THE HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE 11 



Contrary to the popular belief, agriculture is not a new study by 

 any means, although it is just beginning to receive attention in the 

 public schools of this country. The Chinese nation made agricul- 

 ture a part of its school course over four thousand years ago, but it 

 must be admitted that its people have made slow progress in the 

 subject, and that they are still following very crude methods of 

 farming. 



The Romans gave much attention to farming, and many of their 

 statesmen spent their leisure moments in the country. The poems 

 of Vergil, Horace, and other Roman authors extol the virtues of 

 country life and show the high esteem in which the farm was held. 

 As long as agriculture held the place of honor with the Romans and 

 they lived on their own lands they waxed strong and conquered all 

 nations that opposed them. But when at a later date the farms 

 were neglected and left to the care of slaves, and the freemen flocked 

 to the cities, the Roman nation began to decay and soon sank into 

 obscurity. Their conquerors were the sturdy Teutonic tribes of 

 northern Europe who lived out of doors and were strangers to 

 city life. The ancient Egyptians cultivated the rich valley of the 

 Nile and made it the granary and the storehouse of the world. 

 The early Israelites or Jews were largely farmers and shepherds, 

 and the sturdy characteristics of their descendants to-day are in a 

 measure due to this fact. In New Mexico and Arizona there are 

 abundant evidences that the ancient Indians of those regions gave 

 much attention to agriculture. They were good farmers and 

 thoroughly understood the necessity and benefits of irrigation in an 

 arid region. They made the Salt River Valley of Arizona the gar- 

 den spot of the West, and one may find to-day in the country sur- 

 rounding Phosnix many traces and evidences of the former irriga- 

 tion ditches and trenches made by these Indians. They reached 

 a high state of civilization and built many cities, the ruins of which 

 stand to-day as monuments to their thrift and industry. 



In a general way we can say that nearly every strong and sturdy 

 nation known in history has been a nation in which farming has been 

 the chief occupation. England, Germany, France, the United 

 States, and all the other strong nations of the world have established 

 schools, experiment stations, and colleges for the instruction of 

 their farmers in this great and useful science. 



