lohn Rolfe conducts a successful 

 experiment 



Through the ingenuity of John Rolfe, better known 

 as the husband of Pocahontas than as America's first ex- 

 perimental agriculturist, seeds from the Spanish colonies 

 of Venezuela and Trinidad were brought to Virginia, 

 probably in 1611. How Rolfe managed this importation 

 is a mystery. It would have been a violation of existing 

 regulations for a Spanish colonial to sell or give seeds 

 to the hated English. They must have been secretly 

 acquired and brought to Virginia "on order" by some 

 roving Dutch merchantman. 



The secretary of Virginia, writing his records in 1614, 

 made mention of the seeds brought in from Caracas and 

 Trinidad. He praised Rolfe who "first took the pains to 

 make trial (of the new seeds, in 1612) partly for the love 

 he hath a long time borne ( tobacco ) and partly to raise 

 commodity to the (settlers)." 



T 



obacco develops the colony of Virginia 



The discovery that money crops of tobacco could be 

 raised in the new settlement came just in time. Starva- 

 tion, exhaustion, disease and general discouragement 

 had caused the original colonists and newcomers to 

 abandon the colony in 1610. They were persuaded by 

 members of an incoming fleet, met as they were sailing 

 away from Virginia, to try again. What gave the new 



lO 



