Definition. May be defined, The art of disposing the earth in such a manner as to produce whatever vegetables we desire, in large quantity, and in the greatest perfection of which their natures are capable.—But though, by this definition, agriculture, strictly speaking, includes in it the cultivation of every species of vegetable whatever, and consequently comprehends all that is understood of gardening and planting, we mean here to con- fine ourselves to the cultivation of those species of grain, grasses, &c., which, in this country, are generally necessary as food for men and beasts.

**History.**

The antiquity of this art is undoubtedly beyond that of all others; for we are informed by Scripture, that Adam was sent from the garden of Eden to till the ground; and, this being the case, he certainly must have known how to do so.—It would be ridiculous, however, to imagine that he was acquainted with all the methods of ploughing, harrowing, fallowing, &c., which are now made use of; and it would be equally so to suppose, that he used such clumsy and unartful instruments as wooden hooks, horns of oxen, &c., to dig the ground, which were afterwards employed for this purpose by certain savages: but as we know nothing of the particular circumstances in which he was situated, we can know as little concerning his method of agriculture.

The prodigious length of life which the antediluvians enjoyed, must have been very favourable to the advancement of arts and sciences, especially agriculture, to which it behoved them to apply themselves in a particular manner, in order to procure their subsistence. It is probable, therefore, that, even in the antediluvian world, arts and sciences had made great progress, nay, might be farther advanced in some respects than they are at present. Of this, however, we can form no judgment, as there are no histories of those times, and the scripture gives us but very slight hints concerning these matters.

No doubt, by the terrible catastrophe of the flood, which overwhelmed the whole world, many sciences would be entirely lost, and agriculture would suffer; as it was impossible that Noah or his children could put in practice, or perhaps know, all the different methods of cultivating the ground that were formerly used. The common methods, however, we cannot but suppose to have been known to him and his children, and by them transmitted to their posterity: so that as long as mankind continued in one body without being dispersed into different nations, the arts, agriculture especially, would necessarily advance; and that they did so, is evident from the undertaking of the tower of Babel. It is from the dispersion of mankind consequent upon the confusion of tongues, that we must date the origin of savage nations. In all societies where different arts are cultivated, there are some persons who have a kind of general knowledge of most of those practised through the whole society, while others are in a manner ignorant of every one of them. If we suppose a few people of understanding to separate from the rest, and become the founders of a nation, it will probably be a civilized one, and the arts will begin to flourish from its very origin; but, if a nation is founded by others whose intellects are in a manner callous to every human science (and of this kind there are many in the most learned countries), the little knowledge or memory of arts that were among the original founders will be lost, and such a people will continue in a state of barbarism for many ages, unless the arts be brought to them from other nations.

From this, or similar causes, all nations of equal antiquity have not been equally savage, nor is there any solid reason for concluding that all nations were originally unskilled in agriculture; though as we know not the original instruments of husbandry used by mankind when living in one society, we cannot fix the date of the improvements in this art. Different nations have always been in a different state of civilization; and agriculture, as well as other arts, has always been in different degrees of improvement among different nations at the same time.

From the earliest accounts of the eastern nations, we have reason to think, that agriculture has at all times been underfed by them in considerable perfection; seeing they were always supplied not only with the necessaries, but the greatest luxuries of life.

As soon as the descendants of Abraham were settled in Palestine, they generally became husbandmen, from the chiefs of the tribe of Judah to the lowest branch of the family of Benjamin. High birth or rank did not at that time make any distinction, for agriculture was considered as the most honourable of all employments; witness the illustrious examples of Gideon, Saul, and David.

The Chaldeans, who inhabited the country where agriculture had its birth, carried that valuable art to a degree of excellence unknown in former times. They cultivated their lands with great assiduity, and seem to have found out some means of restoring fertility to an exhausted soil, by having plentiful harvests in succession; on which account they were not obliged, as their predecessors had been, to change their situations, in order to obtain a sufficiency for themselves and their numerous flocks and herds.

The Egyptians, who, from the natural fertility of their country by the overflowing of the Nile, raised every year vast quantities of corn, were so sensible of the blessings resulting from agriculture, that they ascribed the invention of that art to Osiris. They also regarded Isis, their second deity, as the discoverer of the use of wheat and barley, which before grew wild in the fields, and were not applied by that people to the purposes of food. Their superstitious gratitude was carried so far, as to worship those animals which were employed in tillage; and even to the produce of their lands, as leeks, onions, &c.

The divine honours paid to Bacchus in India were derived from the same source, he being considered in that country as the inventor of planting vineyards, and the other arts attendant upon agriculture.

It is also related of the ancient Persians, on the most respectable authority, that their kings laid aside their grandeur once every month to eat with husbandmen. This is a striking instance of the high estimation in which they held agriculture; for at that time arts were practised among that people in great perfection, particularly those of weaving, needle-work, and embroidery. The precepts of the religion taught by their ancient magi, or priests, included the practice of agriculture. The saint among them was obliged to work out his salvation by pursuing all the labours of agriculture; and it was a maxim of the Zendavesta, that he who sows the ground with care and diligence, acquires a greater degree of religious merit, than he could have gained by the repetition of ten thousand prayers.

The Phenicians, so well known in scripture by the name of Philistines, were also remarkable for their attention to, and skill in agriculture. But finding themselves