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(Q EDITOK'S PEEFACE 



Hereby is projected a new line of books to be 

 known as the Rural State and Province Series. 

 These books are to present the rural phase of the 

 development of the commonwealths, with so much 

 \ Nw of the physical setting and history as will make plain 

 the reasons for the present state of the agriculture 

 and country life. The volumes are not guides to ag- 

 ricultural practice, nor books of advice; they are 

 •^f plainly descriptive. They are to be books of 

 \- pleasant reading. At present some half dozen vol- 

 umes are under contract. Should the public desire 

 books of this character, it is the intention to include 

 eventually all the States of the Union and all the 

 \ Provinces of Canada. 



S The sources of information on the agriculture of 



^ New York, in its larger aspects, are not extensive in 

 /C book form. The reader who desires to go farther 

 than this little volume takes him will of course con- 

 sult the reports and other publications of State de- 

 partments and of the institutions, and the proceed- 

 ings of societies. If he is interested in the history 

 of the subject, he will profit by the four parts of the 

 report of the " Society for the Promotion of Agri- 

 culture, Arts and Manufacturers," 1792-1799; the 



