Chronography of Farming and Agricultural Technology
Page last
modified 13/5/2021
For
farm and rural electrification see Electricity
See
also Food for sales and consumption of foodstuffs.
See also Prices and other Economic Events for
agricultural wages and trades unions
See
also Great Britain pre 1901 for agricultural unrest e.g. Swing Revolt
1830
See
also Canal-Sea for declining shipping rates of food etc.
See also Education-University for founding
dates of agricultural colleges.
See also Railways � social effects (1881) for
effects of railways on agricultural prices.
Click Here for image of �early 21st
century� farming, as envisaged in 1970.
Foot and
Mouth Crisis 2001
14/1/2002, The UK was finally declared free of Foot and Mouth disease.
15/3/2001. The UK began a programme to kill all farm
animals suspected of carrying foot and mouth.
20/2/2001, The UK Foot
and Mouth Crisis began, 20 years
after the disease last hit the UK. Diseased pigs were discovered at an abattoir
in Essex. They were traced back to Burnside farm at Heddon on the Wall,
Northumbria. By this time over 40 other farms had been infected, by an
unusually virulent strain of the disease first seen in India in 1990; probably arriving
in the UK via illegally imported meat. Drastic measures in the UK contained the
outbreak as thousand of animals were burned, footpaths closed, and farmers
virtually put under house arrest. The last case was at a farm in Cumbria on
30/9/2001, by which time 2,030 farm animals had been identified with Foot and
Mouth, and around 6 million sheep, cows, pigs and other livestock slaughtered,
one eighth of Britain�s farm animals. Foot and Mouth was finally declared over in January 2002. Farmers were compensated for their
lost animals, but the biggest loser was the tourist industry, as rural paths
stayed closed through the summer of 2001.
BSE Crisis
1995-2000
26/10/2000,
Lord
Phillips issued his report into BSE and variant-CJD; he was critical
of UK government policy.
29/6/2000.
The discovery that a cow born after the introduction of controls to eradicate BSE was found to be suffering from the
disease sparked new worries about transmission of the condition.
23/11/1998, European Agriculture
Ministers met to lift the ban on UK beef exports that had followed the BSE
crisis.
26/2/1998, A jury rejected a lawsuit by
Texas cattle farmers that remarks on TV by Oprah Winfrey about Mad Cow Disease had caused
beef prices to plummet., costing them millions of Dollars.
3/12/1997, UK Agriculture Secretary Jack Cunningham announced a ban on sales of beef on the bone as a measure against BSE
causing CJD in humans,
2/10/1997, UK scientists Moira Bruce and (independently) John Collinge proved that new-variant brain
disease CJD in humans was the same as BSE in cows.
1/8/1996, The UK Central Veterinary
Laboratory published findings that Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis could be
transmitted from mother cow to calf.
15/5/1996, In the UK,
home-produced beef was banned from schools and hospitals as concerns rose over
Bovine Spongiform Encelopathy.
1/4/1996, In the UK Douglas Hogg, Agriculture Minister, announced plans to cull all British cattle over 6
years old, 4.6 million cows, to eradicate the threat from Bovine Spongiform
Encephalitis.
27/3/1996, The European
Commission imposed a total ban on the export of UK beef, worldwide, in the wake
of the fatal CJD outbreak, linked to BSE or �mad cow� disease.
25/3/1996, The UK Government
admitted there was a link between BSE (Mad Cow Disease) and CJD in humans.
20/3/1996. British beef was
banned in Europe over BSE scares.
7/12/1995. A link was revealed
between BSE in cattle and CJD in humans.
13/5/1999, The World Trade
Organisation, having condemned the EU ban on imports of hormone-treated beef,
had set a deadline of this day for the EU to revoke the ban. This deadline was
not met, see 12/8/1999.
18/2/1999, The UK
Government decided GM crops would
not be grown commercially until field trials proved they were
harmless.
1997, John
Deere began marketing GPS-enabled tractors.
7/3/1996,
Genetically-modified sheep Megan and
Morag were introduced to the world.
19/5/1994, After 5 year�s development by biotech company Calgene,� the US Food and Drug Administration approved
the first genetically modified tomato.
