steam

Part 1 - Farming

Author's note. This book is one of a series originally published as Who the Hell are We? but extensively revised and updated.

Thank you for reading, voting, following and adding, 'STEAM' to your reading list or library. 

 Dunc MacPhun 2022 March 25.

 In chronological order, the series contains:-

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/234080674-supernovae-and-life

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/238813918-we-eukaryotes

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/244084318-neolithic

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/247058691-our-sea

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/249120741-migration

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/251168052-middle-era

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/254532133-disease

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/256201647-atoms-light

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/257785133-steam

I will be publishing more work in this series.

Thanks for reading. Dunc MacPhun. 2021 February 19 

From 100 BCE to 1600 CE, more land was needed to feed a growing population. The dense forests of northern Europe were cut down for farm land and most of this was controlled by the aristocracy or by the church. Meanwhile, the monasteries, with an ecclesiastic postal system and the ability to communicate in the common language of Latin, disseminated agriculture knowledge throughout Europe.

In the medieval period, Arab traders and farmers exchanged crops and technology with Europe, Asia and Africa. They also developed the plantation system for the cultivation of sugarcane and introduced the technique of irrigation to Europe.

Farming in Medieval northern Europe was endless work for everyone because, if the harvest failed, the whole village could face starvation in the winter. Men, women and children fertilized the soil with rotted vegetation and animal and human excrement before plowing the fields early in the Spring and again in the Fall, sometimes using the village plow but often digging with shovels and hoes.

In the Spring, they planted seeds for cabbages, peas, beans, onions, turnips, wheat and rye, berry bushes and fruit trees. Around the Mediterranean, farmers grew grapes for wine and olives but these did not grow farther north, so farmers grew apple trees to make cider and hops and barley to make beer. They carefully scattered seeds by hand and protected the growing plants from birds and other animals as well as destroying competing weeds. In June, they sheared wool from their sheep to make most of their clothing while they also grew flax (to make linen) and collected nettles to make fibre for clothes. Shepherds, typically children or adults unable to do heavy work, protected sheep and chickens from wolves and dogs.

In June, farmers cut, dried and stored hay for animal feed during the winter and, in the Fall, everyone worked hard to collect the remaining crops before bad weather destroyed the food needed to survive the winter. They harvested hay, wheat and other grain crops by hand, with scythes and sickles; back breaking work from morning to night.

They tied cut wheat into into sheaves to dry before it was carried a to barn and flailed to separate the seeds from the straw. The grains of wheat were separated from the chaff by winnowing; the wheat heads were typically put into a sieve then shaken and tossed into the air so that the lighter outer casing (chaff) would be blown away by the breeze.

Farmers milled the stored grain into flour for bread by grinding the seeds with a mortar and pestle but, later, most towns and villages had a water mill or a windmill. This was typically owned by the land owner, a lord or a monastery, and the farmers were charged a fee for the process. Farmers were not allowed to use their own grinding wheels and some churches were floored with mill stones confiscated by the priests.

In the 12th century, Pope Celestine III stated that the air used by windmills was owned by the church and so a tax must be paid to the church for the wind.

Caring for chickens and other animals was a year round activity, as was spinning, weaving and basket making. Milking the animals and churning the milk to make butter and cheese, making candles from melted beef fat and repairing clothing took up any remaining spare time.

Wood for fires and house building had to be collected throughout the year to ensure a good stock of fuel before the cold winter months. The children were sent to the woods to collect twigs and branches, while the men chopped down trees for house repairs and firewood.

Late in the year, they butchered some of the farm animals both to conserved stored animal feed and to provide meat through the winter. Some of this had to be salted or smoked and dried to make sure that it did not rot too quickly. It was essential that there was a good supply of meat, wheat or rye and turnips for the winter as there were no fresh vegetables or fruits. Medieval agriculture was sufficient for the population under normal circumstances but exceptionally bad weather caused famine in some places while transport infrastructure was incapable of bring food from less affected areas.

The earlier dependence on grain crops caused 17 major famines in England between 1523 and 1623 when the crops failed. Potato crop failures resulted in widespread famine between 1845 and 1849 and the death of over one million people in Ireland.

Agricultural efficiency and crop yields in Europe generally peaked in 13th century, and remained about the same until the 18th century.

Except, between 1650 and 1770, British agricultural production grew faster than the population. This phenomenal increase in the food supply permitted a rapid growth in the population of England and Wales from 5.5 million in 1700 to over 9 million by 1801. While, increasing food imports in the nineteenth century permitted the population to grow to over 35 million. This increase in agricultural productivity freed more of the agricultural workers for the Industrial Revolution. Many of them were happy to leave the primitive, overcrowded hovels and poverty of farm life for the improved housing and better wages in factories.

The enclosure of common grazing lands, better plows, mechanization, seed drills and four-field crop rotation, increased the wheat crop, in the USA, from 19 US bushels per acre in 1720 to around 30 US bushels 1840.

In the 18th century, British agriculturist Charles Townshend popularized the Dutch four-field crop rotation system. Wheat, turnips, barley and clover introduced a fodder crop and a grazing crop that allowed livestock to be fed year-round. European farmers started growing clover and turnips (rutabagas) instead of leaving the fourth field fallow. Turnips could be grown in winter and had deep-roots which allowed them to gather minerals unavailable to shallow-rooted crops. Clover fixed nitrogen from the atmosphere permitted intensive cultivation of light soils while provided fodder for more livestock whose manure also added to soil fertility. 

After 1492, sugarcane, rice, cotton, orange trees, maize (corn), potatoes, sweet potatoes and manioc were transferred to Europe while wheat, barley, rice and turnips were introduced to the Americas along with horses, cattle, sheep and goats. Maize (corn) and cassava were introduced to Africa from Brazil in the 16th century, replacing native African crops. Maize was subsequently spread to all countries with a suitable climate.

By the late 1700's the potato had become a staple crop in Europe. Farmers produced more food resulting in less disease, more births and less mortality, which caused a population increase in the British Empire, Europe and the USA.