The Book of the Farm: Detailing the Labors of the Farmer, Farm-steward, Ploughman, Shepherd, Hedger, Cattle-man, Field-worker, and Dairymaid, Volume 1Replete with instruction and knowledge honed with experience, The Book of the Farm remains one of the finest agricultural guidebooks ever produced. The 19th century saw the maturation of farming in Western Europe, with intensive methods and efficiencies achieved as never before. Published in the 1840s and successively revised over subsequent decades, this book is a summation of the ingenuity of large-scale agriculture. The production of ever-greater harvests required skill; no longer could any farm be maintained by rudimentary methods taught by example - farming had become a sophisticated, professional discipline reliant upon science and machinery. Aimed at informing prospective students of farming, this work makes no secret of the difficulty and wits required of the modern farmer. Over 100 illustrations depict the tools required, from hoes and ploughs to the traction steam engines that served as forerunners to the modern tractor. Over 80 charts detail all manner of records: animal and crop weights, their prices on the market, mineral levels present in soil and fertilizer, costs of machinery and day-to-day operations. In all, The Book of the Farm is both a superb agricultural history and guide, filled with insight and techniques useful even in the modern day. |
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... manner , their actions were necessarily imperfect , and their absolute weight a serious drag on the draught . They are now constructed on true principles of mechanical science , are light in motion , perfect in action , and elegant in ...
... manner as to justify them in contemning the rational explanations given of the various operations by practical men . Could I but succeed in arranging the various operations as they succes- sively and actually occur on a farm , in so ...
... manner ; but should the weather prove worse , as in the premature approach of winter upon autumn , then extraordinary exertions are required to avert the disas- trous consequences of winter weather The unusual pro- upon the crops ...
... manner in regard to the soil , -with the smallest exertion as regards physical force , - and with the greatest celerity in regard to time ; and , in the adjustment of those instruments , every one should just perform its own share of ...
... should follow , in all cases , to learn a practical knowledge of every operation in farming . In like manner , с he may become acquainted with the particular mode of managing EXISTING METHODS OF LEARNING PRACTICAL HUSBANDRY . 33.