31/5/1990. Fears about mad cow
disease lead to a Europe-wide ban on British beef imports, led by France.
9/1/1990, The UK Government allotted
�2.2 million for research into Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
16/12/1988, Edwina Curry, Britain�s Junior
Health Minister, resigned over her statement a fortnight earlier that most
British eggs were contaminated with salmonella. Egg sales plummeted and famers
demanded compensation.
4/12/1988, Edwina Curry rashly claimed that
most British
eggs were infected with salmonella. She had to resign on 16/12/1988.
1986,
The world grain harvest was 1,650 million tonnes, up 2.61x from the 631 million
tonne harvest in 1950. This food increase
outstripped world population growth, which over this period rose from 2.56
billion to 4.80 billion, a rise of 1.88x.
20/6/1986, Movement of sheep in
Cumbria was banned because of radiation residues from Chernobyl.
28/2/1984. French farmers protested
against foreign meat imports into France. There was a meat glut in Europe and President Mitterand�s government had ended
rail subsidies for transport� of
agricultural produce from Brittany. Farmers hijacked and burned lorries with
agricultural produce from other EEC member states, or gave the lorries contents
away to hospitals and schools. Farmers also blockaded railway lines and Channel
ports, and main roads. In one incident farmers ransacked government offices in
Brest, Brittany.
11/1/1984, Two British lorry drivers were hijacked
by French farmers as they drove through France; the farmers were protesting at cheap meat imports into France.
1968,
US farms had 5,000,000 tractors, also 900,000 grain combines, 780,000 hay
balers, and 660,000 corn pickers and shellers. Major crops were all now
harvested by machine.
23/11/1967. The UK government was
about to ban meat imports from Europe because of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease there.
1963.,
The average US farmworker could now feed themselves and 28 other people,
compared to 11 others in 1945 and 7 in 1900.
30/9/1962, The National Farm Workers
of America, which would later merge with the Agricultural Workers Organizing
Committee to form the United Farm Workers of America, was founded in Fresno,
California by Cesar Chavez.
1961,
85% of UK farms were connected to the electricity supply.
1955, The
term agri-business came into use,
initially to denote a group of businesses concerned with the processing and
distribibution of farm produce, or businesses making farm machinery. In the
1960s it came to signify also farms run on modern lines.
1955,
The ancient custom, in rural Turkey, of building dovecotes (usually, holes in
the rock) to attract pigeons, so their guano could be collected as fertiliser.,
ceased when artificial fertilisers became available threre.
1954,
France modernised its agriculture; a top priority was the mechanisation of
farms. The number of tractors in France rose from 35,000 in 1946 to 230,000 in
1954. By 1989 France had 1,520,000 tractors.
12/7/1952, The Soviets began to collectivise
agriculture in East Germany.
4/2/1952, The UK Government offered
farmers �5 an acre to plough up
grassland for crops.
1951,
UK farms had 300,000 tractors.
1950, The average US farm was
215.3 acres, up from 136.2 acres in 1900.
1945, UK farms possessed
203,000 tractors and 800,000 horses; in 1938 the figures had been 117,000
tractors and 1.1 million horses,
3/5/1939, British farmers were urged to plough
up grassland to increase food production.
26/3/1937. Spinach growers in Crystal
City, Texas, erected a statue of Popeye.
1935,
The US
established the Soil Conservation Service, to encourage more
sustainable farming practices such as terracing And contour ploughing, to avert
another Dustbowl.
1934,
In Britain, the Potato Marketing Board
was set up. The domestic UK potato market faced few import challenges; however
the issue was an inelastic demand versus a variable yield. In high yield years,
the Board diverted more potatoes for animal consumption by restricting the
maximum size of them that could be sold for human consumption.
28/6/1934, The USA passed the Farms Bankruptcy Act, postponing
foreclosures for 5 years. On 23/2/1934 the USA had passed the Crop Loan Act, granting loans to farmers to tide them over until
the harvest arrived.
1931,
First known use of the term �battery�,
as in intensive cramped conditions for hens where they were kept indoors all
the time at high density, for maximum egg production. From the 1950s the term
had very negatoive connotations.
