Excerpt from Agricultural Biography: Containing a Notice of the Life and Writings of the British Authors on Agriculture, From the Earliest Date in 1480 to the Present Time The writer of a preface has been called an accomplished liar, from the exaggerated statement generally made of the labour that has been incurred, and an over-estimate of the value of the work that has been produced. The preface to a book is as the porch of a house, denoting the good entertainment that is provided within the edifice; and an unadorned porch may be the most proper entrance to a simple work, of which the interior furniture may not possess a splendour to justify an elegant approach. A splendid preface and an ill-written book should not come together yet such junctions or marriages are held to be allowable, as they are not of kin. A sincere feeling and a truthful modesty must occupy the place of all other expressions, and vindicate the estimation of their value. On these grounds, a few observations are given at risk. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.