X author's preface and acknowledgments 



For high-school use, the matter may be further abridged 

 by the omission of the study of those particular crops that 

 are unsuited to the locality. 



College students are expected to prepare aU the matter 

 in this book, including that in fine print, and all Exercises. 

 Their instructors will probably assign additional work on 

 the crops of chief interest to the locality. These additions 

 will usually take the form of supplementary lectures and 

 of collateral reading selected from the literature cited under 

 each crop. 



It is scarcely necessary to point out that the use of a text- 

 book to afford at least the outline of the subject-matter on 

 crops will enable the student to cover much more ground 

 than would be possible if he relied exclusively on lecture 

 notes. The use of a text-book is also advantageous to the 

 instructor, since it permits him to devote a larger proportion 

 of his time to supplementary lectures, which will direct in- 

 creased attention to local problems and practices, suggest 

 methods of agricultural investigation, and discuss the most 

 effective methods of teaching the subject of agriculture. 



The author desires to express his thanks to the numerous 

 friends who have assisted him in this work, and especially to 

 the following : To Messrs. C. A. Cauthen, H. P. Agee, W. R. 

 Dodson, J. N. Harper, and C. R. Ball for reading the manu- 

 script of certain chapters ; and to Dr. L. H. Bailey for 

 editorial work and for the use of certain illustrations from 

 his Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. 



Grateful acknowledgment is made to Dr. W. E. Hines for 

 a number of photographs of insects ; to Professor L. N. 

 Duncan for making the photographs of corn ears ; and to 

 Miss C. M. Cook, wlio made most of the drawings prepared 

 especially for this book. In the List of Illustrations credit 



