A dying farmer wished that his children would carry on his work. He called them to his bedside and told them that he had buried everything he had in the vineyard. After their father's death, the children began digging for what they believed to be a buried treasure. They dug up all the soil in the vineyard only to find nothing. The vine, however, yielded their best crop that year because they had been so well cultivated.
Economists use the term consumption to mean use of goods in satisfying human wants.
The entire process of consumption may be a long one. The consumption of bread is a process that goes from farmer to miller to baker to grocer to family. During World War II, letters sent to and from the United States, Great Britain, and Canada were microfilmed, then sent by plane to a receiving point abroad. There the microfilmed letters were printed and enlarged, and each letter was put into an addressed envelope and sent on its way just as any other letter would be. Machines that can be operated by dropping a coin in a slot are called slot machines.