Farm Talk: A Series of Articles in the Colloquial Style, Illustrating Various Common Farm Topics

Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1868. First Edition. Very good. First edition; 7 x 4 1/2; pp. [8]; 9-130, [2]; embossed, pebbled green cloth over boards with title in gilt; illustrated with ornate initials at the beginning- and small vignettes at the end of each chapter; generally mild wear - a few minor spots to cloth and the first few leaves; minor creasing and wear to tips of spine; in very good condition.According to Cody P. Miller's "The Farmer's Family Must Find Compensation in Something Less Tangible, Less Material’: Culture and Agriculture in Maine and New England, 1870-1905” - after the end of the Civil War American agriculture changed dramatically, with New England and in particular Maine being no exception. More and more farmers and agricultural reformers pushed for abandoning small, mixed husbandry farming in favor of commercializing the system and treating agriculture as a business, rather than as a "way of living." Though such a novel movement was, by far, not universally accepted, many did embrace it and much of the rural debate "about progress, commerce, and capitalism" would begin to revolve around the idea of “fancy farming,” a system which required large amounts of capital deployed to increase the size of the farm and the margin of profit. One fervent proponent of that system was George Beckett of Belfast, Maine - a wealthy farmer and author of the current book. Arguably, one of the first ones to write on the subject (with a chapter on "Fancy Farmers"), Brackett also dedicated chapters on haying, apple trees and insects, parasiting plants, pigs and pultry, butter making, etc. OCLC lists one physical copy at the American Antiquarian Society; none in the trade; not appearing at auction, since 1886.