Agricultural Literature Research Articles

Basis Of Present-Day Russian Agriculture

PROF. W.R. WILLIAMS, in spite of his name, was the leading communist professor of agriculture in the U.S.S.R. at the time of his death, in 1939. Since that time his teachings have become more' and more orthodox, until in present-day communist-dominated agricultural literature they rank with those of Michurin, Lysenko and a few others as the only sound basis on which to found agricultural research or state agricultural policies. Hence any book by Williams, such as the one under review, is indispensable for those who want to understand the trend of agricultural development behind the 'iron curtain'. Principles of Agriculture By W. R. Williams. Translated from the Russian by G. V. Jacks. Pp. 156. (London: Hutchinson's Scientific and Technical Publications,. 1948.) 15s. net.

Agricultural Literature and the Early Illinois Farmer

Journal Article Agricultural Literature and the Early Illinois Farmer. By Richard Bardolph. (Urbana: The University of Illinois Press, 1948. 200 pp. Appendixes, bibliography, and index. $2.00.) Get access George F. Lemmer George F. Lemmer University of North Dakota Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 35, Issue 2, September 1948, Pages 307–308, https://doi.org/10.2307/1898430 Published: 01 September 1948

Animals as Means of Evaluating Pasture Production

The use of the animal as a means of evaluating pasture is an obvious approach to the problem, since this is the form in which the practical man will ultimately measure the return from his grassland. If anything has to be sacrificed it is the sward and not the animal, a point too often overlooked in our grassland work generally. Though many grazing trials of an observational nature are to be found in the early agricultural literature, the earliest experimental work was most probably that of the late Sir William Somerville. When Professor of Agriculture at Newcastle in 1897, he commenced the world-famous experiment at Cockle Park Agricultural Experimental Station on pasture improvement. An effort was then made to measure the effect of various systems of manuring in terms of the live-weight increase of sheep grazing on the different plots. In this experiment on Tree Field the relative values of the different systems of manuring were measured by weighing the sheep before and after the experimental period. In the early years the plots were stocked with hoggs, but in order to get closer grazing lambs and ewes are now used and have shown greater increases per acre.

Forty Years of Farm Cost Accounting Records

PAST history does not reveal to us the origin of the desire for knowledge about farm costs. Casual reference to farm costs and the desirability of accurate records of costs are found scattered through agricultural literature from the time of the Romans to the middle of the nineteenth century. None of these references, however, indicate carefully recorded data on costs or a comprehension of suitable methods of attack on that subject. Following the establishment of agricultural colleges in America and more particularly the organization of experiment stations in connection with colleges, during the decade 1880 to 1890 more active interest in the subject is indicated. Weston of Illinois (Bulletin 50, page 55) refers to a report of the United States Commissioner of Agriculture in 1870 which contains a statement by a Mr. J. T. Burroughs concerning the cost of growing crops in Madison County, Illinois. He also refers to inquiries concerning the cost of producing corn and oats in Illinois in 1885, 1886 and 1887 as reported by the Illinois State Board of Agriculture for 1886 and 1887. Tables of yields and costs were published by the Board for all counties of the state indicating the estimated yield, acreage, price per bushel, value of crop, cost of production and profit or loss on the crop. He states also that the United States Department of Agriculture in 1893 in response to numerous inquiries relative to the cost of raising the principal cereals, circulated a questionnaire among 28,000 practical farmers asking for estimates of the cost of raising corn and oats. These estimates were compared with replies to the same questionnaire by 4,000 graduates of various agricultural colleges who were engaged in farming. The demand for information about the cost of producing various

Agricultural Literature

THE expansion of the Rothamsted Library since the first edition of a catalogue in 1926 has made a new edition necessary (Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden. Library Catalogue of Printed Books and Pamphlets on Agriculture Published between 1471 and 1840. Second Edition 1940. Pp. 293+1 plate. 12s. Paper Covers; 15s. Cloth Covers). It has been compiled by the librarian, Miss Aslin, who has not merely listed a number of books, but has also added interesting notes on them and their authors. This edition contains two new sections, one including manuscripts and farm account books, the other listing the collection of prints of farm animals which the library possesses.

The Wheat Plant: A Monograph

PROF. PERCIVAL'S monograph fills one of the many great gaps in English agricultural literature by providing, for the first time in our language, a comprehensive account of the wheat plant, the most important of the cereal crops. Some idea of the magnitude of the work involved in the production of this book is derived from a statement in the preface that it is based on the study of what is “probably the most representative collection in existence,” since it “includes all the races of wheats, numbering nearly 2000 forms derived from almost all wheat-growing regions of the world,” whilst a brief glance at any section of the book is sufficient to convince the reader, especially perhaps the reader familiar with the crop, that this study has been peculiarly exhaustive. The Wheat Plant: A Monograph. By Prof. J. Percival. Pp. x + 463. (London: Duckworth and Co., 1921.) 63s. net.

The Book of the Rothamsted Experiments

ALTHOUGH the Rothamsted experiments have formed the subject of over 200 papers and reports, no book describing them has hitherto been published in this country. The present volume, by Dr. Gilbert's successor, is therefore a welcome addition to agricultural literature. We do not forget that two works entitled “The Rothamsted Experiments” were published respectively in 1888 and in 1897, but the former was an account of a few experiments only, and the latter discussed the practical results rather than the experiments themselves. The Book of the Rothamsted Experiments. By A. D. Hall. Pp. xl + 294. (London: John Murray, 1905.) Price 10s. 6d. net.

An Agricultural Text-Book

DR. FREAM'S new book, the first edition of which was exhausted on the day of publication, is a distinct gain to agricultural literature. We naturally expect such a work from Dr. Fream's pen to have the botanical portions of the subject dealt with at considerable length, and in this we are not mistaken, half the book being taken up by the discussion of the various plants with which the farmer has to deal, either as crops or weeds. This division has to be made, to some extent, at the expense of other branches of the subject, which is perhaps not quite a desirable thing to do in a general text-book; though it might be argued that it is far better to do one thing well than to do several things indifferently, and Dr. Fream has certainly done one thing well in his treatment of “The Plant.” The style is good, and the descriptions very lucid, concise, and sound, the book containing a vast store of information in small compass. There is not, however, a single reference to any original paper, an omission especially to be regretted when the author is discussing the Rothamsted experiments; in fact, we think that the addition of a list of the papers published by Lawes and Gilbert would have considerably enhanced the value of the book.

Literature of agriculture

Literature of agriculture