vi PREFACE. 



acquiring information, his acquaintance with the works of so large a number 

 of distinguished writers on Agriculture, of which you will have the evidence 

 in his pages, have enabled him to produce a work that contains much im- 

 portant knowledge, not only to the learner, but to the practical farmer. These 

 volumes of his have already passed through nine editions in Germany, and 

 have been translated into other European languages. 



*' The results of practical experience and of scientific experiment well 

 applied together, cannot fail to give the best success ; but there are some 

 practical questions of the highest importance which must be fully understood 

 before we can attempt to apply any of the sciences, and these simple practical 

 questions, unfortunately, cannot be answered by the mere practical farmer 

 who boasts that he has held the plough all his life — even those simple questions 

 upon which his whole business is based. He works his farm, perhaps, after 

 the rules which were handed down by his ancestors, with the loss of time and 

 money ; and if circumstances should change some of these conditions, he is 

 not able to remedy them for want of information. 



" Ask a farmer, in your part of the country, who seems to be most acquainted 

 with the general principles, how many cattle he requires to work a given 

 number of acres? or what kind of field husbandry will be required, in the 

 given circumstances ? or how much manure he needs to keep the field in a 

 good condition? or how many head of cattle he must procure to obtain the 

 required amount of manure ? or how much food his cattle require ? and a 

 great many such purely practical questions, and I assure you, not one will be 

 answered according to the rules laid down by experiment. He will merely 

 give you rough conjectures. 



'* This kind of questions are among the first and most important in the be- 

 ginning of all farming operations ; for farming is not like the business of 

 manufacturers, where your article may be improved the next day when spoilt 

 in the last operation. No ! here a year's work is required, and your plan in 

 the beginning is hardly laid out ; not only that year is lost, but all succeeding 

 ones, and the final result is inevitable ruin. 



" I recommend to you also the works of Thaer, Veit and Schwertz, on 

 Agriculture, in which you will find a great many valuable data for your work. 

 I have no doubt of your full success with regard to the translation, and to the 

 manner in which you will enrich your work with notes ; I shall be happy to 

 assist you in any difficulties of technical words, and hope that your work 

 will be appreciated as well as that of Liebig, which has given much informa- 

 tion to the farmers of this country. 



" With high esteem. Yours, &lc., 



" Chas. L. Fleischmann." 



" Rev. E. Goodrich Smith." 



On examining the volumes which Mr. Fleischmann brought to my notice, I 

 felt that his appreciation of the work was not undeserved, as it was evidently 

 that of a master hand. The promise of my friend, too, was amply redeemed : 

 he kindly lent me many valuable works in the German language, and by ex- 

 amining my manuscript, relieved me from any misgivings I had as to the ren- 

 dering of particular passages. Sogreat indeed is the difficulty, often, of trans- 

 lating German idioms and technical terms into English, that but for his aid I 

 could hardly feel assured that I had always given the exact sense ; but situated 

 as I have been in this respect, I feel quite confident that there can be no ma- 

 terial errors. 



The plan of the original work is thus announced by the Author : " It was 

 written to supply some existing deficiencies, to furnish a text-book for teach- 

 ers, a manual for scholars, and a guide for the farmer." 



It is composed in the form of propositions, followed up by illustrations. The 



