During the eighteenth & nineteenth century, farming practices changed to support the growing population of Britain although, it is surprising that some hill farmers in the early 1900s still used old fashioned methods that were employed a century earlier.
In the 1920s, oats and grass seed would still be sown or broadcast by hand on some small farms often using a seedlip, which is a kidney shaped hopper that holds the seed and is slung around the sower's shoulder by a strap. An experienced sower walking the ground, would broadcast the seed, covering an acre of ground in 45-60 minutes. 18-24 stone of oat seed was sown to the acre (approx 1oz per sq yd). Small seed, like grass seed, was sown using two fingers and thumb, casting two yards and using the wind to ensure the seed spread evenly, covering an acre of ground in 60 minutes. Using a fiddle drill, whilst casting the seed four yards, halved the time taken to sow an acre to half an hour.
The ground preparation for oats was one harrowing before sowing, to prevent wastage of the seed gathering in the light furrows. After sowing, two or three harrowings would cover and evenly space the seed.
Ribbing is broadcast sowing in which the ground is prepared into wide drills formed with a double mould board plough and the seed falls into the wide drills thus formed. This method made it difficult to hoe the crop effectively as drilled corn.
Cultivation
Sowing
Sowing
Hand sowing with a seedlip
Galvanized seed-lip
Seed-lip with shoulder strap
Wooden seed-lip
During the early part of the eighteenth century and even after the 1750s, the authorities of the day such as, Thomas Hale, Osborne and Col Stevenson, were still advocating the usefulness of sowing in drills, especially, in conjunction with the horse hoe. Thomas Hale said, “Drill husbandry and Horsehoeing husbandry come very properly to be treated together, because they will never succeed so well as when they are used together. Some farmers have practiced the drill husbandry alone, and they have found advantage from it, as doubtless they must, because of its benifit to the common kind; but they might have found much greater profit in using both together... Drill husbandry is the practice of the garden brought into the field; and horsehoeing, in the same manner, is that of the nursery employ'd in the service of corn. We all know the practice of the garden to be better than that of the field, only more expensive”.
During this era of change, garden husbandry was superior to that of farming and was simple to understand that gardening methods, employed on a grander scale, would yield better and heavier crops for the farmer, but many farmers at this time, still needed to be converted away from wholesale broadcast sowing.
During this era of change, garden husbandry was superior to that of farming and was simple to understand that gardening methods, employed on a grander scale, would yield better and heavier crops for the farmer, but many farmers at this time, still needed to be converted away from wholesale broadcast sowing.
The turnep drill plough compleat. 1750s
The turnep seed box & parts
Turnep seed drill parts
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Preserving rural bygones
Preserving rural bygones
Farm work - Sowing
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