12/1931, Winston
Churchill wrote in Strand
Magazine �Fifty years hence we shall escape the absurdity of growing a
whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing by growing these parts
separately under a suitable medium�.
10/1/1931. Molotov
announced the collectivisation of USSR agriculture. In the Ukraine a famine was
politically created to destroy the peasant kulaks; an estimated 5 � 6 million
people died as a result.
1930, In the US, it took 0.25 man hours to produce 1 bushel of wheat. This
was down from 0.87 man hours in 1920, 0.5 man hours in 1896, and 3 man hours in
1830.
13/1/1930. Two million Chinese had died of starvation and famine threatened millions more. China was in political chaos as Chiang Kai Shek tried to
establish nationalist rule against the Communists. Japan watched the Chinese
turmoil with interest, waiting for a chance to invade the wealthy northern
provinces of Manchuria.
3/1/1930. Stalin collectivised all farms in the USSR.
1918,
The German chemist
Fritz Haber
received the Nobel Prize for discovering, in 1908, how to synthesise ammonia
directly from hydrogen and nitrogen. This
greatly increased fertiliser production, leading to a huge increase in global
food production.
10/12/1908, In Britain, the National Farmers Union was founded.
1900,
US farms possessed 15.5 million draught horses, up from 6.2 million in 1860.
Between 1860 and 1900 the US ploughed up 400 million acres of previously
uncultivated land. The flood of cheap US cereals into Europe caused the
profitability of Norwegian farms, already marginal economically, to collapse
and precipitated a flood of Norwegian migration to the US. In England many
grain farmers were forced to convert to fruit or dairy. The Netherlands farming
sector, which had always specialised in dairy, fruit and vegetables, was less
affected by the US cheap grain exports. Denmark began to specialise in bacon
production, which they could readily export to the UK. After the US, the
Ukraine, Canada and Australia provided Europe with cheap grain.
31/12/1900, Wheat acreage in Britain
stood at 1.8 million, down from 2.9 million acres in 1880. Cheap imports of
wheat from the USA had increased dramatically since the 1870s.
31/8/1900, �Sir John Lawes, English agriculturalist and
founder of Rothamsted Agricultural College, died (born 28/12/1814).
1892,
French
farming was in a relatively undeveloped state, with just one farm in 15
possessing a horse-drawn hoe, and just 1 farm in 150 having a mechanical
reaper.
1892,
In Britain, large steam powered flour
mills, generally located on rivers or near ports,where coal could be delivered
easily, were putting local rural village windmills out of business. The
rivers were also used for wheat delivereies to the mill and for taking away the
flour.
1892,
John
Froelich of Iowa built the first successful petrol-powered tractor.
1889,
The first petrol-driven tractor was
produced. It weighed around 10 tonnes; by 1902 lighter models weighing under 2
tonnes were available.
13/5/1884, Cyrus Hall McCormick, inventor
of the first successful reaping machine, died in Chicago.
20/10/1883. The Treaty of Ancon finally ended the war between Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, for land in
the Atacama Desert, which was rich in nitrates for fertilisers. By the treaty, Peru
ceded Tarapaca to Chile, and Chile also kept Tacna and Arica for ten years.
1877, Prices of barbed wire, or �the Devil�s rope� stood at 8 cents per
pound in the USA, down from 18 cents in 1876, as the Bessemer steel process
invented in 1856 was used to produce the wire. This invention was crucial in facilitating cattle farming in the US
mid-west, where fencing materials were scarce. One ton of barbed wire
equated to 2 miles of three-strand fencing.
US Sales and Production of
barbed wire (Source: Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, 1911,
Vol.3, p.385)
|
Barbed wire |
US Production (tons) |
US Sales (tons) |
|
1907 |
250,000 |
|
|
1900 |
200,000 |
|
|
1890 |
125,000 |
|
|
1881 |
|
53,600 |
|
1880 |
40,000 |
36,000 |
|
1879 |
25,000 |
22,450 |
|
1878 |
13,000 |
11,900 |
|
1877 |
7,000 |
5,750 |
|
1876 |
1,500 |
375 |
|
1875 |
300 |
|
|
1874 |
5 |
|
1870, Prices in the UK for automated farm machinery were relatively high � see Price Levels
for comparative amounts to today. A hand-operated chaff cutter cost �6 8s,
turnip cutters were �5 4s, horse hoes were �4 6s and seed drills cost from �6
12s; all could be bought for less second hand. By contrast a two-horse
self-delivery reaper cost �35, portable steam engines started at �240, and a
double engine steam ploughing unit was around �2,600. Automated dairy equipmemnt
was also costly, with (in 1895) a horse powered cream separator costing �55-�60
and a milking machine priced at �50-�100, excluding the power unit.
