PREFACE.

In consequence of a more perfect acquaintance with thenature of soils, and with the operation of the various sub-stances that are made use of in the business of cultivation,as well as from additional experiments and more close ap-plications of the principles of other sciences, numerousalterations and improvements have been introduced in thedifferent branches of the art of husbandry, and a greatvariety of new facts, opinions, and conclusions have beenbrought to the attention of the agricultor. These im-provements have, however, been hitherto of little use,from their being scattered and dispersed through innu-merable volumes, without method or arrangement to render 'their connection, or dependence, clear and intelligible.

It has been the object of the present work not merelyto reduce such detached facts into better order, but at thesame time to bring the practical details and conclusions intoa more intimate connexion with the principles on which

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