By the end of the twentieth century there were some half-million tractors on British farms - more machines than people to drive them. Brian Bell's encyclopaedic book traces the evolution of the farm tractor from the days of starting handle and pan seat to current 4-wheel drive machines with air-conditioned cabs and computer management systems. He deals in particular with developments of the classic period from the 1950s to the 1990s. The book is arranged alphabetically by manufacturer from Allis-Chalmers to Zetor, one hundred marques in total. These are all machines to be found on British farms irrespective of their country of manufacture. Brian runs concisely through the histories of the companies and their major models, illustrated with a wealth of photographs and extracts from sales literature. He adds some special features on items such as hydraulic systems and cold-starting aids. He includes a glossary and full index. This book replaces the author's earlier, successful, Fifty Years of Farm Tractors. Many of the photographs are new and the text has been brought up to date to include developments of the early twenty-first century.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 304

Dimensions: 189 x 246 mm

Grow Healthy Winter Produce Grow your own keeper crops for the chilly days of winter―and you'll be sure of putting the freshest, tastiest produce, packed with goodness, on your kitchen table! Growing Winter Food is the essential gardening guide for those who want to enjoy their garden's output all year round. This easy-to-follow book shows you how to grow your own fruit and vegetables for winter use and includes detailed cultivation advice on each crop, along with nutritional value, recipe ideas, and storage suggestions. Inside Growing Winter Food · How to choose crops that you can grow and preserve so you’ll have fresh vegetables over the winter. · Practical information and growing advice for all the most commonly grown winter foods: roots, legumes, green vegetables, herbs and fruits. · Easy-to-follow instructions for sowing, maintenance, harvesting, and general gardening techniques. · All the basic techniques you need to know, from preparing soil to using cloches and containers to dealing with pests and diseases. · Handy plant profiles cover how to grow, plant, care for, save seeds, harvest, and preserve. · Perfect for those with limited gardening experience, with gardens big or small.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 178

Dimensions: 178 x 229 mm

Publication Date: 12-03-2019

A Practical Guide to an Enjoyable Hobby Bee keeping isn't just for the professional farmer―bees can be kept in any situation from simple backyards and rooftops to large expanses of farmland. Discover whether honey beekeeping is right for you, and find out everything you need to know to keep and acquire bees in this updated guide. Honey Bee Hobbyist, 2nd Edition will help novice beekeepers fully understand this exciting pastime. Dr. Norman Gary, a world-renowned honey bee expert and enthusiast, counsels beginners on all things honeybee related. He takes readers from finding bees and housing them to collecting honey and using their produce for pleasure and possible profit. With more than 100 fascinating colour photographs and tips and tricks acquired over half a century of beekeeping, this practical handbook is your first step toward a wonderful and rewarding lifelong hobby. Honey Bee Hobbyist, 2nd Edition will show you how to: Start your own hive Understand the life and times of honey bees Care for your bees in each season and at every stage of life Expand your apiary Keep your neighbours happy Educate others about bees Get the most out of your new hobby

Bind: paperback

Pages: 224

Dimensions: 178 x 230 mm

Publication Date: 15-11-2018

While "Ravaged Beauty" is about the environmental history of one North Island region, the impact of human settlement and accompanying development for improving human settlement conditions is typical of many New Zealand regions. This impact, graphically illustrated in this well researched and entertainingly told history, gained great pace with the arrival of European settlers in the mid 1800s. Only a century and a half ago, the Manawatu was a heavily forested hinterland: the floodplains were a sea of swamps and lagoons, teeming with birdlife, eels and other fish; the hills and terraces were covered with thick impenetrable forest, refuge perhaps to a few lingering moa. But within a few decades, the forest had been reduced to ashes, and the swamps and lagoons were being drained away. Progress marched across the landscape in the form of farms and settlements. However, it wasn't long before nature "exacted its revenge": erosion scarred the hillsides, floods ravaged farms and towns. Pollution of the rivers saw fish dying en masse. How would the people of the region meet these environmental challenges, and what lessons would there be for the future? By "peeling away the layers", this book tells the intriguing story of the Manawatu's environmental history, drawn from a rich array of sources, maps and historical images.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 314

