BACON ON AGRICULTURAL LITERATURE. 239 



culture by which he was surrounded, the state in which he 

 lived, as compared with our own, what were they ? 



No doubt his library was of the best. Tlie Greek and Roman 

 and English writers on husbandry were all before him. He 

 turned to Cato first, the statesman, law-giver and farmer, to 

 find as the best thing he could say : " Our ancestors regarded it 

 as a grand point of husbandry not to have too much land in one 

 farm, for they considered that more profit came by holding little 

 and tilling it well." " Burn that book," says Bacon ; " it does 

 not go beneath the surface." Ho took up Varro, and found 

 that : " Nature has shown two paths which lead to a knowledge 

 of farming — experience and imitation." " Burn that book," 

 says Bacon ; " it has nothing in it but empiricism." He opened 

 Pliny, and learned that : " Men should plant while young, and 

 not build till their fields are planted, and even then they should 

 take time to consider, and not be in too great haste. It is best, 

 as the proverb says, to profit by the folly of others." " Throw 

 that into the pile also," said ho ; " it is the wisdom and not the 

 folly of men that supplies us with knowledge." He took down 

 Columella to find the points of a good cow, and he learned that 

 she must be " a tall make, long, with very large belly, very 

 broad head, eyes black and open, horns graceful, smooth and 

 black, ears hairy, jaws straight, dewlap and tail very large, hoofs 

 and legs moderate." " Destroy a rule," said he, " which is no 

 more than skin deep, and at best can only apply to Columella's 

 own province." And so Columella was consigned to the flames. 

 Perhaps Fitz Herbert was next called upon to furnish his " prin- 

 ciples," and as he dealt only with the prevailing practices of the 

 times, approving some and condemning others, he, too, was 

 obliged to follow his classical companions into the holocaust. 

 The doggerel verse of Tusser met with no better fate. It was 

 mainly plain statements of the practical work of farming which 

 Bacon destroyed, without any deductions which might be of use 

 to the general investigator. For in tliat day Jethro TuU liad 

 not been born, and the investigations which he made into the 

 principles of fertility had not been heard of. All the natural 

 sciences were silent so far as regards agriculture ; and chemistry, 

 botany and geology offered no light by w^hich the intelligent 

 farmer could be guided. No wonder Bacon burnt his books. 



