2. PRIOR TO THE
AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION
OPEN FIELD SYSTEM
•Cooperative plowing
•Conserved the quality of land
•Balanced distribution of good
land
•Farmers were part of a “team”
•Gleaning
What are the
positives and
negatives to this
system?
3.
4. ENCLOSURE
Each landowner
received a single
piece of property
No common
lands
Open Field
System
How was Enclosure better than
the Open Field System?
5.
6. ENCLOSURE
Large Land Owners
Had the political strength to pass
The Enclosure Law
Owned large unified farms under this
system
Farming was more efficient
Didn’t need consent of the village to
experiment with new crop methods
7. ENCLOSURE
Small Landowners
FORCED OFF THEIR LAND
Could not afford the:
Required fencing
A team of oxen
Could no longer glean or gather wood
Sold plots to large landowners:
Forced to Rent or
Work for someone else
Increasing the # of men looking for work
8. NEW TECHNOLOGY
Minus the restrictions of the Open
Field System – new technology and
new farming techniques were
implemented.
9. The Seed Drill – Jethro Tull
Planted seed in neat
rows
Improved
germination
Reduced amount of
seed used in
planting
10.
11. Additional 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
12. Scientific 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 Breeding
1725-1795
Selective breeding of
animals
Produced more and
better animals
Produced more milk
and meat
13. The Effects of the
Agricultural 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
