Agriculture. 385 



jects of culture in that southern country, it has 

 lately engaged much less attention than formerly. 



The practice of nafurallzing foreign vegetables^ 

 in different soils, has been practised on a more ex- 

 tensive scale, during the eighteenth century, than 

 in any preceding period. Amidst all the labour 

 and care of the ancients to improve agriculture, 

 they scarcely enjoyed, in any degree, the advantage 

 of witnessing experiments of this nature. Each 

 country was in a great measure confined to its own 

 indigenous productions. This continued, for the 

 most part, to be the case till the beginning of the 

 century under consideration. Since that time the 

 choicest vegetable productions of different climates 

 have been transplanted to other and distant re- 

 gions; and great advantages to agriculture have 

 arisen from this source.^ 



The cultivation of Fruit trees has become an 

 object of increased attention, and has received 

 many improvements in the course of the last age. 

 New and delicate modes of propagating fruit trees 

 have been discovered; new and useful methods of 

 improving the flavour, and preserving the sound- 

 ness of fruit have been adopted ; and this branch 

 of husbandry, in general, rendered more import- 

 ant and profitable than formerly. Among many 

 who have distinguished themselves by rendering 

 service to this branch of agriculture, maybe men- 

 tioned Du Hamel, Bradley, Knight, Speechly, 

 HiTT, Walker, and very lately Forsyth^ who is 

 said to have improved greatly on the labours of all 

 who had gone before him. 



From the increased attention to agriculture and 

 gardening, in the course of the last age, has arisen 



b Among many other instances which might be adduced, it Is believed 

 that the BrcaJ-Jruit-tree was never seen either in Europe or America till 

 toward the close of the eighteenth century. The late laudable, and, in a 

 degree, successful exertions of the British government to nmuralizc this 

 tree ill their American lUands, arc worthy of high praise. 



3D 



