The eighteenth century saw great changes in agriculture in England. It was the peasant improvements that resulted from these agricultural changes that led to the Agricultural Revolution.
Fenceless Farming System
Before the Agricultural Revolution, England's agricultural
system was in many ways backwards. Fenceless farming has been practised since
ancient times. Accordingly, the agricultural land in each village was divided
into 3 large fields outside. Each year two of the three harvests are cultivated
and one fallow.
When the land is barren, the nutrients lost due to
agriculture are recovered. This system of farming in England had been practised
uniformly since the Middle Ages without any improvement. Thus time and land are
wasted.
Each cultivator's lands were scattered in different places,
so they had to walk long distances to cultivate. So the time was wasted and the
labor of the cultivators was also wasted. Also, irrigation facilities were very
limited. Due to a lack of fencing around the fields, goats and cows entered the
fields and caused damage.
Despite the drawbacks this system had one major advantage,
there was no unemployment as everyone in the family was engaged in agriculture.
So it was rare to see sloths there. There the production was very low and the
standard of living did not rise.
Improvements due to the land fencing system
Agriculture Scholars realized that if production is to be increased, the lands belonging to each individual should be located in one place and not scattered in many places. Thus, if their land is in one place, they can fence it and cultivate it well. So Parliament itself passed 1500 Land Enclosure Acts from 1760 to 1800. As a result, three million acres of land were fenced off.
Fenceless farming is gone. Land enclosure laws were enforced
and commissioners were sent to every village. They measured the land owned by
each farmer in different places gave them parallel plots in one place and
made them release and lock them up.
The presence of large farms in one place provided
opportunities for many experiments in agriculture. Many new methods of
agriculture were discovered through experiments. In 1645 Richard Weston revolutionized agriculture. He went to Flanders and
discovered the agricultural system of that country. He wrote and published the
book ‘Discourse of Husbandry’, a treatise on agriculture.
He had explained how to make the land fertile in the book. He explained and wrote that if the land is planted with grass and tubers instead of leaving it fallow, the land will become fertile, and such grass and tubers will be food for the cattle, and since the cattle will have food, there is no need to kill the cattle due to lack of food in winter, and because of the increase in the number of cattle, the land will get fertilizer. His ideas were very useful to the farmers.
The agricultural revolution
brought about by Jethrotull's seed drill
Another pioneer of the agricultural revolution was Jethro Tull. He was a prominent
Berkshire farmer. In 1701 he invented a new seed sewing machine called the
drill. This machine made holes in the ground and placed a seed in each hole and
then sprinkled soil over it so that the seeds were sown properly without
damage. Thus this tool fostered economy and efficiency in agriculture.
He stressed the use of good seeds in agriculture. He also conducted many experiments on fertilizers and published a book with many good recommendations in agriculture. In the beginning, people did not accept his ideas and laughed at him. Then a revolution in agriculture took place because the farmers followed what he said.
Townshend's rotation of
crops system
Lord Townshend, an agriculturist, experimented with
agricultural techniques on his farm. He was the first to use a method of crop
rotation. He discovered the fact that growing tuber crops on land increases
soil fertility.
So, instead of leaving the land fallow, it can be cultivated
with tuber crops, he said. He proved that if the land is planted with crops like
wheat first, grass in the second year, barley in the third year and tuber crops
in the fourth year, the nutrients of the land are not depleted.
This method provided more food to the animals. The following lands were also abandoned. He proved that by rotating the land without planting a single crop, all the nutrients in the soil are available for successive crops.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the thinking,
efforts and research of various agricultural enthusiasts and scholars were the
main seed for the biggest agricultural revolution and agricultural development
that has taken place today.
“Therefore, it is essential to continue thinking and researching agricultural development”.