Evolution of Ibortfculture 



Horticulture, in the strict definition of 

 the word, is applied to the culture of 

 gardens, and to these the labors of the 

 early settlers were for the most part 

 necessarily restricted, consisting of the 

 raising of corn, a few vegetables, and, 

 later, the planting of occasional orchards. 

 The instruction necessary in the art of 

 growing maize was communicated by the 

 aborigines. This, as might be conject- 

 ured from the descriptions given, was 

 extremely simple and quickly acquired 

 by the early colonists. For the methods 

 of preserving and storing the maize as 

 practised by the Indians, they had no 

 necessity, but in its preparation for food 

 they obtained useful information from 

 their savage neighbors. 



After the first years, having provided 

 for the scarcity of provisions by planting 

 more extensively the necessary crops, 

 attention was paid to the cultivation of 

 fruit, which consisted of seedling varie- 

 ties. The process of grafting was known 

 to only a few, and the means of obtaining 

 170 