25/6/1867. The first barbed wire
was patented by Lucien
B Smith of Kent, Ohio. The barbs protruded from small pieces of wood
along the wire; this may not have been commercially manufactured but in 1868 a
more successful design was commercially produced. This invention was vital for opening up the American
west to ranchers since there was insufficient wood for cattle fencing. Ordinary wire fencing was inadequate for
cattle farming as the cattle rubbed up against it and dislodged the posts. Barbed
wire for defence was first used by American troops in the Spanish � American
War of 1898. However cowboys lost out because their cattle-herding services
were ;less oin demand. Bigger losers were the American Indians, whose hunting
spaces were carved up by the new enclosures. Wildlife also suffered,
with many animals becoming entangled on the wire.
However from the perspective
of the farner, barbed wire did not obstruct the views of their landholdings,
and could easily be kept free of weeds. It not acciumulate snowdrifts, and was
durable.
4/12/1864, John Fowler, agricultural innovator, died
(born 11/7/1826)
1862, The US Department of Agriculture was established. Its principal
function was then to conduct experiments, collect statstics, and distribute
seeds and plants to farmers. It became a Cabinet Office in 1889.
1860,
Two German scientists, Ferdinand Gustav Sachs and Knopp,
pioneered hydroponics by growing
plants in an aqueous mineral solution, with no soil.
1860,
The first milking machine was
invemnted in the USA by LO Colvin. A later innovation nwas to use
pulsating suction since continuous suction harmed the cow.
1855,
Various fertilisers were increasingly being added to
British farmland to raise its productivity, including chimney soot, animal
manure (collected in special tanks to stop it being washed away by the rain),
�night soil� (human excrement collected from towns at night) and marl. Marl
added to sandy soil in NW Norfolk raised the rental value of the farmland from
5s 0d an acre in 1780 to �1 5s 0d an acre in 1855.
1848,
Britain institututed 25-year loans to farmers to buy clay pipes,
for land drainage.
1847,
Guano imports into Britain from Peru, the main source of this fertiliser, stood at 300,000 tons per annum, up from 2,000
tons in 1841.
29/6/1846. The protectionist wing of the Tory Party, led by Benjamin Disraeli, which was bitterly opposed to the repeal of the Corn
Laws, mounted a revolt against Robert
Peel�s Tory government, forcing
Peel to resign as Prime Minister.
25/6/1846. Britain repealed
the Corn Laws after a
5 month debate in Parliament. Import duties on wheat, oats, and barley were to
be scrapped in 3 years, and meanwhile set at a nominal rate only, of one
shilling a quarter. This was opposed by Tory protectionists, but the Irish potato
famine in 1845 added urgency to the repeal. Bread would now
be cheaper but the farming of the landed estates less profitable. The Irish potato blight spread from
America and first appeared in the UK in the Isle of Wight. Hot dry weather in
July gave way to chilly rain and fog, and the potatoes soon rotted. 4 million
people in Ireland and 2 million in Britain relied almost totally on potatoes
for food. Public works schemes were devised for some 750,000 workers which
meant 3 million people relied on these for income. Many Irish migrated to the
USA, even though the voyage was almost as deadly as the famine; one in six died
on the voyage across the Atlantic. The Irish blamed English oppression for the famine
even though England had provided almost �8million in relief.
The Corn Laws had been enacted in 1815
and essentially supported UK domestic farm process by prohibiting imports
unless the price rose above a set amount, 8s/ quarter for rye, �2/ quarter for
rye and �1.35/ quarter for oats. The urban poor, the landless, and unemployed
soldiers returning from the Napoleonic Wars, suffered but landowners
prospered.
