PREFACE.

...public good, even in a subject so beautiful, useful, and necessary?

BEYOND this general consideration, another particular one led me to undertake this labor. My inclination, and the state of my affairs, kept me in the fields at my home, and caused me to spend a good part of my best years during the civil wars of this Kingdom The French Wars of Religion (1562–1598) devastated the French countryside; de Serres' own estate, Pradel, was located in the thick of the conflict in the Vivarais region., cultivating my land through my servants, as the times allowed. In this, God has so blessed me by His holy grace that, having preserved me amidst so many calamities (of which I felt my fair share), I conducted myself among the diverse tempers of my Country in such a way that my house was more a dwelling of peace than of war. When opportunities arose, I received this testimony from my neighbors: that while preserving myself along with them, I primarily devoted myself at home to managing my husbandry original: "meſnage." In the 16th century, this term encompassed the entire economic and practical management of a rural household and estate.. During those miserable times, how could I have better employed my spirit than in seeking that which suits my temperament? Whether peace gave us some respite, or war, through various relapses, imposed upon me the necessity of guarding my house, and public calamities made me seek some remedy against boredom original: "l'ennui." In this period, "ennui" referred to a profound weariness or mental distress caused by idleness or surrounding tragedy., I found, while passing the time, a singular contentment—after the salvific doctrine for my soul—in the reading of books on Agriculture. To these, I have additionally joined the judgment of my own experience. I will therefore say freely that, having often and carefully read the books of Agriculture, both ancient and modern, and having observed through experience certain things which have not yet been recorded, as far as I know, it seemed to me to be my duty to communicate them to the public, to contribute, in my way, to the sustenance of men. This is what made me write. I do not claim that my friends pushed me to do this against my will, nor that I worked on it only in my spare hours; but I say that I have cheerfully endeavored to represent this beautiful science as best as I could, employing all my leisure in it, without omitting anything I judged could serve the advancement of this design of mine, as much for its own merit as for respect for the public.

MY intention is to show, if I can, briefly and clearly, everything one must know and do to cultivate the Earth well, and this in order to live comfortably with one's family, according to the nature of the places where one settles. Not that, however, I wish to collect everything that could be said on this subject: but only to arrange, within the Places of this Theatre The "Theatre" was a popular Renaissance metaphor for a book that provides a comprehensive, structured overview of a field of knowledge, as if the reader were viewing a stage., the records of Husbandry that I have known until now to be suitable for everyone's use, as far as this beautiful Science can provide for them.