Epic of tbc Cornfield 1 2 1 



he is thought to have done much mischief by his ex- 

 periments in horticulture, nevertheless has conferred 

 great good by his husbandry. 



The turn men took to farming had another and 

 remarkable result. It was the beginning as well of 

 organised and industrial society. The shepherds and 

 the hunters are wanderers, nomads, more than that, 

 they are fighters. They must drive away those 

 who possess the land in order to take it for the game 

 or the pasturage it affords, which they desire. The 

 farmers, once in possession, are peaceable. They 

 want permanence and quiet. All their influence is 

 for order, security, peace. From the time man first 

 began to grow corn, the relative proportion of human 

 strength applied to war has been less and less, the 

 part given to productive labour has been more and 

 more. So that all the power of the farmer has been 

 to make men more and more sociable, less and less 

 suspicious and hostile. 



But that was not all. The farmer gave the first 

 great impulse to a division of labour. He must sow in 

 seed-time, and reap in harvest, make hay while the 

 sun shone, and take advantage of fair weather. So 

 he must have others to build his houses and make 

 his tools, and spin and weave and bake for him. The 

 spade helped wonderfully to divide men into groups 

 of diversified labour. It was the starting tool for the 

 great, complicated industries of modern life. 



These meant, of course, a great impetus to com- 

 merce. When many men had many things to ex- 



