An Account of the Culture and Use of the Mangel Wurzel : Or Root of Scarcity

Commerell, abbe de; John Coakley Lettsom

Charles Dilly and J. Phillips, 1787

Octavo. xxxix, [1], 51 pp, hand-colored engraved frontis. Fine modern quarter leather over marbled boards by Bernard Middleton. Occasional marginal soiling and spotting, minor toning. Frontis cropped. Contemporary signature of Wm. Farquhar, M.D., on title; Kenneth Garth Huston bookplate.

Third edition of a translation by John Coakley Lettsom originally published the same year. Lettsom helped to introduce the mangel wurzel in Great Britain and actively promoted its cultivation. "He grew the seed himself and imported a large quantity, which he distributed to farmers and others in Britain as well as in Europe, America, and the West Indies" (ODNB). Henrey 556 (also II, 297-98); Fussell II, p. 130; Perkins 374 (2nd ed)  Mangels were used extensively as fodder for livestock.  They are mentioned frequently in George Orwell's Animal Farm.