Abstract
AGRICULTURE as an art was already far advanced when the first meeting of the British Association was held in 1831. It was then entirely empirical. Scientific work was, however, beginning, and round about 1840 three important events occurred: Liebig published his epoch-making essay on the application of chemistry to agriculture, Lawes began the famous Rothamsted experiments which almost at once led to the founding of the artificial fertiliser industry, and the Royal Agricultural Society started its beneficent work of fostering the application of science to practice. Economic conditions favoured the growth of the home agriculture, and from about 1850 to 1890 British agriculture flourished. Then within a few years it collapsed. The chain of transport arrangements with the United States and Canada was completed and farm produce came on to our markets at prices with which British agriculturists could not possibly compete.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
RUSSELL, J. The Changing Outlook in Agriculture.*. Nature 128, 1027–1030 (1931). https://doi.org/10.1038/1281027a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1281027a0