The colonists planted Indian corn as early as 1609, and cultivated many other Indian foods, including pumpkins, beans, and squash. They cultivated tobacco (an Indian plant) as early as 1612, and during the remainder of the century it was the most profitable crop grown. For many years it was the economic salvation of the struggling colony. Attempts were made by the early colonists to grow other crops which, for various reasons, did not thrive at Jamestown. Some plants, like bananas, pineapple, citrus fruits, and pomegranates, could not withstand the cold Virginia winters. Other plants, including rice, cotton, indigo, sugarcane, flax, hemp, and olives, did not grow vigorously for one reason or another, and repeated efforts to cultivate them usually resulted in failure. Mulberry trees grew well at Jamestown (the leaves were used to feed silk worms), but attempts to make silk were not successful commercially. [Illustration: TOOLS USED IN THE CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO OVER 300 YEARS AGO. THESE TOOLS--HOE, BILLHOOK, AND CUTTING KNIVES--WERE EXCAVATED AT JAMESTOWN.] [Illustration: CULTIVATING A SMALL GARDEN IN VIRGINIA. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)] [Illustration: A FEW FARM TOOLS USED BY AN EARLY SETTLER FOR CULTIVATING HIS NEWLY CLEARED LAND.] [Illustration: FISHING PROVIDED FOOD AS WELL AS RECREATION FOR THE COLONISTS. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)] [Illustration: A FEW OF THE MANY ARTIFACTS RELATING TO FISHING UNEARTHED AT JAMESTOWN: FISHHOOKS, FISH-GIGS, AND LEAD NET WEIGHTS.] Handtools used by the Jamestown farmers during the 17th-century have been found in abundance. These include axes, picks, billhooks, pitchforks, spades, rakes, mattocks, sickles, scythes, broad hoes, narrow hoes, and shovels. Only a few parts belonging to heavy farming implements have been unearthed, including a few ploughshares and small metal fragments from wagons, carts, and harrows. Fishing When the first settlers planted their small colony at Jamestown, the tidewater rivers and bays and the Atlantic Ocean bordering the Virginia coast teemed with many kinds of fish and shellfish which were both edible and palatable. Varieties which the colonists soon learned to eat included sheepshead, shad, sturgeon, herring, sole, white salmon, bass, flounder, pike, bream, perch, rock, and drum, as well as oysters, crabs, and mussels. Seafood was an important source of food for the colonists, and at times, especially during the early years of the settlement, it was the main source. Those in England who planned to go to Virginia were always advised to provide themselves (among other items) with nets, fishhooks, and lines. During archeological explorations, fishhooks, lead net weights, fish-gigs, and small anchors were uncovered. These are reminders of a day when fish and shellfish were abundant in every tidewater Virginia creek, river, and bay. Health