In fact the
Corn Laws hurt manufacturers, not only because wages were forced to be high
enough for the workers to buy bread but because without grain imports to the
UK, foreigners could not afford to buy UK manufactured products.
When the Corn
Laws were repealed, the expected major drop in farm gate prices did not occur because a rising UK
population propped up demand, and the railways had not yet spread to areas like the US Plains, so
cheap grain imports into Britain were not yet feasible. Meanwhile increasing
efficiency in the farming industry meant that farm profits actually rose after
Repeal. By 1842 the UK political climate had shifted in favour of Free Trade,
away from Mercantilist Protectionism,�
and the 1845 Irish Famine was the final event that
precipitated the repeal of the Corn Laws.
1845,
In the UK, the invention of a clay pipe making machine
enabled marshy land to be drained and improved for agriculture.
21/11/1844, Philipp Fellenberg, promoter of
agricultural education, died (born 27/6/1771).
1843,
Agricultural field experiments began at
Rothamstead, with different fertiliser regimes applied to different fields
of crops.
1842,
Sir John
Bennett Lawes (born Rothamsted, England, 28/12/1814) developed the
artificial feretiliser, superphosphate.
29/4/1842, In Britain
the Corn Act was passed, setting up
a sliding scale relating to the price of domestic corn at which foreign corn
imports were allowed.
1840, Justus
von Leibig published his book, �Chemistry
in its Application to Agriculture�, an important advance in scientific
farming.
1840, A US farmer
could produce 100 bushels of wheat in 233 man-hours, down from 300 man-hours in
1831. By 1920 it took just 87 man-hours.
1839, The first Agricultural
Show was held at Oxford; in 1845 the first agricultuiral college opened at
Cirencester in 1845. The spread of the railways helped farmers get their produce to
shows nationwide.
18/9/1838, The Anti-Corn-Law League was established by Richard Cobden.
1837,
Illinois blacksmith John Deere created a steel plough with
combined share and mouldboard.
1837,
The Royal Agricultural Society was
founded in Britain, promoting new ideas and technology in farming.
1836,
J Hascall
and Hiram
Moore, of Michigan, patented a machine that could harvest, thresh,
clean and bag the grain crop. This �combined harvester� was horse drawn; the combine harvester took another century
to become commonplace. In 1935
the All-Crop harvester was produced by the Allis-Chalmers Company; it was cheap
and could be pulled by a low-powered tractor. Used with a grain dryer, much of
the uncertainty of harvesting was removed. Harvested wheat no longer needed to
be stacked in �stooks� in the field to dry.
16/1/1836, Charles Colling, cattle breeder
who improved the Shorthorn breed, died (born 1751).
21/6/1833. An automatic grain reaping machine was invented in the USA
by Cyrus
Hall McCormick.
16/5/1832, Philip Armour, American meat
packer, was born in Stockbridge, New York.
1831,
The McCormick reaper, which enabled one man to do the work of five, was first
demonstrated by Cyrus
Hall McCormick, a Virginia farmer.
1827,
The first reaping machine was invented by Dr Patrick Bell, a Scottish clergyman.
Before this, corn was cut by hand with a scythe or sickle.
11/7/1826, John Fowler, agricultural
innovator, was born (died 4/12/1864)
7/3/1820, Robert Colling, cattle
breeder who improved the Shorthorn breed, died (born 1749).
1819,
The first steam pump in the Fens was installed at Littleport. The significance
of this was that steam pumps alone could lift water to heights greater than the
peat shrank down to.
13/12/1819, Vincenzo Dandolo, Italian
agriculturalist, died (born 1758).
16/8/1819. At St Peters Fields, or Peterloo,
Manchester, a meeting demanding parliamentary reforms was dispersed by the
military. There was a crowd of 60,000 present to hear the speech of the
pugnacious reformer Henry Hunt, who also demanded an end to the
Corn Laws. 11 demonstrators were killed and 600 injured by the Manchester
Yeomanry. After this the UK government issued the Six Laws, in 1819, banning
any gathering of over 50 people, and any flag-bearing procession, authorising
the arrest of anyone carrying a firearm, and imposing a tax on newspapers.
