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Malabar Farm
Book by Louis Bromfield, E. B. White
504 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
13 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
About the author
Louis Bromfield
207 books101 followersLouis Bromfield was an American author and conservationist who gained international recognition winning the Pulitzer Prize and pioneering innovative scientific farming concepts.
Bromfield studied agriculture at Cornell University from 1914 to 1916,[1] but transferred to Columbia University to study journalism. While at Columbia University, Louis Bromfield was initiated into the fraternal organization Phi Delta Theta. His time at Columbia would be short lived and he left after less than a year to go to war. After serving with the American Field Service in World War I and being awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor, he returned to New York City and found work as a reporter. In 1924, his first novel, The Green Bay Tree, won instant acclaim. He won the 1927 Pulitzer Prize for best novel for Early Autumn. All of his 30 books were best-sellers, and many, such as The Rains Came and Mrs. Parkington, were made into successful motion pictures.
photograph by: Carl Van Vechten
Bromfield studied agriculture at Cornell University from 1914 to 1916,[1] but transferred to Columbia University to study journalism. While at Columbia University, Louis Bromfield was initiated into the fraternal organization Phi Delta Theta. His time at Columbia would be short lived and he left after less than a year to go to war. After serving with the American Field Service in World War I and being awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor, he returned to New York City and found work as a reporter. In 1924, his first novel, The Green Bay Tree, won instant acclaim. He won the 1927 Pulitzer Prize for best novel for Early Autumn. All of his 30 books were best-sellers, and many, such as The Rains Came and Mrs. Parkington, were made into successful motion pictures.
photograph by: Carl Van Vechten
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 16, 2017
Malabar Farm was one of those gardening-related books that managed to get into reprint during the 1970's organic gardening movement. Luckily for me, my back-to-the-land fanatic parents had a copy of it in the house so I was able to read it as a teenager.
If you are looking for a "how-to" book that will help you get into organic gardening and farming, this isn't the book for you. What this book is, is the story of a man's life while he brings a worn-out farm back to life. You will get to know him, his family and co-workers, his boxers and the trials and tribulations and successes he goes through while working on the farms.
In short, the best way I can describe Malabar Farm is that it is a gardener's "relaxing read" which will leave you feeling good about your decision to garden or farm organically.
I reread it from time to time whenever I need a spiritual pick-me-up.
If you are looking for a "how-to" book that will help you get into organic gardening and farming, this isn't the book for you. What this book is, is the story of a man's life while he brings a worn-out farm back to life. You will get to know him, his family and co-workers, his boxers and the trials and tribulations and successes he goes through while working on the farms.
In short, the best way I can describe Malabar Farm is that it is a gardener's "relaxing read" which will leave you feeling good about your decision to garden or farm organically.
I reread it from time to time whenever I need a spiritual pick-me-up.
Read
October 11, 2020The book is a mix of farm dairy passages during WWII and editorialized editions from a few years later. It’s interesting that many of the arguments made are still being made today (not abusing the land and soil, the struggles of small family farms to compete with large companies, etc). The political commentary is also interesting (lots of discussion about the New Deal). The comments about black folks not being stupid but just not having been ‘civilized’ properly might have sounded almost progressive to white northerners, but now just sound racist. Without the racism, I’d probably give the book four stars (I found the agriculture parts really engaging) but one can’t ignore parts of a work that we find reprehensible. As a piece of history, it’s worth reading, but only through a modernized lens. I’ve chosen not to rate it at all.
February 23, 2019
Definitely a period piece. Author was ahead of him time on farming practices and soil maintenance. He was a product of his time on social issues. It is a nice piece about farming in Ohio, which is very similar to western PA. Book is not well editted - the author repeats small stories multiple times. This was a gift from Rich Collins and is his favorite book of all time. Our copy is signed by the author.
October 26, 2015
Summary: Malabar Farm continues the story begun in Pleasant Valley of the author's efforts of restoring a worn out farm to productivity, covering the years from 1944 to 1947 and going deeper into his philosophy of agriculture and the all-important matter of the soil.
I've finally gotten around to reading the narratives of the beginnings of Malabar Farm, now owned by the State of Ohio, but originally purchased and restored to fertility by novelist Louis Bromfield. Recently, I reviewed Pleasant Valley, which tells the story of Bromfield's beginning efforts to restore the worn out soils of this farm. Malabar Farm continues the story through the years 1944 to 1947.
