sentences:  He promoted scientific farming techniques, especially concerning livestock, although his Illinois neighbors initially ridiculed him for sowing only a half acre of potatoes and breaking his plow the first year, particularly since Birkbeck had predicted that he could cultivate 100 acres of maize from the hard-packed prairie.Long involved in abolitionism in England, Birkbeck assisted his London acquaintance Edward Coles - who had become the second governor of Illinois - in working against slavery in Illinois, particularly during an attempt to legalize the 'peculiar institution' in the new state.In 1823, Birkbeck, through newspaper articles under the pen name "Jonathan Freeman," helped to consolidate the antislavery forces in Illinois and ensure that it remained a free state.