When the wheat is ready in the fields, farmers cut and dry it. Then they grind it and turn it into flour. This is called milling, and for thousands of years people used to put their grain between two stones and grind it by hand.

Windmills, however, use wind to turn the grinding stones. This way man was able to make more flour in less time. The first windmills were developed by the ancient Persians (now Iran) as early as 600 AD. They were used for pumping water.

Windmills spread all over the Middle East and China. But the earliest windmills in Europe first appeared in France and England around 1100 AD.

Today, the Netherlands is very famous for its windmills. It is a flat country, and has a lot of wind.

© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)