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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... never acquire foresight , because they never reflect , and there- fore cannot make their experience tell to the most advantage . Con- ducting a farm by foresight is thus a higher acquirement than the most intimate knowledge of the ...
... never passed through the perplexing ordeals incident to the first year of farming , that I have described them in strong colours , in order to induce DIFFICULTIES TO BE ENCOUNTERED . 3 THE KIND OF INFORMATION TO BE FOUND IN EXISTENT ...
... uninterruptedly ; and the pupil never want a monitor upon whom he could confidently rely . Were a book pur- posely so arranged put into the hands of young farmers 4 THE BOOK OF THE FARM . THE MEANS OF OVERCOMING THOSE DIFFICULTIES,
... never be said to have been young farmers , for , by the time they are fit to act for themselves , they are proficients in farming . Having myself , for a time , been placed precisely in the position of the first description of young men ...
... never , in my opinion , understand how to apportion labour , and modify its application to the raising of crops and rearing of live - stock , in accordance with the nature of the season . He will never learn to know by perusing a ...