Wellmann Imre szerk.: A Magyar Mezőgazdasági Múzeum Közleményei 1971-1972 (Budapest, 1973)
Blake, Susan: A geographical analysis of agricultural engineering in Britain in the 19th century
A GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING IN BRITAIN IN THE 19TH CENTURY SUSAN BLAKE (Cambridge, United Kingdom) In presenting this paper my purposes are two-fold: firstly, to outline the development of an important industry, which has as yet been little studied, and secondly, to try to outline its development in a geographical framework — that is, as a complex integrated whole, rather than a straightforward chronological sequence which is perhaps the more conventional museological approach. The complexity of this approach is due to the necessity to examine not only the locational patterns of the industry, but also the development of the individual implements, the general 19th c. context, and the intricate sociological processes involved in the diffusion of these innovations. Each of these facets could quite well be studied as separate entities, but their interconnections and interrelationships with the physical and socio-economic environments would be lost, and much of the vitality and fascination of the subject thereby. As this paper is a preliminary report of current work it therefore constitutes hypotheses rather than definitive statements. The sources used are contemporary agricultural journals and handbooks, company catalogues and the Board of Agriculture reports (1793—1822). The development of the implements and the industry could, for example, be organized around the conventional geographical theme of the stimulus of and response to the environment, relating them to the geology and soils of the areas involved, to location with regard to communications, industry, population clusters, foreign influence, raw materials, or the type of agriculture practiced, in order to analyse the resulting spatial patterns of the agricultural engineering industry. Alternatively, the development of the industry could be viewed from the solution of 3 of the major needs facing 19th c. agriculture: 1. Firstly, the need for thorough drainage of the land to enable its more effective utilization. Of the needs of 19th c. agriculture which the development of an agricultural engineering industry could meet, the provision of a solution to land drainage was fundamental, for, with adequate drainage the land could reach substantially greater levels of productivity and would be in fit condition to receive upon it mechanized implements, which in turn could vastly increase the efficiency and supplement the range of traditional tillage operations. 1 iSee: Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, Farmers Magazine etc. 1840—1870: all contain discussion on drainage.
