A view of the agricultural research that developed in England and the resulting agricultural revolution

 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”.