Thought Starter #2Turn to page 714-715Read “Previewing Main Ideas”Then, try to find the answers to the three Geography questions: ◦WRITE down the answers in your notebook for your Thought Starter

15TH CENTURY FARMING

18TH CENTURY FARMING

THE AGRICULTURAL THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTIONREVOLUTION

PRIOR TO THE PRIOR TO THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTIONAGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

OPEN FIELD SYSTEM OPEN FIELD SYSTEM

•Cooperative plowing

•Conserved the quality of land

•Balanced distribution of good land

•Farmers were part of a “team”

•Gleaning: collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been harvested

ENCLOSUREENCLOSUREEach landowner Each landowner received a single received a single piece of propertypiece of propertyNo common landsNo common lands

Open Field Open Field SystemSystem

ENCLOSUREENCLOSURELarge Land OwnersLarge Land Owners

Had the political strength to pass The Enclosure Law

Owned large unified farms under this systemFarming was more efficientDidn’t need consent of the village to

experiment with new crop methods

ENCLOSUREENCLOSURESmall LandownersSmall Landowners

FORCED OFF THEIR LANDCould not afford the:

Required fencingA team of oxen

Could no longer glean or gather woodSold plots to large landowners:

Forced to Rent orWork for someone else

Increasing the # of men looking for work

NEW TECHNOLOGY: NEW TECHNOLOGY: from scientific Revolution from scientific Revolution Minus the restrictions of the

Open Field System – new technology and new farming techniques were implemented.

The Seed Drill – Jethro The Seed Drill – Jethro TullTull

Planted seed in neat rows

Improved germination

Reduced amount of seed used in planting

Additional MachinesAdditional Machines Horse-drawn cultivator – Jethro Tull Cast-iron plow (1797) – American Charles Newbold Reaper – Englishman Joseph Boyce (1799) and American

Cyrus McCormic (1834) Self-cleaning steel plow – John Deere(1837) Thresher – separated grain from stalk Harvester – cut and bind grain Combine - cut, thresh, and sack grain Tractor – pulled equipment through the field Corn planter Potato digger Electric milker Cotton picker

Scientific AgricultureScientific Agriculture

Crop Rotation Viscount Charles

“Turnip” Townsend Alternating grain

crops: wheat and barley, with soil enriching crops: turnips and clovers.

No longer had to leave land fallow

Scientific Breeding1725-1795Selective breeding of

animalsProduced more and

better animalsProduced more milk

and meat

The Effects of the The Effects of the Agricultural RevolutionAgricultural Revolution

1. Agricultural production increased

2. Cost of foodstuffs dropped

3. Increased production of food resulted in part, in a rapid growth of population

4. Large farms, using machines and scientific methods, began to dominate agriculture

5. Number of small farms began to decline

6. The number of farmers, in proportion to total population, decreased sharply

7. Many farmers moved to the cities

8. The population of cities increased rapidly

9. Farmers found their work less difficult because machines performed the back breaking labor

10. Farming changed from a self-sufficient way of life to big business