Thomas Jefferson's Garden Book, 1766-1824: With Relevant Extracts from His Other Writings

By Thomas Jefferson

Book Overview

"I am going to Virginia," Jefferson wrote late in 1793. "I am then to be liberated from the hated occupations of politics, and to remain in the bosom of my family, my farm, and my books." Although Jefferson's liberation from public life was to prove temporary, in 1794 he did enjoy an extended interlude from political service. He set himself to applying the results of a lifetime of studying and eperimenting with agricultural theories on his own farms. The letters, notes, and drawings that Jefferson left to posterity record his contributions to scientific agriculture. The heart of these records is the Farm Book, a journal of plantation management that Jefferson maintained from 1774 until just before his death in 1826. The Farm Book, reproduced here in facsimile, is a wide-ranging depiction of the agricultural and industrial activities on Jefferson's plantations, primarily Monticello and Poplar Forest. In Thomas Jefferson's Farm Book, the late Edwin Morris Betts, professor of biology at the University of Virginia, embellishes this agricultural journal with illuminating commentary and relevant extracts selected from Jefferson's correspondence and other memorandum books. Organized topically, the annotations and extracts paint a uniquely complete portrait of plantation life and activity.Jefferson's records reveal an experimental farm, implementing such innovations as horizontal plowing, a crop-rotation plan, and Jefferson's own revolutionary moldboard plow. In addition, the Farm Book is a window to slave life, containing Jefferson's notes regarding the rations his overseer distributed, the daily tasks required by particular slaves, and the number of yards he purchased for slaves' clothing. The book also portrays the industries pursued by enslaved and free workmen, including th Mulberry Row nailery, joinery, blacksmith's shop, and spinning and weaving house.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1882886100
• ISBN13: 9781882886104
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: University of Virginia Press
• Length: 762 Pages
• Weight: 3.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 6.7" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

If There Were a Ten Star Rating......

If there were a ten star rating, I would give it to this book! If only all of our Presidents were so committed to the values of home and garden. This is a wonderful book, both for Jefferson fans and gardeners. Since I'm both, it is doubly wonderful. You can read Jefferson's records of what he planted when, his observations about all sorts of garden topics, his letters to friends and family about gardening, and see the voluminous records he kept about all things horticultural.

Forget About Other Organic Gardening Books!

Forget About Other Organic Gardening Books! This collection of books and writings by Thomas Jefferson includes decades of his farm records and gardening notes from back when they didn't even have chemical fertilizers, herbiscides, and insecticides yet. He experimented with a huge variety of fruits, vegetables, and fiber plants (including hemp) that he imported from all over the world. He also kept complete ledgers of his slaves, chronicling their births and deaths. He kept records of their production and consumption of linen, wool, blankets, clothing, etcetera. This book is a gold mine of history, gardening tips, livestock records, diary tidbits, photos, diagrams and more.