The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1873-10-09
PRE.EM1NENTLY THE BASIS OF AGR1cuL-

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Through them all civilized nations draw
from Mother Earth lheir-chief sustenance
flour and bread From time lmmemori-
d, srain has been an object of cultivatiOnI
The Greeks with their fine sense for Ma.
turs, esteemed it direct gift from God.
Certain it is that whoever first introduced
the cultivation of grain welded an infu.
cnce over the destiny of nations over en-
tire Continents, greater than that of the
mightiest monarch. Dark, primeval for
ests disappeared and sunny fields of grain
waved in their place. The, climate
changed, and usually became, milder.
Plants of mere southern origin, we're
grown swamps dried up; water disap-
pearsd; Wild and hurtful beasts retrsssed
torocky. wastes, And what was the aim
ofallthese changess To make room for
cereals. 95 I.iw gaits9n 9dt bna. .93sls
But the changes1ina the physiognsmy
and character of countries ard continents
was not the only thing achievedaby the
cultivationyof krain; result far gtander
and more important to man flowed from
it: he became attached To- 1on aaf
~ A FIXED PLACE OF ABODE hs
Unstable and restless, the hunter roams
about; he finds forests, shelter game, and
wa'er everywhere; few arc his wants, and
few his simple arts, The nomad wanders
farther with his herds when the pasture
no longer sufices, or he becomes weary Of
his place of sojourn. More simple even
than the wants and arts of the hunter
are those of the nomad. But the agricul-
turist must remain on the land he has
Imtde arabic, and from which he supplies
his food and lifs's other wants. he builds
a fixed abode, and his family grows; his
crops increase, and he must either sell or
exchange them; his wants become more
various and msnifold. and thus commerce,
trade, arts, science, and civil communities
grow up. And how is all this wonderful
result wrought! Through the cultivation
OF nutritious grasses. iugD ataD
AGRICULTURE PREcEDEs ALL CULTURE !.
Of the human race. When man cultlyates
the earth to the sustenauce of body and
life, be plants simultaneously the germs
Of civilization and mental refinement. 1t
need not surprise Us, therefore, that the
ancients honored the founders and pro.
motors Of agriculture in SO high degree
that the latter became objects of divine
alteration. The Egyptians deifed Osiris,
the Greeks Ceres, and the Romans Saturn.
In honor OF Ceres, the Cereals were cele >
brated shortly before harvest time; now
grains themselves are designated by this
name. Tilling the ground was the first
stage of civilization; we see, therefore,
that plants gave the first impulse to the
Development of human civilization, and
to this day agriculture remains the found.
alton of ell culture and progress. It 10
still the most important pursuit, upon tine
success of which all other human iuous.
try depends. Wherever civilized man
makes his home, he cultiyates grain, and
the wilderness disappears.
1t is certain that Asia vas the tJ
HOME OF OUR CEREALS, aa
as she was the cradle of humanity and
mother of civilization. The Persians
raised rye, wheat, and oats; and Greek
authors remark that, no country was more
productive of grain than Babylon. z em2y
Probably the inhabitants OF castor
Asia, who cultivated rice. were the first
to construct permanent dwellings. Wheat
is spposed to have been introduced into
China by the Emperor Chinong, 9422 B..
@. The Bible tells us that agriculture
fourished in Egypt in Abraham's day.
The Kernels found in Egyptian mummies
we're recognized as Wheat by our ma turAl-
lists; these kernels had retained heir
powers eff termination for several thou
sand years, and were sewn, and bore
abundant fruit. Rye must have been un-
known to the Inhabitants Eof India and
Egypt,as we ind no tenn for it in Sanscrit,
the Greeks obtained it from Thracia and
Macedonia. Pllnius tells US that rye was
cultivated by the Taurians at the font of