4 PREFACE. 



m 



which includes soil, air, light, heat, plants, germs, 

 insects, birds, and domestic animals? 



Our aim has been to treat the subjects scien- 

 tifically, but with as few needless technicalities as 

 possible. 



Acknowledgment is due to Prof. Lewis W. Col- 

 well, principal of the Linne Grammar School, Chi- 

 cago, Illinois, for his suggestions in the first reading 

 of the manuscript; to Prof. Alden S. Rinker, for the 

 use of three photographs; and to Mr. C. W. Mogg, 

 for the use of three photographs. Much help has 

 also been derived from the farmers in and around 

 Linn, Illinois, with whom we spend two or three 

 months each summer. They have been untiring 

 in their efforts to explain and demonstrate prac- 

 tical farm work. Especial gratitude is due to Mr. 

 William F. Corrie, a boy companion in farm life 

 and work, and who still is ever ready to explain 

 how wealth can be secured from wornout land, 

 and how a successful, happy life can be found on 

 a farm. 



If this volume helps, only in a small way, to 

 explain some of the general principles of agricul- 

 ture, to lend an interest to the appreciation and the 

 enjoyment of nature, and to elevate the dignity 

 and nobility of farm life, we shall feel well repaid 

 for the labor of its preparation. 



HIRAM H. SHEPARD. 



Chicago Normal School, 

 October, 1901. 



