No. CCCCI.MARCH, 1849.Vol. LXV.
CONTENTS.
EDINBURGH:
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BLACKWOOD'S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.
No. CCCCI.MARCH, 1849.Vol. LXV.
There are three reasons why thesecond edition of a good book, uponan advancing branch of knowledge,should be better than the first. Theauthor, however conversant he mayhave been with the subject when hewrote his book, is always morethoroughly read in it—supposing hima worthy instructor of the public—hisopinions more carefully digested, andmore fully matured, when a secondedition is called for. Then he hashad time to reconsider, and, if necessary,remodel his plan—adding here,retrenching there—introducing newsubject-matter in one place, and leavingout, in another, topics which hehad previously treated of with moreor less detail. And, lastly, the knowledgeitself has advanced. New ideas,which in the interval have establishedthemselves, find a necessary place inthe new issue; facts and hypotheseswhich have been proved unsounddrop naturally out of his pages; and,on the whole, the later work exhibitsa nearer approach to that truthfulsummit, on which the eyes of all theadvancers of knowledge are supposedevermore to rest.
For all these reasons, the secondedition of the Book of the Farm isbetter than the first. The opinionsof the author have be