40 TILLEES OF THE GKOTOD CHAP. 



of as the most important in the history of the 

 world, as the years in which man has learnt most 

 these years have only added about sixty-seven 

 cultivated plants to the world's stock, and a good 

 many of these are not of great importance. 

 Choosing the useful plants was a task which man 

 accomplished early. If any of us are interested in 

 gardening, we may be tolerably sure before we 

 begin that we are likely to waste a great deal of 

 time if we are possessed with the idea that it is 

 better to try to make fresh cultivated plants rather 

 than to take those which have been already 

 cultivated. 



It is interesting to try to find out where the 

 important food-plants were first cultivated. Especi- 

 ally from the work of De Candolle, the botanist 

 mentioned already, we know that most of our plants 

 originated in the eastern end of the Mediterranean 

 basin and in the Far East. A few, but those im- 

 portant, originated in the warm "parts of America, 

 especially in Mexico and Peru, where the ancient 

 people were very intelligent and civilised. Some of 

 the most important of the American plants are maize 

 or Indian corn, the potato, tobacco, prickly pears, 

 gourds and pumpkins, the Jerusalem artichoke, and 

 so on. 



Great regions of the earth's surface have not 

 produced any cultivated plants. Australia has given 



