The earliest of all known writings, the Code of Khammurabi, described in the article on Babylonian Law, shows (Vol. 3, p. 117) that agriculture was the subject of careful legislation under the oldest government of which a contemporary record has survived; and the provisions as to the working of land on the “metayer” system, under which the landowner received from the landholder a share of the crops, and as to irrigation, are most explicit and practical. Ancient Egyptian implements of agriculture are fully described (Vol. 9, p. 69) in the article Egypt, and pictures of them appear on page 72 of the same volume. If the ancient history of farming interests you, it is only necessary for you to turn to the heading “Agriculture,” in the Index (Vol. 29), where you will find references to a number of other articles on the early civilizations.

From these articles, as from the historical section of the guiding article Agriculture, and the passages relating to agriculture in many of the 6,292 articles on the histories of races and countries, the reader may learn that agriculture has been the key to all history. The earliest migrations of the human race, as definitely as the comparatively recent development of America, Australasia and the interior of Africa, were based upon an agricultural impetus. And his reading upon other subjects in the Encyclopædia Britannica will often remind him that the wool and cotton and linen and leather that we wear, the carpets and blankets and sheets in our houses, all originated in farming of one kind or another; while every food that nourishes us, save fish and game, is directly an agricultural product. All the bustle of the great cities, all the wheels that turn in the mills, all the intricate mechanism of industry and commerce, all the world’s work and thought and happiness, depend upon the mysterious and inimitable processes by which the brown soil yields green growth. For all the progress science has made, we are no nearer to replacing these processes by any short cut of chemistry than were the first farmers whose husbandry is recorded in history. If all the little roots ceased for one year to do their work in the dark, the human race would hopelessly starve to death.

The alphabetical list of articles at the end of Chapter III of this Guide will make it easy for you to add to this course of reading, choosing for yourself the line that will be most attractive to you. In making your choice, do not forget that plant-life is a subject you cannot study too closely. No matter what crop you make your specialty, you have to educate the plants that produce it to do their work, just as carefully as a teacher trains children. Another fact to keep in mind is that just as a doctor is dealing with organs in the human body which he cannot see, so you are particularly concerned with the roots down in the soil, and the more you know about the way they eat and drink, the better for your farm.

The names of many of the writers of these articles are given in the table of the 1,500 Contributors to the Britannica, beginning at page 949 of Vol. 29 (the index volume); a glance will show you what authoritative positions they occupy and how thoroughly they command your confidence.

[See list of articles on subjects connected with farming, at the end of Chapter III of this Guide.]

CHAPTER II
FOR STOCK-RAISERS

Stock-raising in the United States was, until quite recent years, under the evil influence of the careless methods which had been handed down from the old days of the range-cattle industry. Chicago men still tell the story of the Chicago banker, afterwards Secretary of the Treasury, who declared, in reply to a request for a loan on the security of range-cattle, that he “would as soon lend money on a shoal of mackerel in the Atlantic Ocean.” The vague possession and the vague methods of breeding and marketing which suggested this comparison did not form the habits of close observation and incessant care which became necessary when land and food began to cost money. The lesson has been learned, and the present conditions of the industry are infinitely better for the country at large. It has been proved that fattening as well as breeding can be successfully undertaken in almost every part of the United States. Even in the North West, the tendency to-day is to turn from exclusive grain growing to a combination of cropping and feeding. Cattle, and also work horses of the right type, for which the demand is always greater than the supply, are yielding fair profits on many of the New England farms which had been neglected for years.

Staying on the Land

One of the most encouraging features of the present situation is that the broader distribution of the live-stock industry encourages farm-bred boys to remain at home. It has long been a popular belief that the attraction of the cities lies largely in the facilities for amusement which they offer; but the best class of young men who have left the farms have done so because they did not believe that plowing and sowing and reaping gave enough scope for their intelligence and their initiative. When stock-raising is combined with tillage, there is not only a greater interest in farm life and a greater chance to make general knowledge effective, but there are also better opportunities for a young man to make a small venture of his own while he is still a farm hand. It is certainly true that stock-raising needs the young man who is determined to know something about everything and all there is to know about one thing. To him the articles in the Britannica which are indicated in this chapter should be of the greatest value, for they cover a broad range, and they are written by specialists of the highest authority. They do not profess to teach what can only be learnt in the course of practical experience, but they will make each day’s work more interesting and more effective.

Cattle