Agricultural Writers
The Rosen collection holds books by agricultural writers that have been compiled from existing text or contain original content from 1528 to the early 1900s. The authors have been arranged in loose chronological order, in order to follow the trends in society and animal care that were prevalent during their lives. Unfortunately, biographical information is scant for some writers of early animal care books. In addition, although some early authors did not fare well at the hands of critics, as scientific education and practical experience improved, so did the quality of content available to interested readers. The agricultural writers represented in the Rosen collection, over a wide expanse of time, include Columella, Markham, Topham, Clater, Horne, Osbaldiston, Lawrence, Beaumont, Skeavington, Lowson, Cust, Rarey, and Biggle.
“Inasmuch as cattle practice was beneath the dignity of the farrier, and, perhaps fortunately, the cow-leeches were incapable of writing, this field is left to the domain of the agricultural writer” (Smithcors, 1957, p. 290).
The oldest book in the Rosen collection is a 1528 reprint of Columella's De Re Rustica originally written in the 1st century AD. Encyclopedic works were common in Roman times when patricians and politicians were expected to be well educated on a variety of topics in order to guide the lives of other Roman citizens. “Most of the early Roman writers were encyclopaedist generalists who consolidated ideas and practices obtained from a variety of sources” (Dunlop and Williams, 1996, p. 161). Several Roman writers such as Cato, Varro, Virgil, Dioscurides, and Pliny mentioned animal healing in passing in their writings. Columella in contrast “… presents a detailed collection of contemporary animal healing and animal hygiene” writings in De Re Rustica Libri XII (Karasszon, 1988, p. 94). According to Dunlop and Williams (1996, p. 165) writing about Columella, “He stands above all other Roman authors in the fields of animal husbandry and veterinary science because of his unique combination of scholarship and practical field experience.”
“He [Columella] stands above all other Roman authors in the fields of animal husbandry and veterinary science because of his unique combination of scholarship and practical field experience” (Dunlop and Williams, 1996, p. 165).
There was a gap in veterinary literature from Columella writing in the 1st century AD to Vegetius writing approximately 400 years later. Vegetius recognized that animal health care was a low status profession in Roman life and urged that it be restored to its higher Greek equivalent. Vegetius's Books of the Veterinary Art was influential on animal care writers in subsequent centuries. Vegetius’ work was first published in Latin in 1528, and in English in 1748. "After Vegetius, the decline and virtual disappearance of veterinary scholarship became dramatic” (Dunlop and Williams, 1996, p. 184). According to Smithcors (1957, p. 109) “The lamp lit by Vegetius flickered and died without becoming the beacon light it was intended to be. Nearly a thousand years were to pass before anyone worthy of the name appeared upon the veterinary horizon”.
The second oldest book in the Rosen collection is Cheap and Good Husbandry, 13th ed., 1676, by early British agricultural writer, Gervase Markham (156?-1637). He complied the first edition of his book in 1614 which focussed on health care for horses and other livestock and was intended to instruct the livestock owner. Markham’s work was popular and continued to sell long after his death in 1637. His lack of experience treating animals coupled with descriptions of brutal treatments of his own devising, led Markham to be roundly criticized by his contemporaries, as well as by subsequent veterinary practitioners and historians of veterinary literature. More biographical information about Markham is presented in the Biographies section.
Thomas Topham (no dates) was a bovine practitioner and one of the first agricultural writers to write about cattle. His A New Compendious System on Cattle Diseases published in 1787 included a chapter on parturition that added value to the literature on cattle care. Smith (1976d, p. 152) dismisses Topham’s compendium as likely written by “… an old country physician interested in comparative medicine…”
Every Man His Own Farrier, 1880, by Francis Clater (1756-1823) went through 24 editions, the first 20 editions without change! As an example of early publishing success, Clater's books went through 40 editions in 125 years in Britain and the United States. According to Smithcors (1957, p. 288) “Neither The Farrier nor The Cattle Doctor presented anything new; their popularity was based on the fact that they were plain little books that gave innumerable cures without bothering much with the tedium, of diagnosis or other fundamentals.” Two of Clater's works are in the University of Saskatchewan collection: Every Man His Own Farrier is in the Rosen collection and Every Man His Own Cattle Doctor is in the Veterinary Medicine Rare collection in University Archives & Special Collections.
