Witch's Broom

   Witch's Broom is a fungus that attacks the cocoa tree. It makes the branches not have fruit and the leaves make bad food. Black pod rot is a fungus that rots away the inside of the bean. It mummifies the pod and the pod can be attacked at any age. Mirids are insects that eat cocoa trees. Females lay their eggs in the cocoa pod. The cocoa moth attacks young and old cocoa trees. It makes the cocoa pod look ripe but the inside is not ripe and it makes the beans bad.

Roses

   I live in Southern Illinois. These are three varieties of Roses that grow well where I live: Tea Rose bushes, the Texas Rose, and Long Stemmed Rose. Tea rose bushes produce small pink roses. The Texas Rose is yellow. Also, the long-stemmed rose comes in a variety of colors. Roses need direct morning sunlight but indirect afternoon sunlight. Roses also need water but not enough to soak them. Roses need to be trimmed two-three times per year. They need to be covered to protect them from frost and snow. Some people use bug preventer so that they will thrive and bloom. Aphids and Japanese beetles are the main enemies of roses here in Southern Illinois. Roses are the most recognizable flowers ever known to man. There are over three hundred species of roses. My Mom had black and white roses at her wedding. I love roses.

Nehemiah

   Nehemiah was a Jew. Nehemiah was alive when King Artaxerxes ruled. Nehemiah served King Artaxerxes as a cupbearer. A cupbearer tests the king's drink to see if it is poison or not.

   One day, another Jew came to the temple and told Nehemiah about the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was sad. The king asked him why. Nehemiah was afraid what the king's answer might be, but he asked the king if he could go to Jerusalem and the king's answer was yes!

   Nehemiah returned to his home and saw that it hadn't been rebuilt. He gathered up all the people and rebuilt the wall in 52 days. They did it so quickly because they each worked on the section their home was at. While the wall was being rebuilt, other cities heard of it and tried to attack, but Nehemiah told everyone to defend their part of the wall and they defeated the other cities and were successful with rebuilding the wall. The wall stood until 70 A.D.

Greek Philosophers

   Plato was a great Greek philosopher. His teacher was named Socrates. Socrates was also a philosopher. Plato owned an academy and called it Plato's academy. His most famous work was called The Republic.

   Archimedes was the most famous Greek scientist and mathematician. Archimedes created a number system called exponents. He counted all the sand in our solar system and created pullies and levers.

   There were other philosophers that thought the world was flat, or everything was made of fire, or everything was made of water. They also thought the world was a cone or the earth was at the center of the solar system. Archimedes was my most favorite person to learn about.

Perseus

   Perseus was a prince. His uncle was afraid Perseus would take the throne from him, so he put Perseus and his mother in a box and threw the box into the river. Later a fisherman found the box and saved Perseus and his mother.

   At the fisherman's island, the king loved Perseus's mother but hated Perseus. Some days the king tried to marry her, but Perseus always stopped him. Perseus wanted to stop him, so he went to kill Medusa.

   Medusa was a gorgon. A gorgon was a woman with a really beautiful face that was cursed by the gods and anyone who looked on its face turned to stone. Medusa was mortal so Perseus could kill her. The gods gave him a knapsack, a sword, darkness to hide in, winged sandals, and a polished shield. Perseus beheaded Medusa and went to the kingdom where the king was trying to marry his mother again. Perseus was mad, so he closed his eyes and pulled out Medusa's head and every wicked person who looked on it turned to stone. Later the fisherman and Perseus's mother got married and Perseus became king.