238 BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE. [Pub. Doc. 



THE EVOLUTION OF AGRICULTURE. 



BY O. P. ALLEN, PALMER, MASS. 



All things connected with human energy have had a 

 beginning and a period of development. Some things 

 surprise us by the magnitude of their early fruition, and 

 often amaze us by their premature decadence and splendid 

 ruins. Painting, sculpture and architecture reached the 

 acme of perfection ages ago in Grecian thought and activity, 

 because those arts fell under the fostering care of a people 

 every way fitted for perfecting them, leaving all future 

 peoples unable to surpass their grace and divine beauty. 



Agriculture had the earliest genesis of all human effort, 

 and has occupied a longer period for the developing of its 

 usefulness than any other industry which has claimed man's 

 attention, and it still lingers far behind the goal of perfection. 



It was stamped with the insignia of Heaven's approval at 

 the very dawn of man's existence ; for, when he was sent 

 forth from the felicity of Eden into the world's broader 

 domain, he was commanded to subdue it and hold lordship 

 over all its unlimited possibilities. 



The men of pre-historic times seem to have been divided 

 in their pursuits ; some developed a taste for domesticating 

 the animals suited for their needs, and became absorbed in 

 their care and increase, to the exclusion of other occupations, 

 which propensity survives among many nomadic tribes of the 

 present day ; while others combined the tilling of the soil 

 and the care of flocks and herds, thus laying the foundation 

 of the grandest industry that has ever blessed the world. 



The early man had everything to learn, and it is no 

 wonder he made slow progress in constructing utensils con- 

 nected with his labor and in selecting suitable grain-bearing 

 herbs adapted to his wants ; but, once selected and proven, 

 he made better progress than we might suppose in dissemi- 



