OKIGIN OF CULTIVATED PLANTS. 



" The traditions of ancient peoples, embellished by 

 poets, have commonly attributed the first steps in 

 agriculture and the introduction of useful plants, 

 to some divinity, or at least to some great em- 

 peror or Inca. Reflection shows that this is hardly 

 probable, and observation of the attempts at agri- 

 culture among the savage tribes of our own day 

 proves that the facts are quite otherwise. 



" In the progress of civilization the beginnings 

 are usually feeble, obscure, and limited. There are 

 reasons why this should be the case with the first 

 attempts at agriculture or horticulture. Between 

 the custom of gathering wild fruits, grain, and 

 roots, and that of the regular cultivation of the 

 plants which produce them, there are several steps. 

 A family may scatter seeds around its dwelling, 

 and provide itself the next year with the same 

 product in the forest. Certain fruit trees may 

 exist near a dwelling without our knowing whether 

 they were planted, or whether the hut was built 

 beside them in order to profit by them. War and 

 the chase often interrupt attempts at cultivation. 

 Rivalry and mistrust cause the imitation of one 

 tribe by another to make but slow progress. If 

 some great personage command the cultivation of 

 a plant, and institute some ceremonial to show its 



