ERYPTIAN ACRICI`LTT'IlE. I 11 the de velopment of agriculture in historical times we oat orally torn first to Egypt, the motherland of our civilization. The records preserved on ancient monuments allow is to trace the his tory of agriculture in Egypt back to at least 3000 ft.c. At that early time various animals had already become domesticated, and the growing of crops for man and beast by a regular system of tillage and irrigation had been with the feeding of large numbers of animals on the ranges. There was, however. no fixed distinction between wild and domesticated animals, and with certain kinds of animals the limits of do mestication had not been definitely settled. The land and live stock were very largely the property of the royal, priestly, and military classes: the care of animals and the performance of farming operations were in the hands of hired laborers or slaves. Agriculture was, however, a more honorable occupation than trading or the me chanical arts. Herdsmen and fishermen were in the lowest class; swineherds especially were despised. Cattle, sheep, and swine were kept, often ill large herds and flocks. The cattle belonged to the same species as the present cat tle of India. Both bulls and cows were used for labor, but the flesh of the males only was eaten. Sheep were kept for both wool and milk (from which cheese was made), lint do not ap pear to have been often used for food. Goats seem to have furnished the principal milk sup ply of ancient Egypt. Swine were raised in large numbers, though they were considered un clean and were forbidden food except on certain days or for the priests. The donkey and camel were the principal beasts of burden from prehis toric times. The donkey was probably first. do mesticated by the ancient Egyptians, being taken from the wild asses which came from their home at the headwaters of the Nile, _Horses Were brought into Egypt about 1000 me., when the Shepherd Kings from Asia conquered the coun try. The stallions only were used for war and for shows. They Were keid in stables and fed on straw and barley. Water fowls, especially geese, were abundantly raised. Breeding of ani mals by selection was customary, as well as branding them for identification. "When the Nile overflowed, animals of all kinds were placed upon artificial raised ground. and fed upon wheat straw and leguminous fodder raised for the purpose.
Crops were grown with the aid of the alluvial deposits annually made by the overflowing Nile and of irrigation to supply the lack of rainfall. Irrigation water was taken from the Nile and distributed through numerous canals and ditches. The water was raised to the top of
the river bank by handsweeps such as are often used on farms to-day for raising water from shallow wells, or by means of a vessel held with straps between two laborers, who pulled against each other in lifting the water. In some eases seed was SOW11 after the Nile flood without prep aration of the land, and was trodden in by ani mals. acnerally, the plow' or the hoe was used. The plow consisted of a wooden plowshare, double handle, and draught pole or beam. beam and stilt were fastened together by thongs or by a twisted rope, which kept the share and beam at a proper dista.ice and helped to prevent the former from penetrating too deeply into the earth." The ploow was drawn by two hulls or cows, yoked by the shoulders or attached by the horns. Generally, one man held the plow and another drove the animals, but sometimes one man performed both duties. The hoe was made of wood, and consisted of a rounded or pointed blade attached to a handle by a twisted thong. Other tillage implements sometimes used were the harrow and the roller. The cereals grown were bearded wheat, six-rowed barley, durra (Sorghum nag(' re, var.), and millet I Pao ieum miliuccum). The seed was sown broad cast; the wheat and barley in November, after the subsidence of the Nile flood, and the durra either at that time or in April. Wheat was har vested in March. barley in April, and spring durra in July. "Wheat and barley were headed with a toothed sickle, or cut lower down and bound into sheaves." The grain was trodden out by donkeys or oxen on earthen thrashing-floors constructed in the open field, where the chaff was fanned out by the wind. Granaries, often built of the Nile mud, were used for storage. Durra was pulled up by the roots, and the seed was re moved with a comb-like stripper similar to that sometimes used now for removing broom-corn seed. Flax was raised from prehistoric times for its fibre, from which the clothing of the ancient Egyptians and the wrappings of the mummies were largely made. It is doubtful whether cot ton was grown in Egypt in very ancient times, though it seems to have been introduced there from the East previous to the beginning of the Christian era. Lentils, lupines ternis), onions, garlic, and radishes were com monly raised vegetables. The horse bean (Fabo rulyaris), chick pea ( Neer arict inum), and ehiekling vetch (Lathyrns satin's) were also probably raised. For fruits the Egyptians had grapes,_ olives, figs, pomegranates, and dates. Other cultivated plants were the watermelon and castor-oil plant.