222 BOARD OF AGKICULTURE. 



PROGRESSIVE AGRICULTURE. 



BY ETHAN BROOKS. 



Geology tells us of the ages required that this world might 

 pass through those changes necessary to fit it for the possi- 

 ble abode of man ; and the Bible tells us that one of the first 

 commands given to man was, " Subdue the earth." So 

 necessity is laid upon us to be progressive ; for only in lim- 

 ited portions of the earth can even a small number be fed 

 from spontaneous productions, much less can they be sup- 

 plied with those comforts which modern civilization ranks 

 among the necessaries of life. 



Man, having originally been placed upon this earth with no 

 tools to work with and with no knowledge of material and 

 methods necessary to make useful tools, with no knowledge 

 of the producing qualities of the earth and of his own ne- 

 cessities, must have been slow, indeed, to devise ways and 

 means for advancement in any direction. From ancient 

 records we learn that man, in his wanderings, found those 

 countries watered by the great rivers of the East to be most 

 productive ; and the valleys of the Euphrates, the Tigris 

 and the Nile were made the grain-producing centres, while 

 the hilly regions afforded the pasturage necessary for the 

 support of those flocks and herds then, as now, so essential 

 to the needs and comforts of man. 



The besrinninsrs of agriculture are said to be lost in an- 



o o o 



tiquity. We know that at a very early day the storehouses 

 of Egypt furnished supplies to the famine-stricken progeni- 

 tors of a once mighty nation ; and the Greeks are accredited 

 with gaining from their Egyptian neighbors a knowledge of 

 agriculture which made them noted in this department as 

 early as a thousand years before Christ; and, as they ad- 

 vanced in power, they are said to have had fine breeds of 

 cattle, horses, sheep, swine and poultry, improved by exten- 

 sive importations, while many of their farm implements 

 were constructed on principles adopted at the present day. 

 The Greek farmers utilized those fertilizing materials within 

 their reach, and gave due heed to the importance of drain- 

 age and thorough cultivation. They cultivated many of the 

 most valuable fruits known to our climate, — the apple, 



