During the 1700’s Agriculture began to change drastically due to mechanization. The size of farms grew during this time because of the enclosure movement by the rich landowners but, the number of farms declined. Because of this many of the small farmers were forced off their land.      

               The agricultural revolution greatly improved the quality and quantity of farm products and contributed to a rapid growth of population that continues today. The agricultural revolution reduced the risk of famine; and women started eating better; women were healthier and thus they had stronger babies. (Tranter)

                       The Dutch lead the way in the agricultural revolution. They built earthen walls known as dikes and they combined small fields into larger fields which made better use of land. They also used fertilizer from the animals to renew the soil. (Ellis)

                    In the 1700’s British farmers started to expand on the ideas of the Dutch. One experiment that many farmers tried was the mixing of different kinds of soils in order to get a higher crop yield. Another idea to the help farming was that of Lord Charles Townshend who urged farmers to grow turnips which restored soil. Before this farmers had been forced to let fields lie idle and couldn’t use them in order to let the soil recover. (World History Connections to Today)

Another way that helped the farmers was the seed drill invented by Jethro Tull. It deposited seeds in rows rather than scattering them wastefully over the land.

References:

Author(s) of Review:

Neil Tranter,The Historical Journal, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Mar., 1990), pp. 189-194

This article consists of 6 page(s).

Ellis, Elisabeth G. World History Connections to Today. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.