KING, Franklin Hiram.

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Farmers of Forty Centuries, or Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea and Japan. First edition. In 1909, King, a specialist in agricultural physics, spent nine months travelling in Asia to study organic farming and sustainable agricultural practices, turning these experiences into a book that is now considered a classic of the field. It remains much-cited today, appearing in at least 26 editions since initial publication.At the time of his research trip, King (1848-1911) was head of the Division of Soil Management in the US Department of Agriculture. In Asia, "he interacted with his hosts as equals, as people who could teach him how to the solve problems of soil depletion and erosion that farmers in the United States were experiencing but had never anticipated. He repeatedly remarked that Asian techniques for such things as waste management, cover-cropping, and efficient use of time, space, labor, and materials were superior to those of the West" (Korn, p. 149). King died suddenly while preparing his manuscript, and the final chapter was completed by his wife, Carrie Baker King, who also steered it through the press. Published in a new edition by Jonathan Cape in 1927, Farmers of Forty Centuries successive generations of agricultural experts, including Sir Albert Howard and Jerome Irving Rodale.

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