Pennsylvania, colonial and federal : a history, 1608-1903 . e land to fit it for cultivation, even of therudest sort, required time and arduous toil. Soon the settlers,notwithstanding Penns humanitarian policy, began to suffer fromIndian depredations, the terror from which, added to actual de-struction, served to greatly retard settlement and pioneer workin the interior. Wild beasts, too, had their influence in this direc-tion, an influence that was, however, more than offset, perhaps,by their great value in adding to the food supply. Seeds andshrubs for planting were frequently difiicult to o
Pennsylvania, colonial and federal : a history, 1608-1903 . e land to fit it for cultivation, even of therudest sort, required time and arduous toil. Soon the settlers,notwithstanding Penns humanitarian policy, began to suffer fromIndian depredations, the terror from which, added to actual de-struction, served to greatly retard settlement and pioneer workin the interior. Wild beasts, too, had their influence in this direc-tion, an influence that was, however, more than offset, perhaps,by their great value in adding to the food supply. Seeds andshrubs for planting were frequently difiicult to obtain. The 476 Natural Resources character of the soil in (hfterent locahties was not nnderstood,causing- loss where there might have been great gain. Toolswere scarce and crude of construction. If brought from Englandthey were often beyond the purses of those who felt their better tools and the early machinery were available, manysettlers were averse to their adoption. While German andSwedish settlers were industrious and persevering, they long. Central Part of Washington From Days Historical Collections clung to prejudice against innovations. The adoption of im-proved tools and methods has always met with more or less oppo-sition in all countries, but with less, perhaps, in the United Statesthan elsewhere. Laborers in some parts of enlightened Englanddestroyed agricultural machinery as late as 1830. Wooden plowswere the dependence of the Pennsylvania farmers until about thebeginning of the last century. There was little attempt madetowards improvement in agricultural methods until after theRevolutionary war. Enlightened men then began to appreciatethe value of fertilizing, rotation of crops, the adoption of bettertools, and the ultimate danger of exhaustion of soil. This senti-ment led in 1784 to the formation of the Society for the Improve-ment of Agriculture, in Philadelphia: this was the same year that 477 Pennsylvania Colonial and Federal saw the establishment o
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