INTRODUCTION 27 



the formation of agricultural societies and attendance at 

 their meetings and fairs, the preparation of elementary 

 books on farming and their adoption in rural schools, 

 the establishment of a national agricultural college, and 

 the reading of agricultural books and journals by the 

 general farming public. 



No better evidence of Robinson's vision and progres- 

 sive spirit can be found than his strong advocacy of sci- 

 entific practices which are truisms in our own day, but 

 were daring and novel to the majority of farmers of his 

 time. Ditching and draining of wet land; planting of 

 grasses and terracing to prevent erosion of the soil; 

 use of fertilizers such as lime, guano, marl, swamp muck, 

 and animal manure; deep plowing; farm accounting; 

 improvement of the breeds of livestock; development of 

 superior varieties of seed through plant selection; adop- 

 tion of new agricultural implements and machines; 

 cultivation of trees, shrubs, and flowers; importance of 

 balanced diet on human health ; need for adequate venti- 

 lation in farm dwellings; better rural architecture; pro- 

 tection of animals from the weather; diversification of 

 crops; keeping of weather records; proper feeding of 

 animals ; extension of railroads as an aid to agriculture ; 

 improvement of fruit trees; and other ideas of similar 

 character, at one time or another were all discussed and 

 recommended for adoption. 



Some of his articles aroused heated dispute among his 

 readers, and brought forth communication after com- 

 munication supporting his ideas or strenuously denounc- 

 ing them. The advisability of forming, immediately, a 

 national agricultural society, a proposal of undoubted 

 interest throughout the country ; the question of fencing, 

 which vitally concerned settlers upon the prairie lands 

 of the Middle West where lumber was scarce or unobtain- 

 able (as a corollary, determination of which tree or shrub 

 was best adapted for hedges) ; and the benefits of em- 

 ploying guano as a fertilizer, were some of the contro- 

 versial subjects. One of the bitterest, and at the same 



