Publication of The Complete Farmer

Background. The Complete Farmer: Or, a General Dictionary of Husbandry is an 18th-century English-language encyclopaedia holding a summary of information on agriculture in all its branches. It was written by anonymous writers who used the pseudonym "a Society of Gentlemen," revealing only that they were members of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, the later Royal Society of Arts, a London-based organization.

Authorship and Content. The dictionary dealt with all branches of agriculture, and its content was based on the work of foremost authorities, listed as Carl Linnaeus, Michel Lullin de Chateauvieux, Marquis de Turbilly, Hugh Plat, John Evelyn, John Worlidge, John Mortimer, Jethro Tull, Ellis, Philip Miller, Thomas Hale, Edward Lisle, Roque, John Mills, and Arthur Young. It was supplemented with a Gardener's Kalendar for farmers and others.

Publication and Reception. The work was first issued in 1756 and published in weekly numbers until 1768. One of its first reviews, by Tobias George Smollett in 1768, summarized its specific topics and noted that the whole article on husbandry gave a very full and accurate comparison, from a variety of authors, between the profits arising from different methods of cultivation under the old and new husbandry.