TIIK AGRICULTURE OF THE PAST. 



381 



Along with the Babylonians, Egyptians and Romans, the Israelites are 

 classed as one of the great agricultural nations of antiquity. Their farms 

 were small, and cultivated with great care. They were favoured with a 

 ^oil extremely fertile, which their skill and diligence kept in good condi- 

 tion. The stones were carefully cleared from the fields, which were also 

 watered from canals and conduits, communicating with the brooks and 



ams with which the country " was well watered everywhere," and en- 

 riched by the application of manures. The seventh year's fallow prevented 

 the exhaustion of the soil, which was further enriched by the burning of 

 the weeds and spontaneous growth of the Sabbatical year. The crops 

 chiefly cultivated were wheat, millet, barley, beans, and lentiles; to which 

 it is suppose- 1, on grounds not improbable, may be added rice and cotton. 

 The ox and the ass were used for labour. The word " oxen," which occurs 

 in our version of the Scriptures, as well as the Septuagint and Vulgate, 

 <lenotes the species rather than the sex. As the Hebrews did not mutilate 

 any of their animals, bulls were in common use. The quantity of land 

 ploughed by a yoke of oxen in one day, was called a yoke or acre. 



The unrivalled literature of Greece affords us little information regard- 

 ing the practical details of her husbandry. With the exception of certain 

 districts, such as Boeotia, the country was naturally unfavourable to agri- 

 culture. When we find, however, that valleys were freed from lakes and 



; asses by drainage, that rocky surfaces were sometimes covered with 

 transported soil, and that they possessed excellent breeds of the domesti- 

 cated animals, which were reared in vast numbers, we infer that agricul- 

 ture was better understood, and more carefully practised, than the allusions 

 to it in their literature would seem to warrant. 



Amongst the ancient Romans, agriculture was highly esteemed, and 

 pursued with earnest love and devoted attention. The words which ( 'icero 

 puts into the mouth of Cato give a fine picture of the ancient Roman en- 

 thusiasm in agriculture. "I come now to the pleasures of hu>l>andry, in 

 which I vastly ddi^ht. They are not interrupted l.y old age, and tin v 

 to I-" pursuits in which a wise man's life should l>e spent. The 



aol reiiel against authority ; itne\ hack l.ut with usury 



wh . The M^ins ,,f husbandry are not what exclusively OODtt- 



m-nd it. I am Charmed \\ith the nature and productive virtu.-s of the 



< D ; B old nx'ii be called unhappy who delight in tin- cultivation 



)il * In my opinion, there can be n<> happier life, not only because 

 tillage of the earth is salutary to all, but from the pl-a- . Ids. 



The wl, li.shment of a Lfood and assiduous husbandman KS StOfed 



:i wealth: ii a hounds in pi^s, in kid>. in lamhs, in poultry, in mill. 



