Agricultural trades were vital to both Britain and America. In Britain, various types of outdoor and agricultural ventures were being touted as "new" opportunities for gentlewomen. In the British countryside, however, women had been involved in such labors as fruit-picking and hop-picking for centuries. In America, farming is clearly viewed as more of a masculine undertaking. One thing that does come across in these articles, however, is that while agriculture is heading forward in America, many of the articles describing outdoor trades in England seem to be looking at what was even then a vanishing way of life - and what has now, in most cases, disappeared completely.

Agriculture in England

With Hop-Pickers in Kent, by Guy Roslyn (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1877)

Fruit Culture in North Nottinghamshire (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1882)

Flower Gathering and Flower Gatherers in North Nottinghamshire, by Henry Ingram (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1883)

Among the Fruit Districts of Kent (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1885)

A look at the lives of fruit-pickers.

Cumberland "Statesmen" (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1885)

On the farmers of Cumberland.

Cheese and Butter Schools for Girls, by Fanny Green (Girl's Own Paper, 1891)

A New Industry for Gentlewomen (Girl's Own Paper, 1891)

"Miss Grace Harriman's scheme of market gardening as an employment for gentlewomen."

Girls Who Work in the Fields (Girl's Own Paper, 1894)

Girls Who Work in the Fields: The Hop-Pickers (Girl's Own Paper, 1895)

How the Other Half Lives: The Agricultural Labourer, by H.G. Pearce (English Illustrated Magazine, 1895A)

In the Heart of Hop-Land, by Miss Sparrow (The Strand, 1895B)

A visit with the hop-pickers of Kent.

With the Essex Farm Folk, by Arthur T. Pask (English Illustrated Magazine, 1895B)

Life on an East Anglian Farm, by John Foster Fraser (Windsor Magazine, 1896B)

Gardening for Profit (Girl's Own Paper, 1897)

On the Employment of Girls in Dairy Work and Outdoor Industries, by Lady Georgina Vernon (Girl's Own Paper, 1898)

Among the Kentish Fruit-Pickers, by Frederick A. Talbot (Windsor Magazine, 1899B)

[Fruit-Growing] A Model Village Industry (Sunday Strand, 1902)

The growth of a local fruit packing industry that became a major manufacturer of jams and preserves.

The Cheese Industry of the Lowlands, by S.R. Lewison (Windsor Magazine, 1903A)

The dairies and cheddar-makers of Galloway.

The Testing of Farm and Flower Seeds, by William G. FitzGerald (Windsor Magazine, 1903A)

Apparently not so long before this article, it was common to "adulterate" seeds by mixing in seeds of a similar size and color, and ensuring that all the seeds were dead so that nothing would actually germinate and "give the game away." This led to the Seed Adulteration Act, and rigorous testing of crop and flower seeds.

Chicken Manufacture (The Strand, 1894B)

Agriculture in America

A Sailor in the Cotton Field (Scribners, 1879B)

A look at cotton farming.

Will Better Farming Pay? by John I. Carter (Pennsylvania Board of Agriculture, 1886)

"The farming of a community can be greatly bettered, in a way, too, that is entirely safe, by a closer attention to many of the minor details of farming that are too frequently overlooked or neglected, and although each neglect may be small in itself, yet their reform will aggregate a wonderful change in the appearance and wealth of a farming neighborhood."

Expectations and Experience [in Stock-Breeding], by H.H. Colvin (Pennsylvania Board of Agriculture, 1886)

What Farmers Most Need to Know, by Hon. John A. Woodward (Pennsylvania Board of Agriculture, 1886)

The importance of recognizing farming as a professional and scientific enterprise.

Agriculture and Farm Management, by Dr. William S. Roland (Pennsylvania Board of Agriculture, 1886)

Farmers' Boys, by Mrs. F.M. Leighton (Pennsylvania Board of Agriculture, 1886)

"We wish for more consideration for the boys on the farm, alike removed from the exacting severity which wears out the hope and courage of the boy, or, what is worse, the foolish indulgence which fosters idleness, and, by a large allowance of pocket-money, opens all the avenues to temptation. The consideration which makes a confidante and companion of your son, which invites his confidence and takes an interest in his plans, will bear precious fruit in the near future..."

Farmers' Mistakes, by E.M. Tewksbury (Pennsylvania Board of Agriculture, 1886)

An amusing roundup of potential mistakes, beginning with the mistake of birth: If one is not inclined to pursue the avocation into which one is born, it is a mistake to be born a farmer!

The Fence Laws of Pennsylvania, by Hon. George W. Hood (Pennsylvania Board of Agriculture, 1886)

How [Farming] Success Is Achieved, by M.W. Oliver (Pennsylvania Board of Agriculture, 1886)

The secret of success is to choose a calling and follow it.

Thorough-Bred Stock for the Farmer, by Emery Davis (Pennsylvania Board of Agriculture, 1886)

Tips on choosing and improving one's stock.

What Advantages Does Agriculture Offer a Young Man About to Choose an Occupation? by Gabriel Heister (Pennsylvania Board of Agriculture, 1886)

Many, this author believes, including true happiness.

Agriculture as a Profession, by James K. Reeve (Harper's Monthly, 1889A)

• See also Victorian Beekeeping & Other Animal Husbandry