Some of the principal articles on the routine of farming such as sowing, reaping, and the like, have already been mentioned in connection with agricultural machinery. The articles on individual countries contain sections on the crops of each of them, and you will find Canada (Vol. 5, p. 152), and Germany (Vol. 11, p. 810), of special interest. The special features of tropical farming are described in the articles on tropical crops.
Fruit and Flower Growing
The article Fruit and Flower Farming (Vol. 11, p. 260) covers fruit culture in general, and, in the section of it which deals with the United States (Vol. 11, p. 268), the American fruit crops. This section describes the wonderful development of the fruit industry since cold transportation and cold storage enabled consumers in every part of the country, and in Europe as well, to purchase fruit grown in whatever state most advantageously produces any one variety. You should select, from the twenty separate articles on individual fruits, not only those on the varieties which you are already growing, but those on any others that are possible in the part of the country where your land lies. The section on fruit in the article on Horticulture (Vol. 13, p. 775) is devoted to growing on a smaller scale, in gardens. It contains (Vol. 13, p. 780) a practical calendar to show each month’s work.
Flower culture is the subject of special sections in both the articles above named and there is a descriptive list (Vol. 13, p. 766) of more than three hundred hardy annuals, biennials, and perennials, full of practical information. The calendar already mentioned indicates the dates for indoor and out-door operations. From the many articles on individual flower plants listed at the end of Part 3 of this chapter you can make your own choice.
Poultry and Bees
Poultry and their rearing are dealt with in the articles Poultry and Poultry Farming (Vol. 22, p. 213), Fowl (Vol. 10, p. 760), Turkey (Vol. 27, p. 467), Guinea Fowl (Vol. 12, p. 697), Duck (Vol. 8, p. 630), Goose (Vol. 12, p. 241), and Incubation and Incubators (Vol. 14, p. 359). Bee-keeping and the honey industry are treated in the articles Bee (Vol. 3, p. 625) and Honey (Vol. 13, p. 653). Truck farming is treated in the section dealing with vegetables (Vol. 13, p. 776), of the article Horticulture. Apart from the law as to water rights already mentioned the legal doctrine most particularly affecting farmers is that of Emblements (Vol. 9, p. 308). Grain Trade (Vol. 12, p. 322), and Granaries (Vol. 12, p. 336), the latter describing the latest type of grain elevators, are articles of great interest to farmers who specialize in cereal crops.
The new system of purchase of grain by the government, which is working admirably in Western Canada, protects the farmer against the speculators who buy standing crops for less than a fair price, and it is to be hoped that some similar plan may be adopted in the United States.
Economics (Vol. 8, p. 899), by Professor Hewins, Co-operation (Vol. 7, p. 82), and Tariff (Vol. 26, p. 422), deal with topics related to the marketing of all agricultural products. The articles on learned societies have an extensive section (Vol. 25, p. 317) on the agricultural societies of all countries.
The History of Farming
Agricultural history is, naturally, based upon the history of vegetable life, and the fossil plants described in the article Palæobotany (Vol. 20, p. 524), long as their appearance preceded that of man, greatly affected the nature of the earth’s crust which he was to occupy.