First published in 1912, this volume presents the sixth edition of Lord Ernle’s study of English farming, updated by Sir A. Daniel Hall in the fifth edition, from the manorial system through the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I and the Stewarts, to large industrialised farms, the Corn Laws and the Great Depression. Lord Ernle’s volume remains the classic handbook on the subject and will be of use to students, teachers and academics of agricultural studies.
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Lewis-Stempel is one of our finest nature writers ... He writes with delicate observation and authority, giving us in Woodston a book teeming with fascinating details, anecdotes and penetrating insights into the real cost of our denatured countryside.' - Sunday Times 'The English countryside is 'a work of human art, done by the many and the nameless' and John Lewis-Stempel wanted to celebrate it. He has succeeded admirably.' - Daily Mail _________________ In the beginning was the earth... From the Paleozoic volcanoes that stained its soil, to the Saxons who occupied it, to the Tudors who traded its wool, to the Land Girls of wartime, John Lewis-Stempel charts a sweeping, lyrical history of Woodston- the quintessential English farm. With his combined skills of farmer and historian, Lewis-Stempel digs deep into written records, the memories of relatives, and the landscape itself to celebrate the farmland his family have been bound to for millennia. Through Woodston's life, we feel the joyful arrival of oxen ploughing; we see pigs rootling in the medieval apple orchard; and take in the sharp, drowsy fragrance of hops on Edwardian air. He draws upon his wealth of historical knowledge and his innate sense of place to create a passionate, fascinating biography of farming in England. Woodston not only reminds us of the rural riches buried beneath our feet but of our shared roots that tie us to the land.
‘A poignant, practical and moving story of how to fix our broken land, this should be conservation's salvation; this should be its future; this is a new hope’ – Chris Packham In Wilding, Isabella Tree tells the story of the ‘Knepp experiment’, a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope. Winner of the Richard Jefferies Society and White Horse Book Shop Literary Prize. Forced to accept that intensive farming on the heavy clay of their land at Knepp was economically unsustainable, Isabella Tree and her husband Charlie Burrell made a spectacular leap of faith: they decided to step back and let nature take over. Thanks to the introduction of free-roaming cattle, ponies, pigs and deer – proxies of the large animals that once roamed Britain – the 3,500 acre project has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife numbers and diversity in little over a decade. Extremely rare species, including turtle doves, nightingales, peregrine falcons, lesser spotted woodpeckers and purple emperor butterflies, are now breeding at Knepp, and populations of other species are rocketing. The Burrells’ degraded agricultural land has become a functioning ecosystem again, heaving with life – all by itself. Personal and inspirational, Wilding is an astonishing account of the beauty and strength of nature, when it is given as much freedom as possible. Highly Commended by the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize.
Originally published in 1966, this work by G. E. Fussell is a thorough examination of the role played by the English dairy farmer over the past four hundred years. Beginning his study with the cow he gives an account of the improved breeding and feeding methods that make today's cow a totally different beast to that of the Tudor farmer. A chapter is devoted to the cultivation of fodder crops and another to the comfort of the cow for, as the author states, pleasant conditions are an important factor in encouraging its productivity. The dairy industry, no less than any other in the nineteenth century, was the scene of numerous devices and inventions designed to improve milking methods. This, together with the development of the sale of milk in a liquid form, is discussed in later chapters. The practical difficulties of transporting milk had until about 1850 caused the major part of the milk produced to be turned into butter and cheese and the varying products of differing regions are fully described. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, however, the number of dairies prepared to retail milk grew in number to accommodate an ever increasing rate of milk consumption. Numerous farming textbooks published during the period and contemporary descriptions of the farming scene form the background for this scholarly appraisal. No other book has treated the English dairy farmer in such detail and, in drawing upon such a wealth of illustrative material to support his conclusions, G. E. Fussell has produced a work which will be valued by all agricultural historians.
