We saw the machine where the raisins are _stemmed_. They pass from a hopper into a space between two woven-wire cylinders. The inner one revolves within the other. In this way the raisins are broken from the stems. They are then run through a fanning mill which cleans them, and they are finally graded by passing through screens having openings of different sizes. Most of the seedless raisins are made from seedless grapes, but there are machines for removing the seeds from the grapes which contain them. The superintendent of the packing house said that nearly all of the raisins that we import come from Spain, and that they are exported chiefly from the city of Malaga. The purple and other _wine grapes_ are taken to the wineries and sold by the ton, to be made into wine. There are many other things that I should like to write about, but my letter is a pretty long one now, so I will close. Your loving friend, FRANK. NUTTING Have you ever gone into the woods on a beautiful autumn day? The bright, warm sunshine floods the earth where the trees are far apart and sifts down through the branches. All nature seems to invite you to lie down under a tree and dream. It was on such a day that Rip Van Winkle fell into his long sleep. How pretty the trees look in their fall suits of yellow, crimson, red, and brown! What a rustling is made as your feet tread the carpet of leaves! The breezes pass among the branches and whisper a message to the bright-colored leaves. They understand and obey. Singly, in groups, and in showers, they silently float downward. By night and by day they fall, but soon this carpet will be changed for one of white. Listen! The leaves are not the only things that are falling. You can hear the _thump_, _thump_ of nuts as they drop from their lofty perches in the walnut and hickory-nut trees. Sit down quietly on that log and you will soon see the busy nut gatherers. With their tails curled over their backs, they race up and down the trees, or spring from branch to branch, carrying their precious burdens to their homes in the hollows of trunk or limb. Now one sits up straight, holding a nut between his paws, and turning it slowly as he cracks and eats it. If he sees you, he whisks out of sight, or scolds you from a safe place far above the ground. When the winter winds are whistling through the leafless trees, and snows are drifting over the ground, these little nut gatherers feast to their hearts' content. The squirrels do not gather all of the nuts. Children and grown people enjoy nutting. When there are not enough nuts on the ground, the men and boys climb the trees to shake them off. Then everybody hunts among the leaves for the treasures. Some of the most important nuts are walnuts, hickory nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, chestnuts, Brazil nuts, pecans, and peanuts.