farm

This fun, interesting, and lavishly illustrated book tells the stories of approximately 50 animals that have played crucial roles in human history. Chaline’s fascinating essay topics range from the history of oyster-raising to the essential role of the horse. Humans are the subject of the final essay, which includes a warning that we are our own worst enemy. Each animal is classed among four categories as “Edible, Medicinal, Commercial, and/or Practical" (a dog-loving reader might quibble with the idea of modern housecats being considered “practical”).

This pocket-sized hardcover book was published in 1946—the 50-year anniversary of rural free delivery by the U.S. postal service. The advent of rural delivery service made a big difference in the lives of farmers. Before rural free delivery, many farmers had to travel long distances to pick up their mail at the nearest post offices, or pay someone else to pick it up for them. This copy was donated by the National Rural Letter Carriers Association 40 years after publication.

The relationship between plants and insects is impacted by generations of evolution by both insects and plants. Insects consume about 10% of plant annual production in natural habitats and even more in agricultural systems. For that reason, plants have had to adapt their defensive mechanisms to fend off these predators.  Consequently, some insects have become specialized feeders in order to sustain life. Insect-Plant Biology focuses on the mechanisms that make insects specialized and how plants respond to these invasions.

The first edition of Peter Henderson’s Gardening for Profit was published in 1867, two years after the Civil War ended, and sold 100,000 copies. It’s considered the first book written on market gardening in the United States. Market gardening is defined as small scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers, from less than an acre to a few acres. In today's world, you may meet a market gardener at your local farmer's market. 

While he graduated with a degree in agriculture at Cornell, it was summer work on combating contagious diseases in cattle that led to Dr. Leonard Pearson’s (1868-1909) interest in veterinary medicine. Upon graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school, Dr. Pearson continued his work on protecting cattle and would eventually rise from Professor of Medicine to Dean of the Veterinary School to Pennsylvania’s State Veterinarian. Expanding his research into poultry, Dr.

Richard Inwards’ Weather Lore is a collection of proverbs, sayings, and quotations about the weather. With wide-ranging chapter titles such as Mists, Sound, Frost, Birds, Insects, Plants, Thermometer, and Spectroscope, Weather Lore captures the myriad ways that people have attempted to forecast weather, harvest, and human behavior from occurrences in the natural world.

This book captures the colorful spirit of the American West in its history and quirks. Included are songs and stories, charts of brands used to mark cattle, and sketches of the boom and bust of the Old West. In one chapter, the author informs us that the Westerner left his names casually and naturally on the land and on each other, without ostentation. This led to names like Jerked Beef Butte or Rattlesnake Basin in Arizona, or nicknames for fellow cowboys like Crooked-Nose Pete and Three-Fingered Smith.