x AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION 



It is difficult to find a basis of organization, or a principle of 

 unity, to bind this large and diverse array of subject matter into 

 a teaching whole. It cannot be found by considering agriculture 

 as a science, although much of it is founded upon several sciences; 

 for agriculture involves the art of farming as well as business 

 methods. It seems necessary, therefore, to look to the successfully 

 operated farm itself to find some means of unifying our subject 

 for the purpose of instruction. From this source we draw two 

 important conclusions in regard to successful farming: One is 

 the characteristic of permanency that tends to conserve the re- 

 sources of the land; the other, the close relationship between 

 principle and practice observed in the various farm operations. 



The late Professor Cyril G. Hopkins of the University of Illinois 

 was fond of using the expression " permanent agriculture" when 

 he referred to the objective of American farming. He had in mind 

 not only the present farmer but also the future farmer. He thought 

 not only of the individual farm but of all the farms in the country. 

 He had in mind stability of farming as a national asset, as con- 

 trasted with the exploitation of naturally fertile land so much 

 practiced today. He regarded the farm as an important unit in 

 the conservation of our natural resources. 



This idea of conservation, in the sense of permanent agriculture, 

 if kept in mind when dealing with the various aspects of farming 

 will help to give unity to the subject and to bind together many 

 of the diverse elements that must be considered in teaching 

 agriculture. 



Furthermore, it is not easy to isolate principle from practice in 

 farming. In actual farming the two are closely related. This 

 fact has suggested the title of the book. It has influenced the 

 development of the subject with the farm itself as the organizing 

 center. It has enabled the author to eliminate much agricultural 

 information which, though interesting, has little direct application 

 in real practice, such as descriptions of insects and their classifica- 

 tion, the history of breeds of live-stock, the detailed discussion of 

 varieties of farm plants, geological formation of the soil, etc. This 



