New Farming Methods The fourfield system Charles Townshend

New Farming Methods:

The four-field system: • Charles Townshend introduced a new system of crop rotation by using four crops. • This had been developed in Holland during the 17 th century. • It was called the four-field system or Norfolk system. • There was a cycle of crops in each field.

Fun Fact: • Charles Townshend was called ‘Turnip’ Townshend because he used turnips when rotating crops.

Crop Rotation:

Advantages of the four-field system: • Turnips / Grass restored nutrients to the soil. • Food supply increased as no fields where left to fallow. (fallow means unproductive). • Cattle now didn’t have to be killed each winter as turnips / hay were used to feed them. • As a result, fresh meat was available all year round and there was now enough meat to feed an increasing population.

Enclosure: • The success of the four-field system meant that problems with the open-field system became obvious. • Landlords forced their tenants to accept a new system of farming called enclosure. • Laws were passed in the British parliament to enable this. (Enclosure Acts). • Each tenant’s strips of arable (crop-growing) land / commons (wasteland) were brought together into a single farm. • Fences / hedges were used to enclose the farm.

Before and after Enclosure: Can you spot any differences?

Advantages of Enclosure: • • • Reduced the spread of weeds and disease. Increased food supply / number of cattle. Farmers could use new methods of farming. More food could be produced. Tenants / Landlords became better off. Landlords could charge higher rents.

Disadvantages of Enclosure: • Small farmers couldn’t afford the cost of enclosure. • They didn’t have the money to plant hedges / dig drains. • They were unable to pay the higher rents. • They sold their farms and moved to the towns / cities to work in the factories. • Labourers never had land, they lost their grazing rights on the commons. • New machinery put them out of work and as a result, they also moved to the industrial towns / cities in search of employment in the factories.

Selective Breeding: • Now that farms were enclosed, the number of cattle / sheep grew as disease couldn’t spread as easily. • However, the size of the animals was still the same. • Robert Bakewell took the largest ewe / largest ram and he bred them. • This produced larger lambs. • This was repeated year after year and the size of sheep increased. • The size of horses / cattle also increased due to selective breeding. • The weight of cattle / sheep more than doubled in the 18 th century.

Robert Bakewell:

Selective Breeding:

Spot the difference: