PAFFACE TO THE TABLEESTOFFHE PRODOUCE'OFEGRAIN,.& 7:
as following ſtatement of. the produce of a farm for ſeveral years, is not given as being complete, or as affording any rule for the conſtruttion of other Tables. It may help however to ſhew what knowledge an accurate farmer might obtain, if he would but take the trouble of minuting every material circumſtance that occurs in the ſow- ing ſeaſon; the kind of weather during the growth of the crop; and the charadter and accidents of the harveſt: for althbugh ſeveral of the particulars, at the time, might appear trivial, yet a regular account of them taken year after year, would very poſ- Gbly lead to concluſions of great importance in agriculture. If even fimilar accounts of the principal farms in this diſtrict could have been obtained, great information might have been gained: By them we Mhoyld have been able to judge, whether the price of grain, by the fiars, proceeded from the good or bad ſeaſons in the diftritt, or whether(which is the moſt probable) they were aifected more by the general price of corn in the country at large. By theſe Tables it appears, that even in ſome of the moſt unfavourable years, ſtill ſome one kind of grain generally has a good produce.
The regiſter would have been ſtill more complete, if to this general account of the rate of the produce, had been added ſome other circumſtances 3 ſuch as, Why the guantity of ſeed varied in different years?--What was the particular quality of the ſoils of the ſeveral fields that were ſown with the various grains?--How often the ſame kind of grain had been repeated on the different fields? Cc.
There are alſo ſome omiſſions in the Tables of the produce, which is to be regret- ted; for no notice has been taken of the beans and peaſe crop, nor of the hay or paſture.
The"Fables are therefore given only to lead the minds of young farmers to accuracy in their proceedings. How ſatisfaCtory muſt it be to a young beginner to reflect, that every minute obſervation recorded, tends to improve his knowledge, and to make him motre corre& in the pra&ice of agriculture! What pleaſure muſt it give him as he advances! What fund of information, of every kind, muſt it afford, not only to himſelf, but even to thoſe who come after him! It is from a wiſh to promote this attempt, that this ſtatement has been extended; and the compiler has been induced to undergo the labour with cheerfulneſs, although the time it took, and the trouble of writing it out, were not ſmall. To many people the Tables may appear tediouſly mi- nute; but it is hoped, that none will deem them altogether uſeleſs. Had time allowed, ſome more particular hints would have been ſubmitted on the great importance, and beſt form, of keeping farm-accounts--a buſineſs in which common huſbandmen are too negligent z; and gentlemen, cultivating their own lands, are ſtill more ſo, often to their incalculable diſadvantage.
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