JETHRO TULL SEED DRILL

HE DID SOMETHING IN 1731

'The New Horse Hoeing Husbandry', detailing his system and its machinery.

HE BUILT SOMETHING

1714, he perfected both his system and machinery.

grief

By 1701, his frustration with their lack of cooperation prompted him to invent a machine to do the work for him. He designed his drill with a rotating cylinder.

THE GREAT CONTROVERSY

It caused great controversy at the time, and arguments continued for another century before his eventual vindication. While several other mechanical seed drills had also been invented, Tull's complete system was a major influence on the agricultural revolution and its impact can still be seen in today's methods and machinery.

HE GREW SOMETHING

He pulverized the earth between the rows, believing that this released nutrients would act as a substitute for manure. While apparently successful - he grew wheat in the same field for 13 successive years without manuring - it is more likely that he merely prevented weeds from overcrowding and competing with the seed.

He did something around the world

In 1709, he moved to Prosperous Farm in Hungerford, and two years later decided to travel around Europe to improve his health and study agricultural techniques there.

HE LEFT SOMETHING

Tull's other innovations included a plough with blades set in such a way that grass and roots were pulled up and left on the surface to dry.

Jethro Tull (1674-1741)

experimented with new farming techniques and invented mechanical agricultural equipment. He demonstrated on his farm near Hunger ford, England, that planting seeds in rows and tilling and hoeing increased production and profits. Hull wrote two editions of The Horse-Hoeing Husbandry, which spread his ideas to other farmers and contributed greatly to the Agricultural Revolution