The Old English Farming Books: 1840-1860

Book excerpt: This fourth volume of Dr. Fussell's bibliography covers the period from the foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society of England to the agricultural repercussions of the abolition of the Corn Laws. The twenty years featured in this volume saw the publication of an enormous number of farming tracts and studies, reflecting the spread of the agricultural revolution across England and the final creation of the present-day system of agricultural production. As in the earlier volumes in this series, the author's thorough coverage of this literature brings together a wide collection of source material and thus makes an important contribution to historical studies. The growing demand for cheaper food, that eventually led to the abolition of the Corn Laws, the effects of the potato blight of 1844-45, and the famine in Ireland, the introduction of phosphates, and the increased importance of agricultural education -- these are the subjects reflected in the agricultural literature of the period, and Dr. Fussell's work helps document the consequent changes in the agricultural background in the vital years that led to England becoming a food-importing nation.