, so the obedience of Jesus belongs to all His people, Rom. V. 19.

Noah was a type of Jesus. The name Noah means "rest, or comfort," Gen. v. 29. Jesus gives to all who come to Him rest,

and Jesus is the Consolation of Israel. Noah "prepared an ark to the saving of his house," (Heb. xi. 7,) and preserved all the creatures that entered it. Jesus has finished a complete salvation for all who come to Him, John vi. 37.

Melchizedek was a type of Jesus. There is no account of Melchizedek's father, nor is there any record of his death; so that he is, as far as the history goes, to us" without father, without mother,.. having neither beginning of days, nor end of life." Jesus, who was "made of the seed of David according to the flesh," was without beginning of days, for He is God; and without end of life, for He ever liveth. Melchizedek was by interpretation of his name "King of righteousness," and by interpretation of the name of the place he reigned over (Salem) King of peace." "Jesus is both King of righteousness and King of peace. Jesus gives righteousness, and on the ground of righteousness gives peace, Heb. vii. 2, 3. Melchizedek gave bread and wine to Abraham, Gen. xiv. 18: Jesus gives His flesh and blood as His people's meat and drink by faith, John vi. 55.

Joseph was a type of Jesus.