The book is framed by two letters to sergeants returning from the war, both extolling the virtues of farming intelligently, in a way that sustains the fertility of the soil. In the latter of these he notes completing this book and comments:
"That is why there are repetitions in this book. I found almost at once that, whether I was dealing with health in plants, animals, and people, or the virtues of grass and legumes, or wild life, or farm economy or almost any other element of a sound agriculture, the individual aspects could not be separated because their fundamentals were hopelessly and intricately interwoven into a pattern which resembled that of the universe itself. That is why agriculture to the good farmer is a calling of intricate variety and fascination which he would not exchange for any other regardless of rewards in money. So if repetitions have annoyed you here and there in this book, forgive them. They could not be avoided."
I wonder. It felt that Bromfield went on and on at length within chapters and at various points in the book about the structure and creation and sustenance of good soil and how good soil is the key to good health for crops, animals, and people. I think some good editing could have cut out some of this material so that the reader would not be saying, "enough already." Yet much of this material is observational evidence of the effects of the measures used to restore the soil. Perhaps most interesting was his contention that when the soil was healthy, plants were healthy and vigorous and unattractive to pests, and this needing little or no chemical pesticides. At the same time, he was not a pure organic farmer--in a chapter on organic versus chemical fertilizers, he contends that organic materials just could not restore some depleted elements to the soil, or if they did, it would take years, whereas some chemical fertilizing restored these elements immediately.
The structure of the book consists of farm journal entries in chronological order interleaved with more topical chapters on various topics: the life of a farm pond, the healing power of grasses, some of the animals that inhabited Malabar (one of the more interesting chapters) and the flaws in "straightening" rivers in a chapter on Kemper Run. One of the best chapters, where Bromfield is at his most realistic, is when he describes the realities of bad farming years, in this case the summer of 1947, when despite all their efforts they lost many of their crops to excessive and continuous rains, although their measures ended up saving some crops and in preventing soil erosion. You can feel the sense of futility as rains come and they re-cultivate to keep the soil loose only to see all this effort loss when torrential rains result in flooding.
It's regrettable that Bromfield never wrote a book about dogs. In both books, his descriptions of his relationships to his boxers are among the highlights of the books. Take for example this description of Prince written just after Prince died:
"But Prince was different. Indeed he was different from any of the fifty or more dogs I have had in a lifetime. He was different because he was a Boxer and Boxers owners will know what I mean by that--but he was a King, even among boxers. Above all he was a good companion. To drive with him over the farm or to take him with me across the fields and woods was like having the company of a great friend who was intelligent and amusing."
Nevertheless, while there were passages like this that soared, there was much more wading in this book. In the first, Bromfield rhapsodized to some degree about farming. In this book, he gets down to describing in detail the hard work of actually farming the land in an intelligent manner (although he would contend this is actually less work than not farming intelligently). Bromfield wades into the intricacies of agricultural policy, farm economics, as well as the extended passages on the care of the soil. I suspect if someone is contemplating doing what Bromfield did, the first book provides motivation and vision, and this book a healthy dose of realism. Both are important, even is the latter is tougher reading. For the reader who just wants to learn a bit more about the beginnings of Malabar Farm, I would recommend Pleasant Valley.
I've finally gotten around to reading the narratives of the beginnings of Malabar Farm, now owned by the State of Ohio, but originally purchased and restored to fertility by novelist Louis Bromfield. Recently, I reviewed Pleasant Valley, which tells the story of Bromfield's beginning efforts to restore the worn out soils of this farm. Malabar Farm continues the story through the years 1944 to 1947.
The book is framed by two letters to sergeants returning from the war, both extolling the virtues of farming intelligently, in a way that sustains the fertility of the soil. In the latter of these he notes completing this book and comments:
"That is why there are repetitions in this book. I found almost at once that, whether I was dealing with health in plants, animals, and people, or the virtues of grass and legumes, or wild life, or farm economy or almost any other element of a sound agriculture, the individual aspects could not be separated because their fundamentals were hopelessly and intricately interwoven into a pattern which resembled that of the universe itself. That is why agriculture to the good farmer is a calling of intricate variety and fascination which he would not exchange for any other regardless of rewards in money. So if repetitions have annoyed you here and there in this book, forgive them. They could not be avoided."
I wonder. It felt that Bromfield went on and on at length within chapters and at various points in the book about the structure and creation and sustenance of good soil and how good soil is the key to good health for crops, animals, and people. I think some good editing could have cut out some of this material so that the reader would not be saying, "enough already." Yet much of this material is observational evidence of the effects of the measures used to restore the soil. Perhaps most interesting was his contention that when the soil was healthy, plants were healthy and vigorous and unattractive to pests, and this needing little or no chemical pesticides. At the same time, he was not a pure organic farmer--in a chapter on organic versus chemical fertilizers, he contends that organic materials just could not restore some depleted elements to the soil, or if they did, it would take years, whereas some chemical fertilizing restored these elements immediately.
