Most Important Industry 



food was cooked and baked, cloth was woven and made 

 into garments, and the use of metals was known. 



In the Bible Adam is represented as a gardener, 

 Cain as a tiller of the ground, and Abel as a keeper of 

 sheep. The people of Egypt and Babylonia were 

 amongst the great agricultural communities of the 

 world, and at a later period the Romans practised 

 the leading principles of agriculture. Every civilised 

 country has followed the agricultural methods best 

 suited to its own soil and climate ; and every modern 

 nation gives the greatest attention to all that concerns 

 the feeding of its people. 



In our own country agriculture is most carefully 

 practised, and its prosperity is of the utmost importance 

 to us. Although the acreage now under tillage is less 

 than it was and the number of farm labourers is 

 decreasing, it is still true to say that agriculture is our 

 most important industry. 



There was a time when our country grew enough corn 

 to feed the people, and various Corn Laws were passed 

 to regulate the price of imported corn. In the early 

 years of the nineteenth century, however, the British 

 Isles could no longer grow enough corn to feed the 

 increasing population, and owing to the long and costly 

 Napoleonic wars our statesmen had not given proper 

 attention to the food question. But when the time of 

 peace came after 1815 this question had to be faced, and 

 then Parliament passed a law enacting that no corn 

 should be imported until the price in London was 805. 

 a quarter. This meant that the price of a 2 Ib. loaf of 

 bread would be about 96?., and it also meant that the 

 British labourer was near starvation. This high price of 

 corn was good for British landowners and farmers who 



