Chapter 9: Agricultural Change Flashcards
By 1812, what had happened to agriculture?
It was transforming into an industry, with large tenant farms set up as businesses and well-organised tenant farmers hiring agricultural labourers for seasonal work and producing goods for a commercial market.
What was the industrialisation of agriculture facilitated by?
The reorganisation of farm land by the Enclosure Acts, many of which were passed during the wars with Frnace and this continued through the 1820s.
What was the effect of enclosure on agriculture?
It quickened the pace of agricultural change: rent for enclosed land was charged at a higher rate- it was more valuable as the crops in enclosed fields gave a higher yield; there was less wastage of land, more control over soil fertilisation and more protection from hedging. Enclosure also encouraged improved systems of crop rotation, allowing mroe mixed farming- arable and livestock on the same farm, as a greater variety of vattle fodder could be produced, including winter feed.
What did the higher profits given to farmers due to enclosure mean?
They had money for expansion and confidence to invest in the latest farming techniques and experiments.
What was agriculture stimulated by?
The war, as wheat prices rose, and to seek as much financial advantage as possible, many farmers planted even their less fertile land with crops.
What kept the demand for wheat high?
The disruption of war and the rising population.
What happened when the war ended?
The demand fell for wheat, and thus the price of wheat dropped and the cultivation of so much land no longer made economic sense. The war-time trade restrictions also ended, allowing cheap foreign corn into the British market.
After the war, the agriculture industry experienced less of a profit, what did this mean for the tenant farmers?
The tenant farmers who had taken on long leases during the war when rents were high saw their profits fall and responsed by cutting wages and the jobs of their hired hands.
Despite the corn laws, what happened to agriculture?
Those working in agriculture continued to experience the post-War agricultural depression and there were constant fluctuations in prices, even in the seasons of good harvests.
What happened in the 1820s?
There were many farming bankruptcies.
Despite the decreased wages, why was there no shoftage of labour on the land/
Due to the incrase in population.
What happened to landowners who had borrowed large sums during the war years to pay for enclosures, new farm buildings?
They were overwhelmed with debt repayments.
How was progress of agricultural improvements in the 1800s?
Very slow, as innovation would occur in one region, but it might be years before it was taken up in another.
What was an exampe of the slow progress of the agricultural industry?
The Threshing machine, invented in 1778 was not used throughout the country until the 1820s, and by this time Meikle was dead and made no money from his endeavours.
By the 1820s, various systems of crop rotaion developed in the eighteenth century were applied on many farms. What was the most popular?
A variation of the Norfolk system. Alternated clover and turnips with barley and wheat, which improved efficiency and quality of the crops.