The structure of the book consists of farm journal entries in chronological order interleaved with more topical chapters on various topics: the life of a farm pond, the healing power of grasses, some of the animals that inhabited Malabar (one of the more interesting chapters) and the flaws in "straightening" rivers in a chapter on Kemper Run. One of the best chapters, where Bromfield is at his most realistic, is when he describes the realities of bad farming years, in this case the summer of 1947, when despite all their efforts they lost many of their crops to excessive and continuous rains, although their measures ended up saving some crops and in preventing soil erosion. You can feel the sense of futility as rains come and they re-cultivate to keep the soil loose only to see all this effort loss when torrential rains result in flooding.
It's regrettable that Bromfield never wrote a book about dogs. In both books, his descriptions of his relationships to his boxers are among the highlights of the books. Take for example this description of Prince written just after Prince died:
"But Prince was different. Indeed he was different from any of the fifty or more dogs I have had in a lifetime. He was different because he was a Boxer and Boxers owners will know what I mean by that--but he was a King, even among boxers. Above all he was a good companion. To drive with him over the farm or to take him with me across the fields and woods was like having the company of a great friend who was intelligent and amusing."
Nevertheless, while there were passages like this that soared, there was much more wading in this book. In the first, Bromfield rhapsodized to some degree about farming. In this book, he gets down to describing in detail the hard work of actually farming the land in an intelligent manner (although he would contend this is actually less work than not farming intelligently). Bromfield wades into the intricacies of agricultural policy, farm economics, as well as the extended passages on the care of the soil. I suspect if someone is contemplating doing what Bromfield did, the first book provides motivation and vision, and this book a healthy dose of realism. Both are important, even is the latter is tougher reading. For the reader who just wants to learn a bit more about the beginnings of Malabar Farm, I would recommend Pleasant Valley.
December 4, 2015
I've read most all of Bromfield's non fiction but only a few of his fiction, due to lack of time.
I discovered Louis after I got my second boxer in the mid 80s. I didn't have cable TV at the time, so when I did turn it on I tuned to PBS. At the time there was a show out of Indiana, done by Marcia Adams who wrote cookbooks to go with. Anyway, she often visited various locals for filming her show, and I happened to catch one done at Malabar Farm. I was stunned. I grew up in Bowling Green Ohio and now live in Dayton, yet I'd never heard of it? I decided to change that promptly. I visited and loved it. Have been there many times since. The visitor's center was still in the garage back when I was first there, the new one is very nice.
Of course I've bought all his books since then. The early ones I got the old fashioned way, visiting every used bookstore I could find.
My 2nd and 3rd boxer were both pedigreed and being a curious person, I traced their linage back to the first registered boxer from the late 1890s. My third boxer included Rex and Regina, so I was quite proud of that. I couldn't find Rex and Regina's parents tho because after a certain point the AKC quit including the linage of imported dogs in their books, instead filing them on paper somewhere that no one there is willing to find.
Sadly, I lost my best Louis memorabilia to a stupid mistake. I picked up "The Man Who Had Everything" in a store in Columbus Ohio. I always took it with me when I visited Malabar to show off.
To my surprise it had a few extras, it was autographed and there were letters to the couple from Bromfield (signed by George, of course), lots of clipped newspaper articles from the time before it became a state park and all that trauma. But there were a couple photos of the book owners sitting at a table with Louis that were my best treasure.
About 9 months ago, I decided to reduce the number of books I own. I had boxes with books to get rid of, books to keep and books to think about. I know you can guess by now that I accidentally put that book in the wrong box. When I found my mistake, I called the book store that I sold them to and it was too late, they decided my book was too unpopular to resell, and tossed it. :(
I discovered Louis after I got my second boxer in the mid 80s. I didn't have cable TV at the time, so when I did turn it on I tuned to PBS. At the time there was a show out of Indiana, done by Marcia Adams who wrote cookbooks to go with. Anyway, she often visited various locals for filming her show, and I happened to catch one done at Malabar Farm. I was stunned. I grew up in Bowling Green Ohio and now live in Dayton, yet I'd never heard of it? I decided to change that promptly. I visited and loved it. Have been there many times since. The visitor's center was still in the garage back when I was first there, the new one is very nice.
Of course I've bought all his books since then. The early ones I got the old fashioned way, visiting every used bookstore I could find.
My 2nd and 3rd boxer were both pedigreed and being a curious person, I traced their linage back to the first registered boxer from the late 1890s. My third boxer included Rex and Regina, so I was quite proud of that. I couldn't find Rex and Regina's parents tho because after a certain point the AKC quit including the linage of imported dogs in their books, instead filing them on paper somewhere that no one there is willing to find.
