Farming - eBooks

Farming

This category brings together books that address the practical and scientific aspects of farming, from soil management and crop cultivation to livestock care and rural economy. The works span the 19th and early 20th centuries, reflecting a period when agriculture was undergoing rapid modernization through chemistry, mechanization, and systematic breeding.

These texts reasonably belong together because they all treat farming as an art based on science, emphasizing observation, experiment, and economic calculation. Whether discussing dry-land techniques or the use of dynamite for stump removal, the authors share a conviction that knowledge can improve yield and sustainability.

Three Recommended Books

• What I Know of Farming by Horace Greeley – Greeley's 1871 manual combines practical advice with a call for scientific education, making it a foundational text for understanding 19th-century American agriculture.
• Dry-Farming by John A. Widtsoe – This 1910 treatise on arid-region farming offers specific techniques for low-rainfall areas, illustrating how experimental station research shaped agricultural practice.
• Farming with Dynamite by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company – A 1910 promotional booklet that reveals the industrial side of farming, arguing for explosive-based land clearing as economical and safe.

Represented authors include newspaper editor Horace Greeley, soil scientist John Widtsoe, and a chemical company. Settings range from the American West to generic farmlands. Periods cover 1871 to 1910.

This category differs from the gardening category by focusing on large-scale production and land management rather than ornamental or small-plot cultivation. It differs from the livestock category by encompassing crops and soil as well as animals.

Classification limitation: Some works, like the skunk-farming manuals, might also fit under Animals, but their primary emphasis on economic farming justifies placement here.