Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/268

AGRICULTURE. and another drove the animals, but sometimes one man performed both duties. The hoe was made of wood, and consisted of a rounded or pointed blade attached to a handle by a twisted thong. Other tillage implements sometimes used were the harrow and the roller. The cereals grown were bearded wheat, six-rowed barley, durra (Sorghum vulgare, var.), and millet (Panicum miliaceum). The seed was sown broadcast; the wheat and barley in November, after the subsidence of the Nile flood, and the durra either at that time or in April. Wheat was harvested in March, barley in April, and spring durra in July. “Wheat and barley were headed with a toothed sickle, or cut lower down and bound into sheaves.” The grain was trodden out by donkeys or oxen on earthen thrashing-floors constructed in the open field, where the chaff was fanned out by the wind. Granaries, often built of the Nile mud, were used for storage. Durra was pulled up by the roots, and the seed was removed with a comb-like stripper similar to that sometimes used now for removing broom-corn seed. Flax was raised from prehistoric times for its fibre, from which the clothing of the ancient Egyptians and the wrappings of the mummies were largely made. It is doubtful whether cotton was grown in Egypt in very ancient times, though it seems to have been introduced there from the East previous to the beginning of the Christian era. Lentils, lupines (Lupinus ternis), onions, garlic, and radishes were commonly raised vegetables. The horse bean (Faba vulgaris), chick pea (Cicer arietinum), and chickling vetch (Lathyrus sativus) were also probably raised. For fruits the Egyptians had grapes, olives, figs, pomegranates, and dates. Other cultivated plants were the watermelon and castor-oil plant.

. Of Babylonian agriculture there are few records. As in Egypt, it supported a dense population. The Euphrates overflowed, but did not do the work of the Nile. In all the region irrigation turns desert lands into fruitful fields. Of such fields Herodotus said: “This is of all lands with which we are familiar by far the best for growth of corn. When it produces its best it yields even three hundredfold. The blades of wheat and barley grow there to full four fingers in breadth; and though I well know to what a height millet and sesame grow, I shall not mention it, for I am well assured that to those who have never been in the Babylonian country what has been said respecting it's productions will appear incredible.”

. The Scriptures are full of allusions to the operations of the husbandman in Palestine, as well as in Egypt. The operations in the two countries necessarily formed striking contrasts, the crops in the former being dependent on the rains for growth, in the latter upon the inundations of the Nile. The Hebrews, before their sojourn in Egypt, had been a semi-pastoral people, and they must have learned something of Egyptian agriculture during the years of bondage. Their laws were those of an agricultural people. Land was practically inalienable. Extensive plains of fertile soil yielded the finest wheat. The hill-sides were covered with vines and olives, often planted in terraces formed with much labor to afford a large mass of soil in which the plants might flourish in the almost rainless summer. The valleys were well watered, and afforded pasture for numerous flocks. Of the smaller cultivated plants, millet was the chief summer crop, but it was cultivated to only a limited extent, being confined to those spots that could be artificially watered. Wheat and barley were the chief cereals, as the winter rains were sufficient to bring them to maturity.

. From the Grecian literature covering the period from 1000 to the conquest of Greece by Rome, 140, we get comparatively little definite agricultural information. In addition to the animals used in Egypt, mules were grown and used for labor. In winter, animals were housed. Swarms of bees were commonly kept. Wheat and barley were the cereals, and hemp, as well as flax, was raised. The fruits of Egpyt, except the date palm, were grown, and in addition, cherries, plums, almonds, pears, apples, and quinces. The list of vegetables is also lengthened, and includes turnips, beets, cabbage, lettuce, chicory, garden peas, and kidney beans. The common lupine (Lupinus albus) took the place of the species grown in Egypt, and is said to have been used for green manuring. It is asserted that the Greeks introduced the use of manure to promote the growth of crops.

. Roman agriculture has received special attention because so much was written about it by the Romans themselves, and because they carried it into other countries, where it modified or dominated agricultural customs. When Rome was only a colony on the Tiber, land was divided among the citizens in small allotments. There was a domain of public land, which was continually extended by the conquests of neighboring States and the partial confiscations that followed. Although land in the conquered territory was sometimes granted to the poorer citizens, there were large tracts of public lands that were either cultivated or allowed to remain in pasture. The common conditions were that the occupants paid one-tenth of the produce of the corn lands, one-fifth of the produce of vines and fruit trees, and a moderate rate per head for cattle pastured. The occupants were merely tenants at will, and theoretically the state could resume or sell the lands at any time. Yet the right of possession was good against all until the lands had been resumed; and in process of time there came to be families so long in possession that they could not be dispossessed. Only the wealthy had the cattle or slaves that made such occupation possible. The burdens upon these occupiers of the public lands were much less than those upon the small farmers who owned their farms. Thus, at least two classes of cultivators were in existence, the small proprietors and the wealthy tenants holding the lands of the State. An addition to the strife between these two classes was the pressure brought to bear in the interest of the landless. Even after the Romans became masters of all Italy, little more than four acres was assigned to each citizen, and the domain lands increased enormously. Attempts were constantly made to restrict the extent of land that could be occupied by the wealthy, but generally without effect. (See .) A great deterioration and a consequent agricultural change took place during the century that followed the first Punic War (ended 241). The place of the small farmer was taken by the planter, who cultivated a great extent of territory, using slave labor. The small proprietors either sold their no longer profitable farms or were driven from them by