Books by Edmund Ruffin

This book's publication in 1832 initiated an era of agricultural reform in the ante-bellum South. By 1850 Ruffin had effected a transformation of the economy of the upper South from poverty to agricultural prosperity. This small book, with its uncompromisingly descriptive title, is a landmark in the history of soil chemistry in the United States.

The centerpiece of this generously annotated book is the diary kept by the celebrated agricultural reformer Edmund Ruffin during the eight months in 1843 when, at the request of Governor James Henry Hammond, he conducted an economic survey of South Carolina, traveling to every corner of the state to examine the different farming methods in use and the resources available for their improvement.

Arranged in sections discussing southern agricultural history, Edmund Ruffin's observations on nature, his ideas about land reform, and his plans for soil rejuvenation. This volume offers his less known but equally intense passion for agricultural study. It presents a portrait of a progressive agronomist and pioneering conservationist.