Jethro Tull Essay

One outstanding member of the Agricultural Revolution is Jethro Tull. Jethro Tull was born in 1664 in Basildon, Berkshire, England. Tull would go on and invent the seed drill, a horse drawn hoe, and a better plough through his career. Before he started inventing, Tull went to Oxford University at the age of 17 to study law. He also went to Gray’s Inn and Staple Inn to study. In 1699 he qualified for the bar, but he never ended up practicing law. The next year Jethro took over his father's land and started farming. This started his interest in agriculture. During this time, crops were planted by walking up and down a field and throwing the seed over the ploughed fields. Tull got frustrated with this method, and decided to change it. In 1701, Tull invented his mechanical seed drill. The drill was pulled by horses up and down the fields. The drill made grooves in the soil where the seeds could be laid down. The machine also funneled the seeds into the newly cut grooves, and was covered up by …show more content…
He found new cultivation techniques that they used to help his own inventions. He started to use these practices on his own crops once he got back. Tull had his horses plow his fields regularly, because he believed that cultivation the soil brought up nutrients and helped the soil grow. For 13 years, he grew the same crop, and it was very successful. In 1731, Tull published a book called “The New Horse Houghing Husbandry; or an Essay on the Principles of Tillage and Vegetation.” His views on growing plants in this book caused controversy. Tull would end up dying where he was born on February 21, 1741 at the age of 67.
One hundred years passed before Jethro Tull’s seed drill to replace the way most farmers were farming. His inventions influenced the way that people farm today. His seed drill was improved on over time to make it work better. The methods he used are still being used