INTRODUCTORY. 337 



goats, and poultry. &quot; Some, more industrious, dispose over 

 their crofts the huge heaps of kitchen-midden that have 

 grown about their houses.&quot; In some cases two crops are 

 obtained from the same ground annually. And then the 

 Abyssinians have made a further step. Harris says: 



In Shoa &quot;the plough is in use to the exclusion of the African hoe, 

 and considerable industry is evinced in collecting and distributing 

 the waters for artificial irrigation . . . Two crops are every year 

 garnered in.&quot; Cattle are used in ploughing, and muzzled oxen for 

 treading out the grain. &quot;Forty-three species of grain and other 

 useful products are already cultivated in Abyssinia.&quot; 



This use of a soil-turning implement and this use of 

 manure coming from animals, are steps in civilization of 

 extreme importance; chiefly because they make possible a 

 large population in a fixed habitat. Egyptian wall-paintings 

 show that a plough, drawn by oxen, was early in use. When 

 escaping from their captivity the Hebrews carried with them 

 the agricultural knowledge gained; and while some of the 

 tribes returned to their primitive shepherd-life, others, set 

 tling, fell into an advanced agricultural system and conse 

 quent development of city-life. The account of their doings 

 during the periods of the J udges and Kings, implies plough 

 ing, manuring, sowing, reaping, binding in sheaves, tread 

 ing out corn, threshing, irrigation, terracing of hill sides; 

 and at the same time the growth of vines, olives, and various 

 fruits. The like happened with the Aryan races. Origi 

 nally pastoral, they spread through Europe and, subjugat 

 ing the indigenous races, fell into a mode of life in which 

 there was a like union of these two leading processes rear 

 ing herds and growing crops, with similar effects : a settled 

 life and an urban civilization. 



But though the highest results have been thus reached, 

 we must remember that, as shown by the ancient American 

 peoples, great advances may be otherwise made. 



727. The foregoing rude outline will serve its purpose 

 if it yields a general impression of early industrial progress 