Two examples of omnibus volumes by agricultural writers in the Rosen collection are by George Augustus Osbaldiston (no dates), his Large Sporting Dictionary, 1792, which includes facts and anecdotes about animals as diverse (to British readers) as elephants and horses. The second is by Thomas Hartwell Horne (1780-1862), The Complete Grazier, 17th ed., 1839. Horne was an English theologian and librarian best known for his religious writings. He did not put his name to The Complete Grazier, but wrote as "a Lincolnshire Grazier". The 17th edition (in the Rosen collection) added management of fodder, manure, poultry, the wool trade and farm accounts to the original edition’s topic of cattle husbandry.
George Augustus Osbaldiston's Large Sporting Dictionary, 1792, includes facts and anecdotes about animals as diverse (to British readers) as elephants and horses,..."
John Lawrence (1753-1839) was not your average agricultural writer. He was a country practitioner, author, veterinary historian, and an outspoken supporter of the veterinary profession. Lawrence, in his A Philosophical and Practical Treatise on Horses commented on the continued use by horse owners and healers of painful and ineffective treatments offered up in the books of some agricultural writers. He took Thomas Blundeville to task for presenting information about 50 different bits harmful to horses’ sensitive mouths, and for recommending that beating horses would lead to submissive behaviour (Lawrence, 1802, p. 8). Lawrence reserved severe criticism for Gervase Markham who had written in the previous century, but whose legacy endured in multiple editions of Cheap and Good Husbandry. “The redoubtable Gervase Markhan was for more than a century the oracle of sapient grooms, the fiddle of old wives, and the glory of booksellers. After having painfully laboured through his works, it remains with me a doubt whether this famous writer ever possessed any real knowledge of the horse, or the art veterinary, from his own practice and experience. He was, in my opinion, nothing better than a mere vulgar and illiterate compiler” (Lawrence, 1802, p. 9,10).
Showing both breadth and depth of experience, Lawrence writing under the pseudonym, Bonnington Moubray, published A Practical Treatise on Breeding, Rearing & Fattening, all Kinds of Domestic Poultry, Pheasants, Pigeons & Rabbits. The 3rd ed., 1819 is in the Rosen collection. Editions of A Practical Treatise on Breeding... expanded in content over time: the 1st edition in 1815 dealt with poultry, pigeons, and rabbits; the 2nd edition in 1816 added pheasants and swine; and the 3rd edition in 1819 added dairy cows.
Lawrence was knowledgeable about the history of veterinary medicine and possessed of a smooth writing style. According to Smith (1976d, p. 1), Lawrence is possibly the anonymous author (tentatively identified by his writing style) of an article on the history of veterinary literature appearing in the 4th edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1806. Lawrence also published a compilation entitled British Field Sports in 1818 that is housed in the University of Saskatchewan's University Archives & Special Collections unit. A Philosophical and Practical Treatise on Horses is held at the U of S as an ebook, 2 volumes, 1796-98.
“The redoubtable Gervase Markhan was for more than a century the oracle of sapient grooms, the fiddle of old wives, and the glory of booksellers." (Lawrence, 1802, p. 9,10).
T. Beaumont (no dates) described homeopathic remedies for conditions in cattle in The Complete New Cow Doctor published in 1835. The content of this “new improved edition” is summarized in the lengthy subtitle: Being a Treatise on the Disorders Incident to Horned Cattle, with a Description of Their Symptoms, and the Most Effectual Methods of Cure: also, Instructions for the Extracting of Calves. To Which is Added, a Concise Treatise on Farriery, with the Symptoms, and the Most Effectual Methods of Cure. Arranged by description of the condition, recipe (homeopathic remedy) and treatment (delivery of the medication), The Complete New Cow Doctor is in the Rosen collection and The Complete New Farrier, 1835, is in the Veterinary Medicine Rare collection in University Archives & Special Collections.
