The profit of the earth : the global seeds of American agriculture /

Fullilove (history, environmental studies, and science in society, Wesleyan Univ.) organizes her work by seed processes--"Collection," "Migration," and "Preservation"--and adopts a dynamic, as opposed to static, stance for this sequence. She utilizes the US Patent Office and, later, the US Department of Agriculture to explore collection processes; discusses immigration and settlement behaviors of the Mennonites in late-19th-century Kansas for the circulation of seeds; and, finally, examines one aspect of seed preservation, the disturbance of the major grain monoculture, by focusing on biodiversity through invasive species. Periodically, Fullilove inserts field notes from her research to illustrate both the universal scope of seed dynamics and the trans-positioning of seeds across the globe. The net effect is to shift the focus from seeds as passive tools to vehicles reflecting political, economic, social, and cultural patterns--which is expressed well in her chapter "Writing on the Seed." Quite thought-provoking, this volume might best be directed more to advanced undergraduate and graduate readers and above. It is specifically recommended for collections in agricultural history, rural sociology, and anthropology. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals. --Lynn S. Cline, Missouri State University