Scottish Agricultural Revolution

The Scottish Agricultural Revolution consists of a series of improvements made in farming from the late 1600s into the 1800s. The revolution marked a transformation of agriculture from subsistence farming practices that had been followed for centuries to new systems that made Scottish farms the most productive in Europe.

The developments in Scotland were adopted by landowners in other countries. The practices spread to the American colonies as well, in particular among those who realized that tobacco crops were depleting the soil. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other notable landowners and wealthy farmers read books and pamphlets published in Europe to find ways to improve productivity on their land. They were also among the first to adopt new mechanized farming methods.

The Scottish Agricultural Revolution is notable also for its impact on the Industrial Revolution. Improved farming techniques increased production, which led to a population boom. The Industrial Revolution would not have been successful without this surplus of workers needed for factories and mines.

Background

For centuries, Scottish agricultural practices involved cottars growing crops in the run-rig systems. Farmers engaged in subsistence farming with little or no trade with other communities. This was due in large part to the rough terrain and lack of navigable roads, which made travel and trade difficult. Farming was primarily located in the lowlands, where teams of oxen pulled wooden plows.

Traditional rig-cultivation systems involved narrow strips of cultivated land. These rigs were allocated to tenants annually by lot and rotation. Tenants received several detached rigs, so the best and worst ploughed land was distributed fairly. After centuries of this subsistence farming, landowners in the highlands began moving tenants off the properties beginning in the late eighteenth century, because sheep farming was much more profitable. These former tenants were uprooted, and many moved to the lowlands or emigrated.

Farmers traditionally planted the same crops in the fields year after year, which depleted the soil. They then left the fields fallow for a season, which renewed the soil somewhat but was subject to failure. The farmers did not understand what made the soil rich or poor; nor did they know what to do to improve it.

British statesman Charles Townshend discovered the benefits of crop rotation during the 1730s. He found that farmers could change the crops they grew in each field rather than plant the same crops multiple times and leave the field fallow for a season. For example, Townshend suggested that a farmer grow a cereal grain, such as wheat or barley, in a field; the following year, the farmer should plant this field with a vegetable crop—ideas that earned him the nickname Turnip Townshend. Crop rotation meant that all fields would produce a crop each season, which increased profitability for the farmer. More food led to a population boom.

Turnips were introduced to Scotland for the purpose of crop rotation and to provide a winter food crop for livestock. Few farmers could produce and store enough food for cattle over the winter, so most slaughtered and preserved the meat. This was expensive, however, due to the cost of buying salt. With winter food for livestock, the peasantry could keep their animals alive in cold weather, and more fresh food was available to them all year long.

Overview

Britain was experiencing an agricultural revolution during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Both England and Scotland had been ruled by the same monarch since 1603, and in 1706 and 1707, the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland passed acts joining the kingdoms into a single Kingdom of Great Britain. This led to greater cooperation between the states as well as increased sharing of intellect and education. Agricultural gains in Europe and England flowed freely into Scotland.

The Scottish Agricultural Revolution prospered in large part due to the adoption of the scientific method. As landowners recorded the changes they made and the results, they calculated improvements or failings. In this way, they made educated guesses as to what might benefit farms and continued to test their theories. They further evaluated new crops, such as potatoes, and improved nutrition for local families.

Crop rotation proved to be profitable in other ways as well. While a crop of clover and grass renewed the soil, it also provided grazing for animals in summer. Landowners could lease the fields to tenants for grazing, and in the fall harvest hay to feed animals in the winter or to sell.

The agricultural revolution changed the landscape of Scotland. Landowners drained marshy areas, allowing for greater acreage to be cleared of stones and planted. Many of these stones were used to enclose fields. Tree-breaks were planted to slow the wind and reduce erosion. Recently introduced crops, including potatoes, became more widely available.

New tools were developed and introduced. With the metal plough and seed drill, crops could be planted more quickly and efficiently. Barrister Jethro Tulle became interested in agriculture while traveling through Europe. Tull saw most planting methods as inefficient. Most scattered seed did not root, and planting individual seeds in holes was time consuming. He invented the seed drill on his family farm in 1701 as a more efficient method. This device had a hopper to hold seed, a cylinder to move it, and a funnel to aim the seed into the hole. It also had a plow in front to make the row and a harrow behind to cover the seeds. The seed drill was the first agricultural machine with moving parts. The first version planted one row of seeds, but he later upgraded it to sow three rows simultaneously.

Tull believed that soil was the food plants needed and breaking up the soil helped plants eat it more easily. To this end, he designed the hoe-plow, which was pulled by horses, to loosen up the soil and pull out weed roots. Despite his misunderstanding of biology, the plow allowed more moisture and air to reach the roots and resulted in better crops. Tull also believed that tilling the soil around growing crops helped them feed better, although the action in fact helped plants by removing weeds.

Tull tested his devices and methods. He tallied his costs and yields and found that his methods worked. In 1731 he published The New Horse Houghing Husbandry: Or, and Essay on the Principles of Tillage and Vegetation. Although his reasoning was incorrect, his methods proved to be useful.

Increased mechanization replaced many farm workers in the fields. This shift allowed many laborers to become tradesmen. Blacksmith, wrights, and others made machinery and replaced wheels and other worn parts. Masons constructed houses and farm buildings.

Bibliography

“Agricultural Changes.” Scotland’s History, www.sath.org.uk/edscot/www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/jacobitesenlightenmentclearances/agriculturalchanges/index.html. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.

Bellis, Mary. “Jethro Tull and the Invention of the Seed Drill.” ThoughtCo., 1 July 2019, www.thoughtco.com/jethro-tull-seed-drill-1991640. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.

“Charles Townshend.” History Crunch, 29 July 2019, www.historycrunch.com/charles-townshend.html#/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.

“Crucible of the Modern World II.” BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/enlightenment/intro‗enlightenment2.shtml. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.

“History: Agricultural Revolution.” Moneymusk Estate, www.monymusk.com/?page=6&sub=2. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.

“History of Farming.” Auchindrain Museum, 13 Apr. 2018, auchindrain-museum.org.uk/the-early-modern-era-and-the-scottish-agricultural-revolution/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.

Misachi, John. “The Scottish Agricultural Revolution and the Lowland and Highlands Clearances.” World Atlas, 25 Apr. 2017, www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-scottish-agricultural-revolution-and-the-lowland-and-highlands-clearances.html. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.

“Run-Rig Farming.” Scotland’s History, www.sath.org.uk/edscot/www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/jacobitesenlightenmentclearances/runrigfarming/index.html. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.

“Washington and the New Agriculture.” Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/collections/george-washington-papers/articles-and-essays/introduction-to-the-diaries-of-george-washington/washington-and-the-new-agriculture/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2019.