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The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge advocates the potato
The Royal Society formed from a group of practitioners, academics, clergymen, and royal courtiers who came together because of their shared interest in scientific thinking and ideas. They began to advocate for the potato during the Second Agricultural Revolution because of how easy it was to grow, how independent it could grow from unfavorable weather conditions, and because it could grown in small plots of land. -
Land Conversion, Drainage, and Reclamation Programs
The Enclosure Acts brought about the conversion of common, open fields to private land. Soil drainage, canal building, waterways, and soil maitenance all became mainstream procedures farmers took part in. -
Norfolk Four Course Crop Rotation
In the Norfolk four-course system, different types of crops were rotated and the fields were left for a fallow year. This system greatly increased crop and livestock yields by allowing nutrients in the soil to replenish. It was first known to be used by Lord Townshend on his manor near Norfolk. -
The Seed Drill
Jethro Tull invented the seed drill in 1701. The seed drill was an invention created during the Agricultural Revolution that made planting easier, faster, and cheaper. Previously, plant seeds had to be planted by hand. -
Charles “Turnip” Townsend
Charles "Turnip" Townsend, or the 2nd Viscount Townsend, was an English Whig statesman who was the first to implement the Norfolk four course system on his manor grounds. -
Robert Bakewell, Thomas Coke, and the development of Selective Breeding
In the mid-18th century, selective breeding was introduced to England by Robert Bakewell and Thomas Coke. Selective breeding is the practice of only breeding certain animals so that only the most desirable traits are passed on. -
Development of a National Market
Due to the Agricultural Revolutions in England, a market sprung up from the increased labor and goods which then evolved into a national market driven by London. -
Arthur Young
Arthur Young was an English writer who wrote about agricultural experiments and farming. -
Enclosure Act
The Enclosure Acts were a series of laws passed by Parliament that turned common, or open, fields used for agriculture into private land. This meant that commoners could no longer use the land.