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Chapter 2: THE HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE
Answers to Review Questions
TRUE/FALSE
1. Before any civilization could exist and flourish, a strong agricultural base had to be
established.
2. At the time of the American Revolution, 50 percent of the colonists made their
living through agriculture.
3. The main crops during the American Revolution were tobacco, sugarcane, and
rice.
4. The rich soil and climate made the New World an ideal place for agriculture.
5. Sea Island cotton fibers were extremely difficult to separate from the seeds.
6. Eli Whitney developed a machine to remove seeds from cotton.
7. The northern states developed their economy around industry.
8. President Lincoln signed into law a bill that established the United States
Department of Agriculture.
9. Most of the immigrants who first came to the New World were industrialists.
10. Most of the cotton produced went to Europe.
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11. Food will probably change very little in the coming years.
12. Genes can be located on the chromosomes by mapping.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The civilizations that provided a foundation for future civilizations were the
Greeks and the
2. Crops were sent to England and exchanged for
3. In colonial times, the most widely grown cotton was
4. The invention that allowed the transportation of meat anywhere in the country, at
any time of the year, was the refrigerated
5. A machine for reaping wheat was developed by
6. The most important aspect in the development of agriculture was
7. Another name for the Land Grant Act was the
8. The Smith-Hughes Act established
9. The biggest problem cattle producers faced was
10. The Smith-Lever Act set up the
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11. Scientific agricultural research began in this country during
12. The cotton gin
DISCUSSION
1. What problem did cattle producers have?
2. Why is John Deere important?
3. What is the Land Grant Act?
4. What is the Land Grant concept?
5. Why was cotton so important in the South?
6. Why is agriculture important?
7. Why was agriculture necessary to the development of civilizations?
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8. How does the cotton gin operate?
9. How did scientific research help develop agriculture?
10. Why did cotton become so important?