hearth and home or town and country

The ever- excellent Bibliodyssey features a review of the 1682 Georgica Curiosa, an encyclopedia of sorts in three volumes that aims to exhaustively educate heirs (the landed gentry) in the art of estate management. The illustrated edition has many practical and responsible tips for promoting community health, sustainable and expert husbandry and agriculture. The work, hailing from a retirement in Regensburg, also extolling dignity for the working-class, began as a pastoral poem and expanded from there.