1817,
The fertiliser superphosphate
was invented by Irish
farmer James Murray. It was made from� sulphuric acid
and animal bones.
1815,
Most land that could feasibly be used for agriculture in Britain was already in
use. In 1795 the UK Board of Agriculture had claimed that a further 8 million
acres (3.25 million hectares) of land was available for agriculture, but by
1815 most moorland and waste left was iuncultivable. During the French
Napoleonic Wars domestic food production was a priority; chalkland and moorland
was brought into food production in areas such as the New Forest and Dartmoor,
then subsequently abandoned.
23/3/1815, In Britain, the Corn Laws halted the imports of grain.
17/2/1815. Corn Laws
introduced in Britain.
28/12/1814, Sir John Lawes, English
agricultiuralist and founder of Rothamsted Agricultiural College, was born
(died 31/8/1900).
27/11/1811, Andrew Meikle, Scottish
agricultural engineer, inventor of the
threshing machine in 1786, died in Dunbar, East Lothian.
15/2/1809, Cyrus Hall McCormick, American
inventor of the first mechanical crop
reaper, was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia.
1808,
The English inventor Robert Ransome devised an all-iron plough at
his works in Ipswich.
7/2/1804, John Deere,
manufacturer of agricultural equipment, was born in Vermont.
1800, Agricultural productivity had improved in Britain; one
agricultural worker could now feed 2.5 people, as against 1.7 in 1700.
26/6/1797. Charles Newbold patented the cast iron plough.
1795, Changes in average weight of livestock sold at Smithfield market,
London (kg)
|
|
Bullock |
Calves |
Oxen |
Sheep |
|
1795 |
|
67 |
356 |
36 |
|
1732 |
250 |
|
|
|
|
1710 |
168 |
22 |
164 |
17 |
In the absence of rail transport, cows and sheep destined for
consumption in London, which originated in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, had to
be driven on foot overland. Those from Ireland were landed at Holyhead and then
made to swim the kilometre of water across the Menai Strait. They were droven
to the Barnet area, just north of London, where they were fattened up. However
their meat was generally tough, and expensive.
1787, Scottish millwright Andrew Meikle designed the first threshing machine, to replace the
flail, Corn was fed into a rotating drum with metal beaters to remove the husk.
In riots in the 1830s, many such machines were destroyed by British
agricultural workers fearing unemployment,
27/6/1771, Philipp
Fellenberg, promoter of agricultural education, was born (died
21/11/1844).
1760, The Rotherham Plough came
into general use. Named after its manufacturer in Yorkshire, it was simpler to
make and maintain the older ploughs, and the depth of the furrow could be
adjusted. Initially made of wood, by the early 19800s they were being made of
iron.
21/2/1741, The
agricultural pioneer Jethro Tull, who
invented the seed drill around 1701, died near Hungerford, Berkshire, aged 67.
He was inspired to develop the seed drill by the pipes of the church organ he
played on Sundays. He also
pioneered crop rotation, developing a new hoe for planting turnips
between the grain crops; turnips meant winter feed, so more manure, so more
fertile soil that didn�t need a whole year fallow to recover. Turnips also provided winter feed for
cattle, so removing the need to slaughter most of the herd in autumn; this
meant larger cattle could be produced for market.
1716, Swedish
engineer Martin
Triewald installed the first hot water based heating system in an
English greenhouse. Tropical plants could now be better cultivated.
1716, French scientist Daubenton published his book �Advice to Shepherds and Owners of Flocks�.
1701
Jethro Tull, a Berkshire farmer,born 3/1674 in Basildon, invented
the seed drill machine. This sowed seeds in straight lines, eliminating
much wastage and making it easier to keep weeds down. Previously, farmers had
�broadcast� seed, just scattering it, and birds ate much of it. Now, his drill
placed the seed then a harrow covered it in a layer of earth. Since the corn
now grew in straight rows, it could easily be weeded with a hoe. Farm workers
were apprehensive of reduced employment and some went on strike against the new
machine.
1523,
The first English manual on agriculture, Book
of Husbandry, by Anthony�
Fitzherbert, was published.
765,
Crop rotation was introduced in Europe.
