Fundamentals of Agriculture [Paperback]

The book Fundamentals-of Agriculture has been written primarily as a textbook for junior secondary students who take agriculture as a school subject. Agriculture is a human activity in which people use areas of land to produce food, clothing materials and other products. The latin word ager means a field, and dictionaries usually describe agriculture as the art or science of cultivating the ground. This is the oldest meaning of the word. but now it also means using the land to raise animals, fruit and other products. When early man turned from being a nomadic food-gatherer and began to live in settled communities, it became necessary for him to cultivate the soil so that he would have supplies of food close at hand. Agricultural education at any level succeeds only in so far as it involves the study of basic principles as well as the techniques of agriculture. In Parts 2 and 3, the first chapters deal with principles of fundamental importance, and later chapters deal with the application of principles to particular industries. The theory of school agriculture assumes its full significance when the pupil applies or tests theory in simple acts of observation and measurement. This edition includes metrication, updating of statistics, oilseeds, animal disease and chemical agriculture. It will prove as a useful reference book for the Rural Youth Organisation, and for the students in the agricultural colleges.

Part    1    The environment and agriculture

Chapter

1.     The environment

2.     Solar radiation and temperature

3.     Rainfall, humidity, evaporation and wind

4.     Australian climates

5.     Introducing soils

6.     Texture

7.     Structure

8.     Soil water

9.     Soil air and soil colour

10.   Soil temperature

11.   Soil organisms

12.   Organic matter

13.   Soil nutrients

14.   Soil formation

15.   Soil types

16.   Soil fertility and management

17.   Soil erosion

18.   Agricultural zones of eastern and south-eastern Australia

Part    2    Plant production

19.   Introduction

20.   How crops grow

21.   Competition

22.   Factors of crop production

23.   Farm machinery

24.   Wheat

25.   Other cereals

26.   The coarse grains

27.   Lucerne

28.   Potatoes

29.   Sugar cane and sundry crops

30.   Oilseeds

31.   Fruit growing

32.   Vegetable growing

33.   Pasture production

34.   Fodder  conservation

Part    3    Animal Production

35.   History of farm animals

36.   Anatomy and physiology of sheep

37.   Anatomy and physiology of birds

38.   Reproduction

39.   Birth and lactation

40.   Growth and development

41.   Nutrition

42.   Animal disease

43.   Genetics

44.   Animal behavior

45.   The poultry industry

46.   The pig industry

47.   Sheep

48.   Beef cattle

49.   Dairying

50.   Chemical agriculture