In North America, Indian peoples in the east were the first agricultural producers. They raised crops such as corn (maize), beans and pumpkins to feed themselves. Their agricultural endeavours helped to maintain their economic life and to encourage the growth of their culture for hundreds of years before the arrival of the European settlers. Indian agricultural understanding and ecological knowledge was shown by choosing crops that were suited to the climate. These crops helped feed the European settlers who came to North America in the 17th century. The early settlers began farming in Lower Canada and introduced European varieties of grains. During the 19th century farming activity spread westward from eastern Canada and northward from the United States. The settlers who used European farming methods learned from the Indian and Métis peoples. In eastern North America they learned a method of clearing fields by removing a ring of bark from the trees, or girdling them. The trees died, allowing the sun to reach the land. The Indian peoples then farmed the area for a few years before moving on and allowing the forest to return. However, the settlers stayed in one area and used the trees as firewood. When the stumps and roots rotted after a few generations, they had open fields to seed. Settlers also cleared the land by manually removing the trees and stumps. Indian and Métis peoples also shared their method of planting crops with the early settlers. In Europe, it was common to sow the seed by broadcasting it. Indian peoples carefully chose and planted the seed. They were very aware of practical genetics. For example, Indian farmers fertilized each corn plant by putting corn pollen on its silk. They discovered that taking the pollen from one variety and placing it on another variety produced a new variety of corn. Today, this process is called hybridization. Western Canada was first known for its rich furs, drawing explorers and fur traders to the prairie and forest regions. Early Indian peoples in the area now called Saskatchewan, were basically hunters and gatherers. Little agricultural activity occurred in the West because of the hunting and gathering lifestyle of the Indian peoples. Settlement by non­Aboriginal immigrants began in the parkland area of Saskatchewan, although a few ranches existed in the southwest in the 1880s. The construction of the railroad through the south in the mid 1880s encouraged more settlers to homestead in that area, but did not increase the speed with which settlement was occurring. On the open grasslands of western Canada, the pioneers did not need to be as concerned about clearing the land.