Sadly, I lost my best Louis memorabilia to a stupid mistake. I picked up "The Man Who Had Everything" in a store in Columbus Ohio. I always took it with me when I visited Malabar to show off.
To my surprise it had a few extras, it was autographed and there were letters to the couple from Bromfield (signed by George, of course), lots of clipped newspaper articles from the time before it became a state park and all that trauma. But there were a couple photos of the book owners sitting at a table with Louis that were my best treasure.
About 9 months ago, I decided to reduce the number of books I own. I had boxes with books to get rid of, books to keep and books to think about. I know you can guess by now that I accidentally put that book in the wrong box. When I found my mistake, I called the book store that I sold them to and it was too late, they decided my book was too unpopular to resell, and tossed it. :(
July 24, 2013
This book is so curious on so many levels. It was written in 1947 and was one of those books that back in the day everyone was talking about. This guy Louis Bromfield ran a very progressive, organic farm in Ohio on a sprawling and picturesque piece of land and basically everyone in the country wanted to know how he did it. In fact, US soldiers deployed overseas for WWII wrote him letters and his book opens with a letter in response.
I was impressed because I always assume that interest and awareness of sustainable agriculture and healthy farm animals is a new trend. Its not. This guy Bromfield was all over it more than a half century ago.
He talks about how the type of crop you grow can be based on how much money you want to make or whether it's good for your land. You need to let fields lay fallow sometimes, and vary what you raise to help the soil. He also notes how selective breeding of farm animals and livestock has made them stupid and inbred - like wild Turkeys which once were so awesome that Ben Franklin thought they should be our national emblem instead of the Eagle.
Yet today turkeys are so stupid and have such heavy chests they can barely stand up.
Sick. Yeck.
The story about Malabar Farms is engaging to people from Ohio, to people who like farming or just anybody who appreciates a good story. I got a lot of pleasure from reading it.
I was impressed because I always assume that interest and awareness of sustainable agriculture and healthy farm animals is a new trend. Its not. This guy Bromfield was all over it more than a half century ago.
He talks about how the type of crop you grow can be based on how much money you want to make or whether it's good for your land. You need to let fields lay fallow sometimes, and vary what you raise to help the soil. He also notes how selective breeding of farm animals and livestock has made them stupid and inbred - like wild Turkeys which once were so awesome that Ben Franklin thought they should be our national emblem instead of the Eagle.
Yet today turkeys are so stupid and have such heavy chests they can barely stand up.
Sick. Yeck.
The story about Malabar Farms is engaging to people from Ohio, to people who like farming or just anybody who appreciates a good story. I got a lot of pleasure from reading it.
July 10, 2014
A continuation of life on the farm started in Pleasant Valley. More information on improving soil, a chapter on animals on the farm (always delightful), chapters on grass--the author has focused on raising cattle, chapters on creating ponds to stock fish (interesting to see the cycle of life in a healthy pond), information on earthworms. There's also a chapter on the organic fertilizer vs chemical fertlizer debate. Here he tries to create a balance, feeling that being a fanatic for either side is limited and though he does focus on improving soil naturally he's not opposed to chemical fertilizers. He did die at a relatively young age of bone cancer and one wonders if chemical fertilzers and herbicides/pesticides played a part. He said he was the 'fertlizer man' on the farm and also used herbicides and pesticides at first. It is sad if that's the case, devoted as he was to good farming and getting nutrients from the soil into the crops, beef and milk to prevent nutrient deficiencies in peop
April 15, 2009
It was really interesting to read about cutting-edge agricultural practice in the 1940s, especially since Malabar Farm is only a few hours away from where I live. I was already familiar with many of techniques from reading books by people who were influenced by this one, but there were plenty of nuances that were new. It was sad that so many of the poor agricultural practices that Bromfield observed still continue to this day. It's even more sad that some of the techniques and business models that he was so excited about have turned out to have worse consequences than the things they replaced. Still, it was a good book and there are still things to learn from it despite the flaws.
February 11, 2015
I liked it overall, but I just ended up skimming a lot of it, as it was repetitive. Worth reading if you love nature, or are any kind of gardener or farmer. Louis Bromfield was a fascinating person, and I will be visiting Malabar Farm this summer to see all the places he so lovingly describes in his books.
November 23, 2008
Fascinating cultural juxtapositions to modern times. Also interesting to read what was considered state-of-the-art back then.
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November 29, 2024DNF
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2025
Loved this book !
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September 27, 2013This nonfiction book, in journal form, describes the life as it was on Malabar farm.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews