The above-named Prize Essayists are desired to send to the Publisher, Mr. JOHN HEYWOOD, 141 and 143, Deansgate, Manchester, the name of any book or books, of the value referred to, which they would like to receive, and such will be forwarded, post free, within one week afterwards. The Publisher, of course, reserves to himself the right of refusing to forward any work the character of which he may think injurious; but with that single exception Prize Essayists may select any work they please. They will, doubtless, avail themselves of the advice of their parents or teachers in their selection.

A catalogue of three thousand works will be sent by the Publisher on receipt of a penny postage stamp for postage.

A LETTER TO A FRIEND GIVING A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF AUSTRALIA.

Ardwick-le-Street, July 8, 1873.

MY DEAR FRIEND,-I write to give you a short account of Australia. It is situated between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, to the south-east of Asia. There is a chain of mountains extending along the sea-coast, but very few rivers are found in the country. The interior of the island has never been visited by white men, partly from the barbarous natives, but mostly from the want of water. The natives of this country are a very savage race; they are among the lowest and most uncivilised people in the world. They wear no clothes except a cloak, made from the skins of animals, thrown over their shoulders, and tied round their necks in cold weather. The soil of Australia is very rich and fertile, and well suited to the growth of corn. Many English plants and vegetables flourish there. The seasons are opposite to ours; July, August, and September are their winter months, and December, January, and February their summer months. The winds, also, are opposite; the north is the hot wind, and the south wind the cold. In Australia there are some very singular animals: their dogs do not bark, their bees have no stings, and some of their quadrupeds go on two feet. The kangaroo is a very curious quadruped; it hops on two feet instead of going on four, and it has a pouch into which its young ones creep when tired. Most of the trees are evergreens, and very different to ours; some of the leaves grow edgeways on the stalk. There is a very curious tree called the grass tree, having leaves like grass growing on it. The chief towns are Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Port Jackson. CHARLES SMITH, aged 13.

National School, Ardwick-le-Street.--I certify that the enclosed paper was entirely composed by the boy whose name it bears

WILLIAM WILLIS, Master.

Riddings, July 9, 1873.

DEAR FRIEND, I think it will please you if I tell you about one of our colonies, called Australia, or New Holland. The extent of it is 3,000,000 square miles. It is situated in the south-east of the Old World, in the Pacific Ocean, and is surrounded by a steep ridge of mountains. The native trees are evergreens. One tree has a fruit like our pear, but it is as hard as wood; another tree has a fruit like the cherry, with the stone growing outside. The leaves grow edgeways on the stalks, and have neither upper side nor under. The quadrupeds

differ from those of other countries. The most remarkable is the kangaroo; it stands on its hind legs, and hops about instead of running. There are thirty or forty species of these animals. Their dogs do not bark, and their bees are without stings. The climate is finemild and healthy, though it is never very cold. Its autumn is our spring, and its spring is our autumn. The soil is very fertile and good. The chief things that they export are gold, coal, hides, tallow, wool, maize, and skins. They cultivate wheat, oats, potatoes, and maize. Sheep rearing is very important: tallow is obtained from the sheep, as well as wool. The number of sheep is 10,000,000. There are about 80,000 persons employed in the gold diggings, and the total value is about £15,000,000 yearly. Sydney, the capital, has got the finest harbour in the world, called Port Jackson. The people are of a copper colour. They sleep in rude huts, and never remain long in one place. They feed on anything they can catch, and on the few roots that grow in the country. SAMUEL RAWSON, aged 14.

Riddings National School.-I certify the above to be the sole work of Samuel Rawson. JAMES COWEN, Principal Teacher.

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF TEA, COFFEE, COCOA, AND SUGAR. TEA is grown in China and Japan. The leaves are picked the third year, and the plants renewed every sixth year, as the leaves of old trees are bitter. There are two sorts of tea-black and green. It is all grown on the same tree, but the difference is in preparing. It is first dried in the sun, then put into a hot iron pan, and then rubbed between men's hands. When sufficiently dried it is packed up. It was first brought to England A.D. 1669, the quantity being 143 lbs., which was sold at 50s. per lb. The quantity now brought to England yearly from China is more than 50,000,000 lbs. weight.

COFFEE is the berry of a shrub which grows in the East and West Indies and Arabia. The finest is grown in Arabia. When dried, the outer skin is removed; it is then roasted, ground, and boiled in water, when it is fit for use. It was first brought to England by a Turkey merchant, A.D. 1652.

Cocoa is the seed of a large tree which grows in South America. It grows in large pods, which, when opened, are found to be full of seeds about the size of beans; these are ground, and become fit for use.

SUGAR is made from the juice of a cane which grows in the East and West Indies. The cane is crushed between steel plates, so as to get the juice; it is then boiled with lime or eggs, to crystallise it, and then put into casks to drain. It is now called raw sugar. When refined it produces moist sugar. The syrup of raw sugar mixed with hot water, filtered through canvas bags, is boiled, and becomes hard and white, which produces loaf sugar. JOHN LANDER, aged 11.

Saltash Board School.—I hereby assert that the above descriptions are entirely the work of J. Lander. FRANCIS T. READ, Master.

TEA grows in China, Japan, and Assam. The plants grow eight or nine feet in height, but the people shorten them to about four feet. The leaves of the tree are the valuable part: they are gathered when

young, then they are rolled on iron plates, and dried in the sun. They are then mixed, packed in chests, and sent to other countries.

COFFEE. The coffee plant is an evergreen. It is grown chiefly in the Levant and the West Indies. It reaches nine feet in height, has oval-shaped leaves, and light yellow berries containing two seeds each. The berries are ripe when of a dark red colour; they are then gathered, the shell broken, the kernel dried, and the coffee packed for exportation. Before they are used they are roasted and ground.

COCOA.-The cocoa plant grows in South America. It reaches twenty feet in height, bears large oblong leaves, and small red blossoms; when these die away they are succeeded by a capsule, seven or eight inches long, containing seeds. These seeds, when roasted, have their skins taken off; they are then beaten with water, and rolled on a smooth surface into a paste, which is sweetened and then made into a cake, which, when hard, is exported.

SUGAR is cultivated chiefly in the West India Islands. It is made from a plant called sugar-cane, which grows somewhat like Indian corn. The plants have attained their proper ripeness when they have reached from six to twenty feet in height; they are then cut down and brought to the mill, where the juice is pressed from them. The juice is then boiled, the treacle is extracted, and the sugar remains at the bottom. FREDERICK W. SETTLE, aged 12, Standard VI. Great George Street Model School, Salford.--The enclosed is the composition of Frederick Settle. R. GRAHAM, Master.

To our Readers.

THE attention which has been paid to the remarks we made in our last number encourages us to make some similar observations on the subjects for the present month. The writers of the papers on the precious metals may omit such facts as that gold is yellow and silver white, and devote the space at their command to statements concerning them not so commonly known, and fuller of interest.

Our correspondents could not be more usefully employed than in drawing a map of the county in which they live. The last time we set this exercise we had maps of all sizes and colours; some containing twenty names, and some over two hundred. It is difficult to decide which are the best when the maps are so different in size, and in the number of names they contain. To avoid this difficulty we have requested our readers to take for their models John Heywood's County Maps, which are sold, we believe, at a halfpenny each. An atlas, containing the whole series of maps, is sold at the marvellously low price of one shilling. We shall have this atlas before us in looking over the maps, and the two drawings that most nearly approach the originals we shall select as the best.

If there is any difficulty in getting these maps from a bookseller, they can be had direct from the publisher.

And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.-St. John xvii., 3.

HIS text of Scripture is embedded in a prayer with which many of us are familiar: "O God, Who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of Whom standeth our eternal life, Whose service is perfect freedom." Without the knowledge of God, therefore, we have no hopes of eternal life.

Now, there are two kinds of knowledge. I may say, "I know the Queen." I know that there is such a person, and that she resides at Windsor Castle and other palaces in Great Britain; but I have never spoken to Her Majesty, and so my knowledge is not of an intimate nature. There are persons who know Her Majesty intimately; who attend her at her palaces, and dine at her table.

It is this intimate knowledge that is meant in the text. Wicked men know that there is a God, but they will not have

No. 21.-SEPTEMBER, 1873.

eternal life on that account. They do not know God intimately: they know Him in the same manner as I know Queen Victoria.

But how are we to know God intimately? I could know the Queen intimately if I were frequently summoned to her presence and conversed with her on various subjects. So, if we are to know God intimately we must visit His temple, where He has promised to be in the midst of His faithful followers. We must also speak to Him frequently in prayer, and listen to His voice speaking to us in His Holy Word. By this means, and by striving "every day to live more nearly as we pray," we shall know God, and shall finally inherit eternal life.

How anxious people are to get into good society! Here is the society of God Himself, the highest and best society, and yet many people who are anxious for what they call good society do not care for that!

Now, some people seem to think that the society of God is very gloomy and melancholy. That some religious people are gloomy and melancholy there is no doubt, but it is not God's society that makes them so. The God that made the bright sun, the merry birds, the beautiful flowers, is certainly not a melancholy Being. His society will fill us with true gladness and cheerfulness; a gladness and cheerfulness in which there is no sorrow mixed. Many children think that God does not like to see them play, and enjoy themselves. How foolish they are! Who but God has made the young lambs to play, and kittens to amuse us with their thousand gambols? God likes to see children play, and likes to see them happy; and the more they know of God the happier they will be.

Still, children must remember that God requires us to fear Him. He is our great Father in heaven, Who has made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is. While we must love Him intensely and earnestly, we must fear to offend Him. The Rev. John Keble says that the love of aged men is most like the love of God of anything here below.

It is most important that children should know how to behave themselves in the presence of God, how to think of Him, and how to speak of Him. The light, familiar manner in which some children speak of Christ is shocking to hear. We cannot love God as we ought unless we fear Him as we ought. The