FIELD CROPS 



PART I— INTRODUCTION 



CHAPTER I 

 CLASSIFICATION OF FIELD CROPS 



1. Introduction. The cultivation of crops is one of the 

 first evidences of a permanent civilization. Savages live 

 on the spoils of the hunt and on such fruits, nuts, and other 

 vegetable products as nature supplies. Some of the wander- 

 ing tribes in th . beginnings of civiUzation domesticated the 

 horse, the ox, and the sheep; but these animals were herded 

 on the natural pasture lands, and the tribes moved from 

 place to place with them as the grasses furnished or failed to 

 furnish pasture for their herds and flocks. The next stage 

 in civilization was the growing of plants for their seeds and 

 fruits to assure the food supply of the tribe and to furnish 

 forage for the domesticated animals. A natural result of 

 this production of crops was the storage of these products 

 for use during winter and against times of famine. Crop pro- 

 duction required a more or less fixed habitation for men, as 

 the crop had to be protected from the depredations of animals 

 and of hostile tribes from the time of its planting till harvest, 

 while permanent storehouses for the food supply had to be 

 built and guarded. The building of permanent habitations 

 and the beginnings of home life can thus be traced directly 



to the cultivation of crops. 



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