Talks on Manures A Series of Familiar and Practical Talks Between the Author and the Deacon, the Doctor, and Other Neighbors, on the Whole Subject

About this book

The book is a practical agricultural manual that presents a series of informal conversations between the author, Joseph Harris, and a cast of rural acquaintances, a deacon, a doctor, a squire, and other neighbors, about the science and economics of manures. It opens with a dense outline of chapter headings, each summarising experimental findings on topics ranging from the fermentation of manure and the loss of ammonia to the comparative value of clover, lime, and super‑phosphate on wheat, barley, oats, potatoes and garden crops. The introductory remarks to the new edition cite Sir John Bennet Lawes, a leading English agronomist, whose concise essay on soil fertility frames the ensuing “talks” as a blend of field observations, laboratory results and cost‑benefit calculations.

Written in the late‑19th‑century voice of a knowledgeable farmer‑author, the text mixes straightforward reportage with occasional humor and personal anecdotes. Its style is conversational yet heavily footnoted with data from experiments at Rothamsted and elsewhere, making it a valuable read for historians of agriculture, extension agents, and modern growers who enjoy digging into the original scientific debates that shaped today’s fertilizer practices.