322 PLANT LIFE. 



with branches and fern. Although decidedly intelligent, 

 there is no proof that he had any sort of knowledge of 

 agriculture. 



When we next find a sufficient basis to form a fair 

 idea of human life, as in the polished stone period, repre- 

 sented by the Swiss lake villages, the difference in habit 

 is very great. The cultivation of wheat, barley, and 

 flax was then understood. The people made thread 

 and linen cloth, as well as fishing nets. The making 

 of these things involved considerable plantations ; and 

 it is interesting to note that weeds existed in these pre- 

 historic fields. Some of these weeds came from Egypt, 

 and show that even then the flora was being altered by 

 new introductions, just as it is to-day. 



The Wild Oat seems not to have been cultivated 

 until the Bronze period^ which may perhaps show that 

 the original home of the Neolithic man was somewhere 

 south of the range of this plant, that is, further south 

 than Austria and Siberia. Neolithic man lived on such 

 common wild fruits as Crabs, Sloes, Raspberries, Brambles, 

 and Hazel-nuts ; and, besides the plants mentioned, 

 was acquainted with the Plum {Primus domesticus), a 

 native of the Black Sea and of the country to the 

 eastwards, and the Pear {Pyrus communis), a native of 

 Southern Europe and of Western Asia. The dog, cow, 

 pig, sheep, and goat, were all then domesticated. 



Where the first grain was sown is, of course, purely 

 a matter of guesswork. Two very different authorities. 

 Lord Beaconsfield and Herbert Spencer, agree in fixing 

 on the desert as the first home of real human beings. 

 Certainly the Euphrates Valley has a strong claim to be 

 regarded as the home of most of the earliest cultivated 

 plants and domestic animals as any place on the 

 surface of the earth. 



