Metodo facile Trovato coll’esperienza di piú anni utilissimo per difendere I grani dalla Volpe, o sia proposto, e raccamondato per pubblico bene da un accademico Georgofill ai lavoratori della Toscana.
Firenze: nella Stamperia Bonducciana, 1772. Item #1338 8vo. 170 x 120 mm., [6 ¾ x 4 ¾ inches]. 12pp. Woodcut ornament on title-page and woodcut initial letter on page 3. Recent decorative marbled paper boards, edges of text block stained green, small scrape to upper board. Very good copy. First and only edition of this rare treatise on the best methods for combatting the effects of volpe, or rust fungus, on the grain crops in Tuscany. In 1772, the blight threatened half of the crop and Forzoni, a member of the Accademia dei Georgofilo in Florence published this pamphlets describing the methods tested and used successfully to combat the epidemic. The fungus damages the grain by producing a liquified slim that destroys the bran and spreads quickly to healthy crops. He discusses existing methods to combat the disease but discounts them because of their ineffectiveness. He propose a mixture of water and finely sifted ash, lime and lye and soaking the harvested grain in the solution and then set out to dry. He urges farmers to act quickly and suggests vigilance as crops in France have produced a new strain of the fungus.
Vittorio Niccoli. Saggio Storico e Bibliografico dell’Agricultura Italiana, p. 196.
Price: $750.00