Dimensions: 157 x 235 mm

Roger Evans, Britain's favourite dairy farmer, is back with his popular diary telling his fans about his farm, his dogs, his daily ups and downs and his views on everything from the characters in his local pub to the price of milk. This new volume is as witty and entertaining as ever.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 192

Dimensions: 138 x 216 mm

Publication Date: 20-09-2018

Wildbore: A photographic legacy explores the world of Pohangina Valley farmer Charles E. Wildbore through his remarkable photographs. Wildbore captured the unprecedented environmental change that, by the beginning of the 20th century, had transformed a densely forested valley into farms and orderly settlements. Wildbore’s photographic legacy enables us to visualise the forests that have been almost entirely extinguished from the lowlands of the Manawatū region and, indeed, throughout New Zealand. More than that, it allows us to imagine a future where forests and wetlands are restored – to coalesce with landscapes of human endeavour.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 100

Dimensions: 210 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 20-07-2018

Owning chickens is fast becoming the latest in metropolitan chic. If you can't own them, you'll still want to read about them. Primal urges, the quest for ultimate power, sex, death, gender bending, and huge vet bills--these are the things that chickens are made of. Martin Gurdon's hilarious Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance relives the highs and lows of chicken ownership. This unique chicken memoir follows the Gurdon family through the ups and downs of a wonderful hobby. In addition to providing eggs, the hens offer distractions from everyday life. You'll meet a cast of unusual characters, from the frightening disciplinary measures of Bossy Chicken, and the maternal instincts of Psycho Chicken, to the bizarre tales of Mike the headless chicken from Colorado, and the physical rehabilitation and sexual transformation of Yvette. The relationship between bird and human is by turns heartwarming and bewildering, but always entertaining. In fact, readers might even learn a thing or two about raising chickens in this lively book. Inside Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance, Updated Second Edition Hilarious account of a rookie poultry-owner's experience raising birds in his backyard. James Herriot meets Bill Bryson in this wryly amusing memoir of one man's relationship with his chickens. Chronicles the daily life of a chicken, including dust baths, brutal pecking-order rituals, gender-bending encounters, and for its owner the possibility of huge vet bills. Updated second edition features new photographs and a new chapter. A must for chicken lovers and a must for anyone with a quirky sense of humor. Beyond the laughs there are even some practical lessons to be learnt about what not to do when keeping chickens!

Bind: paperback

Pages: 176

Dimensions: 153 x 230 mm

Publication Date: 10-05-2018

The popularity of egg-laying chickens is on the rise. Sustainable and fun, raising chickens is one of the most interesting and rewarding backyard hobbies you can find. In Chicken DIY, aspiring chicken farmers will find creative plans and easy-to-follow construction tips for making a safe and healthy environment for their fine-feathered friends. Veteran farmers and poultry enthusiasts Samantha and Daniel Johnson provide complete and easy-to-follow instructions for 20 essential projects, from coops and feeders to runs, ramps, roosts and incubators. Clear step-by-step colour photographs guide the reader through each hands-on project.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 192

Dimensions: 203 x 276 mm

Publication Date: 15-01-2018

Watch how some vegetables grow above ground and some below and all the different machines used to harvest them. A puncture has to be repaired before work can begin and the waste from the children’s vegetable garden is taken away for recycling. Enjoy a visit to the farm shop to see a cake being made from carrots. No better way to get children into veg and growing their own!

Bind: dvd

Publication Date: 02-01-2012

Great machine design filled with six colouring pencils, rubber, sharpener and notepad

Dimensions: 104 x 215 x 25 mm

Publication Date: 01-08-2012