i. 



CLASSIFICATION AND CHOICE 

 OF FIELD CROPS. 



X. Agriculture. — The word agriculture comes from the two 

 tatin words ager^ meaning field, and ciilttcra, meaning cultiva- 

 tion. The strict meaning of the w^ord is, therefore, the culti- 

 vation of the field. The sense in which the word is used, how- 

 ever, is quite varied. In its widest sense Agriculture consists 

 in the production of plants and animals useful to man. It thus 

 includes horticulture, forestry and animal husbandry. There 

 are also certain manufacturing industries so closely and inti- 

 mately connected with the production of the plants and animais 

 that they are often included in agriculture, such as butter 

 making, cheese making, sugar making, etc. 



2. Horticulture. — The word horticulture comes from the two 

 Latin words horUts^ meaning enclosure, yard or garden, and cid- 

 titra, meaning cultivation. Horticulture thus means the cultiva- 

 tion of the garden. The use of the word in this sense as well 

 as the use of the word agriculture in the restricted sense of field 

 agriculture is due to the character of Roman Husbandry dur- 

 ing the time of the Roman Empire. The farm homestead in 

 Roman agriculture was known as the "Villa." This farm 

 steading was often an elaborate affair, including many build- 

 ings, and enclosures for the gro\Nl:h of fruits and vegetables. 

 Outside the villa lay the extensive unenclosed areas on which 

 were raised such crops as wheat, barley and some of the 

 legumes. The tillage of unenclosed areas was known as agri- 

 culture, while the growth of the crops in the enclosed area was 



* The word acre has the same derivation and originally meant a field of arable 

 or pasture land. The acre was limited to its present definite quantity by statutes 

 i Edward I, Edward III, and Henry VIIL 



