Abstract

The Evolution of Farming

This article presents information about various books. "History of Agriculture in the Northern United States, 1620-1860," by Percy Wells Bidwell and John I. Falconer. "Readings in the Economic History of American Agriculture," edited by Louis Bernard Schmidt and Earl Dudley Ross, "A History of Agriculture in Europe and America," by Norman Scott Brien Gras and "Rural Pennsylvania," by Ralph L. Watts. The books are not, however, merely a treatise. The narrative is vivid and vigorous and will appeal to any one interested in the rural economy, which was the dominant economy of early America. The quotations from old records, letters, and newspapers are frequently fascinating. The chapters that deal with the development of agricultural machinery would be delightful for the illustrations alone.