AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE SOIL, CLIMATE, PRODUCTION AND AGRICULTURE, OF THE BRITISH COLONIES IN NORTH-AMERICA AND THE WEST-INDIES; WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SETTLING IN THEM, COMPARED WITH GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. By an American - 1775

London: Printed for J. Bew, 1775. Two volumes. [4],472; [4],319,[16]pp. Half title in each volume. Original drab boards and paper spines, text untrimmed. Some chipping and wear to spines, boards lightly soiled. Leather book label on front cover of first volume, armorial bookplate on front pastedown of second volume. Minor scattered foxing, but generally quite clean internally. Very good. In chemises and a cloth slipcase, gilt leather labels. This interesting work is sometimes attributed to Arthur Young, an important writer of agricultural books, and the style and subject matter coincide with another work by him about America. Young was not very familiar with American conditions and tended to rely on secondary material. The book includes discussions of agriculture in Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New England, Louisiana, Illinois, and Ohio. Tobacco growing is discussed, as is corn, buckwheat, rice, indigo, hemp, silk, and other products. The section on Louisiana is relatively favorable, with descriptions borrowed from Le Page du Pratz. Includes an extensive section on Florida (second volume, pp.42-61), describing it variously as "wretched," "to be condemned," "barren," "sandy," etc. On the whole the work tends to discourage emigration to America, pointing out all the deficiencies of American farming, disadvantages to the potential emigrant, etc. The author is most positive about the West Indies, however, describing the Bahamas, Barbados, and other islands in glowing terms. "A survey of agricultural possibilities, achievements and methods, with extensive observations on deficiencies in the management of American agriculture" - Bell. Scarce. HOWES Y16. SABIN 106062. BELL A171. SERVIES 518.