Information About Poultry from the Late 1800s

The first selection this week is The Complete Poultry Book published in 1882.  I covers the history and origin of poultry, raising the birds, small and large flock management, diseases of poultry, and different breeds.  It is fairly well written and thorough.

The ABC Poultry Book, printed in 1886, is written in topics like an encyclopedia, in alphabetic order.  It can be hard to find certain subjects, but does make interesting reading, once you already have a little background in poultry.

Poultry Keeping, from 1898, covers chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys, covers breeds and selection of birds within a breed.  It has a chapter on both egg formation and anatomy of the bird.   It discusses breeding stock and raising poultry, as well as how to fatten them up and butcher them.  All in all this is a very well rounded and thorough book.

The Complete Poultry Book - 1882

The ABC Poultry Book - 1886

Poultry Keeping - 1898

General Livestock Information

Although there are many more books in every category I have listed so far, I thought we would move into some other categories before we repeat.   In the 1800s almost everyone that lived outside (and sometimes those that lived inside) a city had animals of some kind.  From a herd of sheep, to a few pigs or chickens, to a single milk cow.  The next three books are general livestock selections.  Each one covers several popular animals and their care and upkeep.

The Livestock of the Farm, published in 1886, covers breeding and feeding, then specifically discusses cattle, sheep, horses, swine and poultry.   It breaks each section down by types and then care of the animals, giving quite a good manual of management for each kind of livestock.

Horse, Cattle, Sheep and Swine, published in 1888, gives in-depth descriptions of each breed of livestock, including incredible illustrations, and then proceeds to give some detail on the selection and management of each kind.  For instance, he includes 24 different breeds of cattle, and about 15 breeds of sheep.

Conkey's Stock Book, from 1911, also covers horses, cattle, sheep and swine inclusive, but begins with general care and feeding, and then discusses each type of livestock.  This book includes some general  vetrinary advice on each animal as well, and is broken down in to sections that are easier to distinguish than the other books.

I think poultry shall be the next topic, since as livestock goes, most people are more likely to have poultry than pigs in their backyards.

  The Live-Stock of the Farm - 1886

Horses, Cattle, Sheep, and Swine - 1888

Conkey's Stock Book - 1911

Kitchen Gardening from the 1800s

Here are three books on the subject of vegetable gardening from the middle 1800s.  Kitchen gardens of the age contained vegetables and herbs.  Fruits are covered in separate books dedicated to their cultivation with very little crossover.

The Kitchen Gardener's Instructor, Containing a Catalogue of Garden and Herb Seed with Practical Directions Under Each Head for the Cultivation of Culinary Vegetables and Herbs with a Calendar Showing the Work Necessary To Be Done in a Kitchen Garden Every Month Throughout the Season, Also Directions for Forcing or Forwarding Vegetables Out of the Ordinary Season, The Whole Adapted to the Climate of the United States - 1847.  They just don't title books like they used to.  Actually, the entire book is written in a similar vein.  Most of the book is dedicated to an alphabetical listing of every vegetable or herb anyone was likely to grow in the US in the 1800s.  The discussions of each vegetable are fairly short, as is the entire book when compared to other ones in this same time period and topic.

The American Gardener:  A Treatise on the Situation, Soil, and Laying Out of Gardens, on the Making and Managing of Hot-Beds and Green  Houses; and On the Propogation and Cultivation of the Several Sorts of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Flowers - 1856.  Every paragraph in this book is numbered, for easy reference.  For instance, from pragraph 135:  "There is, however, another way of ascertaining this important fact, the soundness, or unsoundness of seed ; and that is, by sowing them."  I am not sure if this book will actually be of practical use for modern life, as the author advocates preparing the ground with a team of four oxen, but it is an interesting read.

Garden Vegetables and How To Cultivate Them - 1866.  Now this title is short and to the point.  The book itself lists common vegetables in categories rather than alphabetically, so you have chapters on Esculent Roots (beets, carrots, radishes, turnips, etc.) and Aparaginous Plants (aparagus).  This writer is enclyclopedic in his knowledge, and gives a lot of useful information and advice on each variety of plant he discusses.  Of the three, I found this book to be the most informational and helpful.  Also, I did not fall asleep reading the title...

The Kitchen Gardener's Instructor, etc. - 1847

The American Gardener, etc. - 1856

Garden Vegetables and How To Cultivate Them - 1866