Jan 16, 2013

Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture by J. Russell Smith - Introduction -- by Wendell Berry



Source: http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library.html#treecrops

Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture by J. Russell Smith, first published 1929, copyright 1950, the Devin-Adair Company, ISBN 0-933280-44-0
This is the classic work on tree crops. Russell Smith was 50 years ahead of his time, writing the basic text on agroforestry long before there was such a thing. He travelled widely and saw it all coming. The best book about trees -- it's inspired generations of environmental activists. A highly readable blueprint for the development of high-yield tree crops showing that vast, untapped food sources can be harvested from common species of trees. Smith says agriculture must be "adapted to physical conditions," that "farming should fit the land." He observed worldwide the catastrophe of hill agriculture which he described so accurately as "forest-field-plow-desert." "Tree Crops made so much sense to me that I have never been the same since... As my work took me all over the world, everywhere I could see it, thanks to Russell Smith: Agriculture in mountainous, rocky, or dry regions is a disaster, but trees are salvation." -- E. F. Schumacher. Only the Introduction, Chapters 1, 2 and 3, and Chapters 24 and 26 are reproduced here in this online edition. Get the book, it's a treasure-trove. Buy at Amazon.com: Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture

Download the complete book from CD3WD online library (58.8Mb pdf):
http://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/JF/419/08-302.pdf

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