Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-03-19
ANCIENT AGRICULTURE.
Tho source of the Power of Egypt Under
the Pharoahs.

| 1GDafClllclllS HIS Uccu pAdSliSSu DO
long as man has existed upon the
earth. it is to be greatly regretted that
so little is known of its early history.
When God created the world, He
mingled in the soil all the elements
necessary to be assimilated into food
for the future subsistence of man and
beast. After the creation was com
pletcd. ''there was not a man to till the
ground = and so from the ground
(dust). which contained all the material
of the human body, Adam was created.
..and put into the garden OF Eden to
dress it, and keep it," Here, then, is
the starting point, away back six thou
sand years inthe past, when agriculture
had its origin.
We have but little knowledge of how
the soil was titled. what crops were
raised or how they were managed in
the early ages Of the world; but we
know that raising cattle, sheep, goats
/ and other domesticated animals, en-
| tered largely into the occupations of
those days. and subsequently became a
leading pursuit in patriarchal life; and
we conclude, from the frequent men,
ton in Scripture of ORR fruit-trees
and vegetables, that the soil must have
received a large share of attention.
Long preceding the time of Joseph
in Egypt, it is certain that the Egyp-
tians must have had an intelligent and
practical knowledge Of farming. The
river Nile was the great source of
Egypt's prosperity and wealth, for
every thing was dependent on the in
undation. This annual occurrence
enriched the soil and made Egypt one
of the most fertile and fruitful countries
in the whole world. 1t was only a
small country, and to-day is enclosed
in the same boundary lines that sur
rounded it in the time of the Pharaohs;
and though it was once Il most densely
populated kingdom, it not only sus-
tanned itself by its productions, but
contributed largely to the support OF
other nations.
The great soil production was corn.
which probably was the name of several
kinds of cereals. In the enormity OF
its corn production Egypt has never
been parallelcd by any other country.
"And Joseph gathered corn us the sand
Of the sea. very much. until he left
numbering, for it was without mum.
ber." And when the famine was cover
all the face of the EARTH" all countries
went to Egypt to buy corn. and thus
the nations YER preserved. At this
time it was the granary which supplied
the world with bread. and kept the
people from pcrishing by starvation.
Long ages afterwards. when it be-
came Il Roman province, corn was still
the great production of the country,
and the annual supply sent to Rome
was 20, 0 900 bushels. Sacred and
profane history both agree that Egypt
not only produced food in abundance
for its own dense population. but ex-
ported large quantities to other coun-
tries. There is little doubt that in a
country whose soil was so rich in fer
tility, that agriculture was carried to a
high degree of perfection. The advan-
tages arising from irrigation were well
understood and p%racticed. When the
land was too elevated to receive the
benefits OF the i%nundation. artificial
lakes, or reservoirs were made. and by
means of canals. with which the coun-
try a%bounded, were filled with water,
from whence it was raised by mechan-
ical means, and conducted to the high
er lands, and thus all the arabic land
was utilized for tillage. AS agriculture
is the foundation Of the prosperity.
wealth and power Of every nation, and
us Egypt was eminently Il Farming
country. she became Il wealthy and
powerful kingdom, and ut one time Il
leading nation in learning; and we
may well conceive that the tilling OF
of the soil, though the labor might
have been performed by the lowcl
classes and slaves, was directed by the
hands of intelligence.
1t is more than likely that hay was
grown, which. with crops. constituted
the food of other cattle during the in.
undation; and 81 so. they doubtless
practiccd %husbandry and rotation Of
crops. The %inundation of Egypt was
what manure is to us. The Nile yearly
brought down from the upper countries
Il vast amount of Shiny matter, which.
as the water subsidized, were deposited
all over the ground, and kept the sol
in Il condition Of high, constant fer.
tility. If the water, however, rose
above a certain point, calamity was
threatened; and sometimes cattle were
drowned and villages destroyed,
Another calamity, though not so scri.
Gus in its results, affected greatly tho
following crops, as all the low lands
were kept under water till it was toe
late to sow for Il good harvest. On the
other hand, when the i%nundation fel
below Il certain point, famine wa
threatened.
So much depended on the height O.
the inundation, that the Kings cstab.
lished Il pillar at Memphis where it:
heights ut different seasons was eNactl,
ascertained; and the day on which j
reached a certain point was a day O
universal festivity and rejoicing.-Ban
gor' (JNc.) Commercial.
Relief For Toothache.