. The library of American history, literature and biography .. . sult of a century and a half of patient, intelligentlabor. All along the northern coast the importance of the fisheries was felt, fromthe early French settlements on Newfoundland, that antedated any successfulplanting of colonists on the main land of North America, till the development ofthe great fisheries of New England. The astonishment of those who described THE STAPLES. the country at an early period was occasioned by the teeming life, the marvelousfertility, of all creatures, either in the ocean or on the land. The immenses
. The library of American history, literature and biography .. . sult of a century and a half of patient, intelligentlabor. All along the northern coast the importance of the fisheries was felt, fromthe early French settlements on Newfoundland, that antedated any successfulplanting of colonists on the main land of North America, till the development ofthe great fisheries of New England. The astonishment of those who described THE STAPLES. the country at an early period was occasioned by the teeming life, the marvelousfertility, of all creatures, either in the ocean or on the land. The immenseschools of cod gave to the inhabitants of the coast employment which soonrose to the dignity of an industr)^ From Salem, Cape Cod and many otherpoints, fleets of small vessels went and returned, till a generation of sailors whoshould accomplish more important voyages and adventures was bred on thefishing banks. One of the most curious chapters in the history of husbandry in the NewWorld is that of the attempt to force a staple. Some one conceived the idea ,fsM^. FAIRFAX COURT HOUSE—A TYPICAL VIRGINIA COURT HOUSE. that the heavy duties that made the silk of France and Southern Europe soexpensive might be avoided by raising the silk-worm and manufacturing thefabric in the British colonies. About 1623 the silk-worm was brought toVirginia, and a law was enacted making the planting of mulberry trees, the foodof the silk-worm, compulsory. The House of Burgesses passed resolutions ofthe most exacting character. It also offered premiums for the production ofsilk, and in other ways endeavored to foster the new industry. It was requiredthat every citizen should plant one mulberry tree to every ten acres of the rewards offered was one of ten thousand pounds of tobacco for 64 THE STORY OF AMERICA. fifty pounds of silk. This was in 1658. That seemed to be a generous yearwith the Burgesses, for they also offered the same amount of tobacco for theproduction of a certain small qu
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Keywords: ., bookauthormabieham, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookyear1904
