required reading

My husband's grandma gave me a book to look at. Is is from a man who used to live in our town. He has since passed away and his son is 85 years old, so I suspect he got it shortly after the time of it's publication in 1895. It's called "ABC of Agriculture." The book says it's written for people who would like to go into farming as adults.


Would we discourage those who, in mature years, would adopt some form of agriculture for the remainder of their lives? Assuredly not, for it is to aid such that this "Abc of Agriculture" is proposed, not more to point out what should be done, than to show what should be avoided.

"With what did you manure that field?" was asked of a young farmer by one who noticed a promising crop. "With brains sir!" was the reply, meaning that had had given thought to the crop and treated it accordingly. Nowhere are "brains" more needed than on the farm.

True that.

And how about this one:

It is the object of the thoughtful husbandman to get paying crops, to have the land either getting better and more fertile. or at least not losing in productive power.

Chemical fertilizers and over tilling are disparaged against here.

And in closing:
The book talks about the farmer being judicious and careful in the feeding of his animals and that when some care and thought are taken, the result will be much better for the animal ... The reason for this is found in a better adjustment of the ration, regularity in feeding and watering, warmth and cleanliness. In ten years it may make all the difference between a poor farmer and a rich one. (This is really the XYZ of agriculture.)

A very interesting thing is that in the back of the book are the other books sold by this publisher. There are probably 40 different titles back there. "The New Onion Culture" "The American Standard of Perfection" (a book about poultry breeding that is still published today) "Keeping One Cow" "Forest Planting" "Batty's Practical Taxidermy and Home Decoration" and "The Ice Crop" ("For all interested in ice houses, cold storage, and the handling and use of ice in any way, including many receipes for iced dishes and beverages.") I figured 120 years ago, people just learned this stuff from their parents or from other people in their towns. But here is a whole set of volumes on learning these skills from books.