276 RURAL SOCIOLOGY 



Following the Eoman period there is a stretch of centuries 

 until the time when the early English writers appear. Arthur 

 Young has been mentioned as the forerunner of our modern 

 agricultural writers, and he unquestionably set a standard 

 which has been seldom equaled and rarely surpassed in descrip- 

 tive and helpful writing on rural topics. The awakening which 

 resulted from the entertaining works by Young was the begin- 

 ning of the agricultural revival in England, and was also coin- 

 cident with the beginning of modern agriculture in America. 

 The friendly relations between Young and George Washington 

 unquestionably had considerable to do with the popularity of 

 the writings by the former in America. 



Among American pioneers were a few capable, foresighted men 

 who appreciated the importance of permanent records in agri- 

 culture, and their work is principally to be found in the pro- 

 ceedings of the various agricultural societies then in the fore- 

 front of the agricultural advance. Even before the opening of 

 the nineteenth century there was a considerable volume of help- 

 ful agricultural literature not only in proceedings of societies 

 but in a few periodicals and in a number of excellent books. 

 Following the opening of the new century the increase in printed 

 matter relating to the farm and the field was steady but slow. 

 Periodicals appeared and after more or less successful careers 

 were absorbed, transformed or abandoned until the end of the 

 first quarter of the century found very little substantial ad- 

 vancement. Beginning about 1830 the quantity and the char- 

 acter of books and journals on agriculture received a consider- 

 able impetus. Capable men began to realize that an interchange 

 of ideas was necessary. Books for farmers could no longer sat- 

 isfy those who were interested in a given subject because of the 

 distribution of the people over a wider area and the growing 

 complexity of rural problems. The earlier journals were pub- 

 lished and edited by men of ideals, backed by the courage of ac- 

 complishment, who looked upon their journals as agencies for 

 progress rather than mere commercial enterprises. They stood 

 for certain reforms and improvements, and though sometimes 

 radical and extreme in their methods, their purpose was on the 

 whole to improve agriculture, which they unquestionably did. 



The three prime divisions of agricultural literature then, as 



