February 22: On This Day in World History … briefly
Farm Revolutionary and English agricultural pioneer from Berkshire who helped bring about the British Agricultural Revolution, Jethro Tull's work on agriculture initiated a new movement in 18th-century agriculture called 'horse-hoeing husbandry'.
1741: Hoe-maker Jethro Tull dies
Great farm revolutionary and innovator Jethro Tull died at his farm near Hungerford in England. In 1731 he published a book entitled ‘The New Horse-Houghing Husbandry’ or ‘An Essay on the Principles of Vegetation and Tillage’ that instantly became a ‘classic’.
The book was central to the ongoing revolution in agricultural technology. He invented a steerable, multi-tined horse-drawn hoe – not just a better hoe, but a new type of tool for a new kind of farming. Tull’s hoe was ideal for both grain and turnips – the new root crop. However, the hoe was only half the answer requiring crops to be planted in straight, evenly-spaced rows, so Tull invented a mechanical seed drill – inspired by the pipes of the organ that he played in church on Sundays.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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