1778 Minutes of Agriculture, Made on a Farm of 300 Acres of Various Soils, Near Croydon, Surry.

Description

First Edition, Illustrated, Leather Binding, Very Scarce

The first edition.

Very scarce work.

Complete with four plates.

William Marshall's ambitious study of farm management in the late eighteenth century.

The son of a Yeoman farmer, Marshall decided that a personal and practical approach was necessary in the study of agriculture, with at least a year's worth of observation needed to have a comprehensive overview of the subject. Therefore, in 1774, Marshall took on a farm near Croydon, keeping a detailed account for four years, before publishing his findings in this 'Minutes of Agriculture'.

An important and pioneering work, this documents his successes and his mistakes from his time as farm manager.

With notes from a previous owner, likely a farmer or a contemporary of the author, containing their thoughts on Marshall's work - largely positive, with notes such as "I think this a very good note" and "good reasoning".

Collated, lacking leaf A1. Signature runs A2-Z, Aa-Zz, Aaa-Mmm. Pagination commences at 'The Digest of the Minutes' section, with pages prior to this being unnumbered.

Bound in half calf with marbled paper-covered boards.