INTRODUCTION. xi 



of man undoubtedly led to husbandry, and as men became 

 more numerous, they found it necessary to provide, not only 

 for more certain supplies of food, but for more permanent 

 abodes ; hence the cultivation of food plants and the establish- 

 ment of permanent homes must have been simultaneous. 



Of the hundred and fifty thousand plants which make up the 

 world's vast Flora, about three hundred constitute the food- 

 bearing plants for man ; of this number, by far the greater 

 part is herbaceous. Among the cereals^ Wheat is the most 

 important ; it is one of the most ancient of human food-plants, 

 having been cultivated four thousand years before Christ. Re- 

 liable records point to the banks of the River Euphrates as its 

 home. Barley has a history which makes it contemporaneous 

 with Wheat, its early home being middle Asia. Rice had its 

 origin in southern China, and is also believed to have been con- 

 temporaneous with Wheat. Rye and Oats^ the other two great 

 bread-plants, had their origin in southeastern Europe, and were 

 under cultivation two thousand years before Christ. 



These five cereals furnish bread for the teeming millions of 

 the earth, and there are no records to show that they have ever 

 been found in a condition that would place them among those 

 plants known as weeds. 



Among plants known as table vegetables^ the most prominent, 

 beginning with those that have been longest in use, are the 

 Tarn'ip^ the Onion ^ and the Cabbage, which have been used 

 for more than four thousand years. The home of the Turnip 

 and Cabbage is middle Europe, and the northern shores of 

 the Mediterranean. 



The Carroty Beet^ Parsnip^ and Asparagus have been in use 

 two thousand years. The Carrot and Beet, so far as known, 

 are natives to western Asia and eastern Europe. The home of 

 the Parsnip is P^urope, and the Asparagus is native to the coun- 

 tries of the Levant. 



Among the fruits that minister to man's support as food, are 

 the Graj^e, found in western Asia ; the Apricot, a native of 

 China; the Apple^ Pear, and Quince, natives of central Europe, 

 which have aceon^junied man in all his changes of locality 

 where the climate permitted ; the Raspberry and Straicberry, 

 choice and favorite berries, whose cultivation near the great 



