. The story of agriculture in the United States. astened to a handle by means of thongs orwithes. A broad shell, or the shoulder blade or antler ofa deer, might be used as the blade of this crude a sapling was found that had a strong rootstanding out at right angles to the stem; the trunk wasused as a handle and the root was shaped like a pick orhoe and perhaps hardened in the fire. The English settlers found that the Indians generallyselected the richest soil for their fields. When it wasnecessary to clear the ground, they first pulled out theunderbrush and then girdled the trun
. The story of agriculture in the United States. astened to a handle by means of thongs orwithes. A broad shell, or the shoulder blade or antler ofa deer, might be used as the blade of this crude a sapling was found that had a strong rootstanding out at right angles to the stem; the trunk wasused as a handle and the root was shaped like a pick orhoe and perhaps hardened in the fire. The English settlers found that the Indians generallyselected the richest soil for their fields. When it wasnecessary to clear the ground, they first pulled out theunderbrush and then girdled the trunks of the trees near 4 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES the ground; that is, with their stone hatchets they hackeda belt around each tree through the bark and killed the trees; the leaves withered and let thesunlight through. Later, the dead trees and stumps wereburned. In the spring the dry weeds of the fields were gatheredinto piles and burned; then with their rude hoes theIndians dug shallow holes, three or four feet apart, into. A Stone Hatchet Tied on with Thongs each of which they dropped a few kernels of corn and afew beans. There were several varieties of corn, includ-ing the flint, sweet, and popcorn. Sometimes the seedwas soaked before being planted. As the corn grew, itwas hilled up, and the same hills might be used manyyears in succession. Between the corn hills the seeds ofpumpkins, squashes, and peas were planted. When thecorn ripened, the hungry flocks of wild birds became sotroublesome that Indian boys and girls were stationed onplatforms in the middle of the fields to frighten themaway. Even then the corn frequently had to be pickedbefore it was ripe. At harvest time the Indians gatheredthe ears in hand baskets and carried these to larger bas-kets, in which the corn was taken to the villages. When THE INDIANS AS FARMERS husking time came, among some of the tribes therewere jolly husking bees, and anyone who found a redear received two from each hus
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
