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This commonplace book, produced by an anonymous farmer from the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, region primarily contains passages relating to farming and husbandry. Along with farming accounts and documentation of livestock, agriculture, and dairy production, the commonplace book also features material on the Agricultural Society of Bath. Newspaper clippings comment on medicine, recipes, and farming. Illustrations of fences, sheep, floor plans, property drawings, and a detailed diagram of the "cropping plan" for 1826 appear in the volume.

The creator of the volume references European agricultural societies, data and agricultural systems, and popular agriculturalists, such as George Culley (1735-1813) and Charles de Lasteyrie (1759-1849). The volume provides detailed information on growing crops, managing soil, and tending to livestock.

The Nathan H. Sharples journal contains daily entries and additional financial accounts concerning the author's agricultural pursuits in West Chester, Pennsylvania, during the early 1800s. He grew apples, corn, barley, and other crops, and attempted to run a brickmaking business in 1823.

The Nathan H. Sharples journal (8" x 13", 279 pages) contains daily entries and additional financial accounts concerning the author's agricultural pursuits in West Chester, Pennsylvania, during the early 1800s. He began the diary portion of the volume on January 1, 1821, and composed brief daily entries, usually noting the weather and remarking on the day's labor, until his death in March 1838. He also maintained records about his hired hands, who included several women, and mentioned the progress of his apple orchards and crops of other fruits and grains. Agricultural notes are occasionally interspersed with more personal remarks, often related to deaths, illnesses, and the Sharples' numerous visits to Philadelphia. The final note is a declaration that Sharples made shortly before his death in March 1838, in which he affirmed his faith and anticipated "spiritual promises" in death (p. 209). Several pages near the back of the volume track laborers' attendance, business agreements, and financial accounts related to brickmaking (April 1823-July 1823). The inside back cover also has a pasted-in drawing of an orchard and additional financial records.