550,
The Slavs of north-east Europe introduced an improved plough that could tackle
heavy clay lands; areas of forest now became useable as farmland. However
unlike the old scratch plough that could be pulled by a single animal or even a
human, the new plough required a team of six to eight oxen. Therefore less
affluent farmers either had to form co-operatives to afford this, or were
squeezed out by wealthier landowners.
1 BCE, The
Romans utilised blood and bones as fertiliser, and grew
clover and alfalfa, but disdained the use of excrement as fertiliser.
However some Romans were aware of the improvements in fertility resulting from
dung-spreading.
1100 BCE, The upper
rotating stone of the quern, the
stone used to grind grain into flour between two stones, was fitted with a
handle to make the grinding job easier. By 100 BCE, donkeys were in use in Rome to grind
the grain between quern stones.
1400 BCE,
Domestication of poultry began in China,
descended from the Guinea Fowl of the Malay Peninsula.
1500 BCE, By now
all the major food plants in use in the 21st century, excepting sugar beet,
were being cultivated somewhere in the world.
1575 BCE, Bronze
ploughs were in use in Vietnam.
1700 BCE, The Babylonians began
using windmills to power irrigation.
1700 BCE, Rye
cultivation began in eastern Europe, where the growing season was too short for
dependable wheat cultivation.
1800 BCE, Taboos against eating pork began to
spread amongst some Middle-Eastern peoples. This might have been because they
were nomadic shepherds, and pork was eaten by their farmer enemies. However
archeological evidence suggests that Egyptian peasants kept pigs as late as
1350 BCE.
1975 BCE, The Ard,
an early form of plough, was in use in Uruk (Iraq), with iron plowshares in use in Israel.
2000 BCE, In Egypt,
attempts to domesticate antelope, oryx and gazelle were abandoned in favour of
cultivation of celery, lotus, and other plant foods, also hunting and fishing,
in the Nile Delta. Watermelons were being cultivated in Africa, figs in Saudi
Arabia, and bananas were being grown in India.
2200 BCE, In China,
dogs, goats, oxen, pigs and sheep were now domesticated; grain was being
milled.
2300 BCE, Rice
cultivation, imported from the Indus Valley, began in northern China
(see 800 BCE).
2475 BCE, Maize
cultivation began in Central America. Olive trees were cultivated in Crete, which
grew wealthy on the export of olive oil and timber.
2600 BCE, Oxen were
being harnessed to ploughs in the Middle East, greatly improving agricultural
productivity. In Egypt,
fish and poultry were being preserved by sun-drying.
2800 BCE, The sickle was in use in Sumeria for grain
harvesting.
3000 BCE, In
Sumeria, foods recorded by Gilgamesh included capers, cucucmbers, figs, grapes, honey, meat seasoned wth herbs, and bread. The sickle, a small curved hand tool for
harvesting grain, was invented; the scythe was developed from this.
4000 BCE, First ploughs in use, in Mesopotamia.
4350 BCE, The horse
was domesticated in Europe, providing agricultural power and transportation.
5500 BCE, The
world�s first irrigation system constructed, in Mesopotamia. Early irrigation
tended to salinize the soil after some centuries of usage, rendering the region
infertile.
6500 BCE, Cattle (aurochs) became the last major
food animal to be domesticated, in central Europe.
7000 BCE, Pigs were first
domesticated, in Greece. They were less useful than goats or
sheep, because they gave no milk or textiles, need shade, and cannot eat grass
or straw, only scraps of food that humans themselves eat, such as nuts or old
meat. However pigs could eat food that had spoiled, and convert this into
edible meat and fertiliser (dung). Sedentary agriculture had now spread to SE
Europe.
9000 BCE, Einkorn
wheat cultivation began in northern Syria. Sheep were now domesticated in northern
Mesopotamia.
10,000 BCE, The goat was first domesticated, in the
Middle East. Sedentary agriculture first began in the world in the Middle East.
12,000 BCE, The dog was first
domesticated, from the common Asian wolf, and used for hunting game,
and, later, herding domesticated animals such as sheep. The domestication of dogs for hunting reached Britain
by 7,000 BCE.
