Page:Tales in Political Economy by Millicent Garrett Fawcett.djvu/38

 was improved by the circumstances under which it was eaten. To tell the truth, it was sour and coarse, and the general remark about it soon was, not "How very nice the bread is," but "There's no doubt it will be much better next season." Nearly everyone had an opinion of his own why the first crop was not a success; one said it was watered too much when it was young; another said the bamboo fence kept the sun off it when it was ripening; another said the earth was not properly prepared. The result of all these differences of opinion was, that about a dozen people laid by part of the wheat they had procured for their own eating, resolving to use it as seed, and grow a crop of their own upon their own principles. The result was a great improvement, both in the quantity and quality of the wheat. Those who planted wheat the second season learnt by the experience of those who had planted it in the first season; and not only was there a yield four times as great, but the grain itself was much better in size and quality. As the seasons succeeded each other the growing of wheat