text areas loaded from a db including linefeeds
I have a database field which loads into a text area. This requires line breaks. I know that if you enter " 
"; in to the html of a textarea it will function correctly.
I tried the same method by putting " " directly into the database field. However when loaded into the textarea viewing the source revealed that the string had been converted to " ", which failed to parse correctly and just inserted the text " " when viewed in the text area.
How can I get around this?
Also is it possible to force the textarea to increase in height to match the content from the database field as some of the content can get hidden?
By the way, it was quite difficult to put those strings into this text area for similar reasons.