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 9Yj-)i 







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PRE FAC E. 







In 1834, I wrote a Summary of Practical Farming, exclusively 

 for the use of my Son, in case he should ever occupy any land 

 attached to any living he might hold ; or should he let any, that he 

 might be enabled to judge whether it was injured by over cropping 

 or bad management. But as several friends expressed a wish for a 

 copy, I had 150 printed, to give away. As many, afterwards, were 

 desirous of having this little book, I printed and published it, in 

 1836, with many additions. This having been chiefly disposed of, I 

 have been induced to publish a second edition, in which is concen- 

 trated a detail of the practice I have pursued and the opinions I 

 have formed, during a period of more than thirty years devoted to 

 agriculture. My chief aim has been to give the particulars of my 

 practice in as clear a manner as possible, without attempting any 

 alteration of my usual plain style. Many others, I am aware, write 

 far more ably, but if they are not practical farmers, the inexperienced 

 who might be induced to follow their theory in all they recommend, 

 are liable to be led into many errors. 



When first I began farming, I tried to get information from 

 such works on agriculture as were then in the highest repute ; but 

 I found them so verbose and so theoretical, that I soon laid them 

 aside, and took every opportunity of inspecting such farms as were 

 supposed to be best cultivated, and of gaining all the information I 

 could from those who were esteemed the best practical farmers. 



The general agriculture of this kingdom has no doubt greatly 

 improved within the last thirty years, and the county of Northampton 

 has fully shared in such improvement, although it cannot be justly 

 said to have made such advances in this most important science as 

 not to be still capable of much greater improvement. Necessity is 



