M. E. Turner, J. V. Beckett, and B. Afton
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198208044
- eISBN:
- 9780191716577
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208044.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter tests the traditional appreciation of farming in the past, based on crop rotations of two or three crops followed by a fallow year, against the evidence-based practice of 18th- and ...
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This chapter tests the traditional appreciation of farming in the past, based on crop rotations of two or three crops followed by a fallow year, against the evidence-based practice of 18th- and 19th-century farmers. Not only was farming more complex than this, but it also changed and therefore evolved according to farmers' assessments of the market and the diffusion of new crops and techniques. Through measurements derived from farmers' records, the magnitude of this evolution is measured and in particular the temporal diffusion of the Norfolk four course systems of new crops based on the nitrogen cycle is assessed. At the same time, there was a revolution taking place in soil improvements through soil conditioning and fertilizing, and these are also measured and assessed.Less
This chapter tests the traditional appreciation of farming in the past, based on crop rotations of two or three crops followed by a fallow year, against the evidence-based practice of 18th- and 19th-century farmers. Not only was farming more complex than this, but it also changed and therefore evolved according to farmers' assessments of the market and the diffusion of new crops and techniques. Through measurements derived from farmers' records, the magnitude of this evolution is measured and in particular the temporal diffusion of the Norfolk four course systems of new crops based on the nitrogen cycle is assessed. At the same time, there was a revolution taking place in soil improvements through soil conditioning and fertilizing, and these are also measured and assessed.
