ADVERTISEMENT. 
viii 
and I regret that I have been able to do so little 
to render it more worthy of the approbation of 
those readers for whom it was designed. My 
object has been principally to dwell upon practical 
principles and practical applications of science; 
and it is in the farm and not in the laboratory 
that these can be put to the test of experiment, 
and my duties and pursuits have rendered it im- 
possible for me to do more than point out the path 
of enquiry — to indicate the road to improvement. 
The manner in which the work has been received, 
both in this country and the continent, induces 
me to hope that its object, however humble, has 
been to a certain extent attained, and that it has 
not been without its utility. 
I have retained an Appendix containing an 
account of the Experiments on Grasses instituted 
by the Duke of Bedford at Woburn, because 
many of these Experiments are alluded to in the 
body of the work. I am happy, however, to be 
able to refer my readers to a much fuller and 
more detailed account of this subject of investiga- 
tion, in a treatise published by Mr. George 
Sinclair, entitled Hort. Gram . Woburnensis , and 
which, from the nature of the details, and the 
singular modesty and clearness with which they 
are given, is well worthy the perusal of all persons 
interested in agricultural pursuits. 
Park Street , 
January , 1. 1827. 