George Skeavington’s (no dates) The Modern System of Farriery, 185? was written for the lay horseman based on the author’s twenty years of experience. As Skeavington (185?, p. 5) notes in his Preface, “… we trust that the “Modern Farrier” will be found a book of reference, which the private gentleman, the farmer, the traveler, and all who have interest in the Horse may find valuable.” Smith (1976b, p. 80) noted, “This type of book appealed to the horseman, and a new one appeared periodically. The matter was always the same, a mixture of Racing, Hunting, Remarkable Performances, and Anecdotes. It did not enhance the profession.” The full title is The Modern System of Farriery: Comprehending the Present Entire Improved Mode of Practice, According to the Rules Laid Down at the Royal Veterinary College: Containing all the Most Valuable and Approved Remedies, Accurately Proportioned, and Properly Adapted to Every Disease to Which the Horse is Incident, Including Rules for the Management of the Healthy Horse, as Feeding, Stabling, Grooming, and Conditioning. Available in the Rosen collection.
“This type of book appealed to the horseman, and a new one appeared periodically. The matter was always the same, a mixture of Racing, Hunting, Remarkable Performances, and Anecdotes. It did not enhance the profession.” Smith (1976b, p. 80)
G. Lowson (no dates) wrote The Modern Farrier: Containing the Causes, Symptoms, and Most Approved Methods of Preventing and Curing the Various Diseases of Horses, Cows, and Sheep in 1842. The book contains information on disorders of horses, primarily, with less information about cattle and sheep, on topics of causes, symptoms, cure medicines, and physical treatments. The Rosen collection contains 1858 and 1842 editions.
Lady Mary Ann Cust (no dates) wrote a small reference book for Victorian and Edwardian cat fanciers to fill in a gap on feline care. The Cat: its History and Diseases, 2nd ed., 1880, is in the Rosen collection.
H.S. Rarey (no dates) was a horse tamer whose book The Farmer’s Friend: the Horseman’s Guide, and Horsemanship Made Easy in One Lesson was published in Montreal in 1868. From the Introductory, “In presenting this work to the public, the author has divested it of all technical terms, and adapted it to the wants of the people. It contains all necessary information for the Breaking and Training of all description of Horses, and a full account and treatment of all the Diseases to which the horse is heir to. The author does not claim that the Receipt laid down in this work will be a cure-all for every disease—for there are many diseases which are incurable but he does claim that, after the experience of thirty years, his course of treatment is as correct as any heretofore offered to the public. Connected with this work will be given a Specific Remedy for the Foot Rot in Sheep" (Rarey, 1868, Introductory, [3]). The 1868 edition by H.S. Rarey is in the Rosen collection.
H.S. Rarey is not to be confused with the more well-known horse trainer, J.S. (John Solomon) Rarey, an American horse trainer from Ohio who developed a method of rehabilitating horses called the "Rarey technique" that was first disseminated locally in a small pamphlet. Rarey gained notice in the United States and later toured European cities taming difficult horses and developing a reputation for the success of his principles applied to horse taming. To “Rarefy” a horse was to apply his method of calming horses to those that had become vicious and fearful of humans due to abusive handling or other traumatic events. In 1868, Routledge published The Art of Taming Horses which included the text from Rarey’s pamphlet along with other content relating to horse care and anecdotes about Rarey's activities on the continent. The Art of Taming Horses, 1868, is at the University of Saskatchewan in the Veterinary Medicine Rare collection and as an ebook.
An agricultural writer from the turn of the 20th century, Jacob Biggle (no dates) was the author of the Biggle Farm Library that covered topics including bees, horses, cows, garden, and orchard. Biggle books are collectible for their content (in print as revised editions), and for the detailed coloured and black and white Illustrations by Louis P. Graham (also sold separately as notecards). The books are characterized by sage and practical advice delivered with humour while promoting compassionate care for animals. The Biggle Poultry Book: a Concise and Practical Management of Farm Poultry, 7th ed., 1909, is in the Rosen collection. The Biggle Farm Library, 1909, is at the University of Saskatchewan in the Veterinary Medicine Rare collection. According to Biggle (1909, p. 9) in the Preliminary Parley, “I have not written this book for the poultry fancier, although that valued person will find many points of interest in it, but for the practical farm or village man or woman who raises poultry and eggs for market, whose flock is one of the many sources which the income of the farm or village acre is increased with but a trifling money outlay, and with but little extra care and work.” Biggle also wrote about care of pets for children in the Biggle Pet Book. Americans in late Victorian times agreed with Jacob Biggle that a young person's character was formed by training and caring for pets (Grier, 2006, pp. 176-181).
"What this country needs is less hog and hominy and more chicken and celery” ( Biggle, 1909, title page)
Surgeon-veterinarians
Military Veterinarians
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