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    TULL
    Jethro. Horse-hoeing husbandry:
    TULL
    Jethro. Horse-hoeing husbandry:

    Lot 66. TULL, Jethro.

    Horse-hoeing husbandry:

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    Horse-hoeing husbandry: 80515
    or, an essay on the principles of vegetation and tillage. … By Jethro Tull, … The third edition, very carefully corrected. To which is prefixed, an new preface by the editors, …
    London: A. Millar, 1751

    Prior to Tull, seeds were distributed into furrows (‘drilling’) by hand. Tull had noticed that traditional heavy sowing densities were not very efficient, so he instructed his staff to drill at very precise, low densities. By 1701, his frustration with their lack of cooperation prompted him to invent a machine to do the work for him.
    Initially the machine was only a limited success. However as agricultural improvement became fashionable, more interest began to be taken in Tull’s ideas. In 1731, he published his book, ‘The New Horse Hoeing Husbandry’, detailing his system and its machinery. 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.

    Description

    Third edition, 8vo., xvi, 432pp., 7 folding engraved plates, contemporary sprinkled calf, sometime rebacked, spine richly gilt, red morocco lettering piece, early manuscript annotations to pages xiv-xv, red sprinkled edges, a fine copy.

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