Tuesday 29 June 2010

Amazon.com is down, Order from Amazon.ca pay only US shipping!

Amazon.com is down,
Order from Amazon.ca
Pay only US shipping!

Alas this is not true! If Amazon were LL Bean, which is truly the most customer centric company on the planet, it would be true. I do still enjoy shopping at Amazon.

Amazon.com is down, June 29, 2010, 7.00pm EDT

Amazon.com is down, June 29, 2010, 7.00pm EDT
UPDATE


The site is still not working properly for me.

However searches are working.

Items are shown as available.

But seller functions are not working.

Desperate to buy a book? Consider Abebooks or Amazon UK







with free UK shipping!






JUne 29, 2010, 3:40 pm EDT, Amazon.com is coming back up!

Great news for book buyers (and sellers). Amazon.com seems to be coming back. I still get
error messages, but searches are producing books that are available for purchase.

Check back for updates.

Amazon.com is down! June 29, 2010, 3:30pm EDT

Amazon.com is down! June 29, 2010, 3:30pm EDT

What is happening!

Amazon.com is NOT down June 29, 2010

Technically Amazon.com is NOT down June 29, 2010

Correction to my previous post.

Amazon states

Technical Notification
Jun 29, 2010

We are currently experiencing an issue that is impacting customers' ability to view items and place orders on the Amazon wPublish Postebsite. We will continue to provide updates until service has been restored. (06/29 12:42)



So technically, it is not down.

Amazon.com is down! June 29, 2010

The Amazon.com website is down. Most books I'm looking for are listed as unavailable.
Is there a service that lets one know by email when a site is back up? Thanks!

Monday 28 June 2010

The Book of the Farm by Henry Stephens

The Book of the Farm

by

Henry Stephens


This 3 volume work is frequently referred to in the BBC series "Victorian Farm". Anyone with an interest in the practical aspects of farming in the Victorian era would enjoy picking up any of these volumes and reading a few pages, and studying the diagrams.

Stephen's starts by describing the hardships facing a young farmer. He states that the purpose of the book was to be a guide to the young farmer. The task of compiling such a text required a "highly qualified agriculturalist, able to indite lucid instructions for conducting a farm" and "a clear-headed mechanician, to describe with minute distinctness the principles and construction of agricultural implements" and "an accomplished man of science to explain to conviction the rationale of every operation". This was too much to ask on one person, but Stephens took it on single-handedly, and produced a remarkable 2000 page 3 volumes set that became the bible of farming for over 50 years.


His approach was to lay a foundation in the first volume, then in the latter two cover the tasks of the farm in each season. No doubt, during each season he wrote of the work needed on the farm and developed it.

It was reprinted repeatedly -- as a 3 volumes, 2 larger volumes, 6 smaller volumes, in the UK and in America, and edited reorganised by Paul MacDonald.


Here a few of the section headings:

On the Evils of Attendant on Landowners Neglecting to Learn Practical Agriculture. A critique of absentee landlords.


On Experimental Farms as a Place of Learning. An idea well ahead of his time.

Drawing and Storing Turnips (Winter) A topic that warranted 20 pages.

Feeding Sheep on Turnips (Winter) Another 35 pages and 30 illustrations.

Draining and Hedging

His approach was to lay a foundation in the first volume, then in the latter two cover the tasks of the farm in each season.