Vlll INTRODUCTION. 



The Egyptians carried their veneration for Agri- 

 culture to a high pitch of enthusiasm ; so much so, 

 that they worshipped the ox in gratitude for his servi- 

 ces in tilling the soil. 



The Chinese, as well as many others of the ancient 

 oriental nations, held the art of husbandry in high es- 

 timation, considering it the most honorable and the 

 most lucrative. 



Many works were written on Agriculture by dis- 

 tinguished ancient authors, though the greater number 

 of them were lost in the long midnight of time, du- 

 ring the dark ages, when war was the only accom- 

 plishment which could elevate one individual above 

 another. The Greek author, Hesiod, who flour- 

 ished about the time in which Homier wrote, is said 

 to have given to the world a poem on Agriculture, 

 with the singular title of " Weeks and Days," in al- 

 lusion to the fact that days and seasons are observed 

 in husbandry. 



The Carthagenians, perhaps, carried Agriculture 

 to a higher state of perfection than any other ancient 

 people. A certain Carthagenian general is reported 

 to have written more than twenty -five books on hus- 

 bandry, and in such estimation were they held, that, 

 according to several ancient authors, the Roman Sen- 

 ate, the most renowned body in the world, ordered 

 them to be translated into Latin for the use of the 

 people of the Roman empire. The Roman people 

 deserved great praise for their devotion to the plough. 



