William Amos (agriculturist) facts for kids

William Amos (born around 1745, died 1825) was a clever farmer. He also managed large farms for others. He helped change farming in Britain with his new ideas and inventions. This time was called the British Agricultural Revolution. William Amos created better farm machines and tools. He also taught people how to farm more efficiently. His ideas and books were popular when he was alive. People kept talking about them even after he passed away.

William Amos's Life Story

Amos was born around 1745. We don't know exactly where he came from. One old book said he was Scottish, but we can't be sure. William Amos himself said he grew up in the countryside. He loved farming and nature from a young age.

His first known record is his marriage in Grove, Nottinghamshire. This was on February 25, 1781. He married Sarah Freeman, whose father was also a farmer. At this time, Amos worked as an estate steward for Anthony Eyre. An estate steward manages large properties and farms for the owner. Anthony Eyre owned several estates in central England.

William and Sarah had five sons and three daughters over the years. Sadly, many of them died young. Only his second son, Thomas Amos, grew up and had his own children. Thomas became a farmer in Lincolnshire.

Early Farming Experiments

Amos was very interested in new ways to farm. From 1783, he started trying out different ways to grow crops. These tests showed him that planting seeds with a machine, called a seed drill, was much better. It was better than just scattering seeds by hand, which was the old way.

By 1787, he was already making his own drill-plough. This was a special plough that could plant seeds. He planned to write a book about it that year. But his boss, Anthony Eyre, died in 1788. Amos then moved to Brothertoft in Lincolnshire. There, he worked as a bailiff for Major John Cartwright (political reformer). A bailiff also helps manage a large farm. This move delayed his book project.

Working with Major Cartwright

While working for Major Cartwright, Amos continued his farming tests. He did them on his own farm and on Cartwright's farm. Major Cartwright was a politician, but he also loved improving farming. They worked together for about fifteen years. This helped both of them a lot.

This time also allowed Amos to meet important people. One was Sir Joseph Banks, a close neighbor. Banks later called Amos "an honest man and an ingenious one." Amos also met Arthur Young, another famous farmer. Young visited Cartwright's farm and saw some of Amos's inventions. They stayed in touch, and Amos sent many articles to Young's farming magazine, Annals of Agriculture. During this time, Amos published his two main books: The Theory and Practice of the Drill Husbandry and Minutes in Agriculture.

Later Life and Challenges

In the mid-1800s, Major Cartwright sold his estate. Amos then moved to his own rented farm in Lincolnshire. He lived first in Stickney, then in Carrington. He mainly grew crops on his farm.

Amos faced many sad times. His wife Sarah died in late 1816. Also, farming became very difficult after the Napoleonic Wars ended. This caused him to lose a lot of money. He never tried to get patents for his inventions. A patent protects an invention so others can't copy it easily. It seems he didn't earn much from his books either.

His last book, published in 1816, was different. It was a strong pamphlet called A Dissertation on the Real Cause and Effectual Cure of the Present National Distress. In it, he criticized the government and suggested ways to fix money problems. But most of all, he argued that working farmers were very important. He called them "the very basis of national prosperity." He felt they were not given enough credit, unlike rich landowners.

In 1821, when he was 75, Amos married Elizabeth Scargal. She was a 22-year-old widow. They had a son and a daughter, but both died as children. William Amos passed away at his home in Boston on April 8, 1825. He was buried at Stickney Parish Church in Lincolnshire.

William Amos's Inventions and Writings

Amos's most famous book was The Theory and Practice of the Drill Husbandry. It first came out in 1794 and again in 1802.

The Drill Husbandry Book

The book starts by showing proof from his own crop tests. These tests supported using the seed drill. He claimed that using a seed drill could increase crop yields by up to 20%. This was compared to the old way of broadcast sowing, which meant scattering seeds by hand.

The book then gives detailed instructions. It includes pictures for building Amos's own drill machines. He had two versions. He also showed how to build a drill plough and two other tools. These were an expanding horse-hoe and a scuffle. A horse-hoe was pulled by a horse to weed between rows of crops. A scuffle was a type of hoe for breaking up soil.

In 1788, Amos tried to get an award for his drill from a society that encouraged arts. He didn't get it. He also claimed that another member, James Cooke, stole his design. This claim was much debated. We know that Major Cartwright and at least one other farmer used Amos's design. But it's not clear how many others did.

His expanding horse-hoe was special. It had parts that could move. This meant it could be adjusted to fit different distances between rows of planted seeds. Amos's drill plough was cheap and easy to use. Arthur Young liked it and told the Board of Agriculture about it. Others also adopted it.

Minutes in Agriculture and Other Works

Amos's second book, Minutes in Agriculture, came out in 1804 and again in 1810. He wanted to help farmers choose the best types of grass for their animals. His book gave advice on this. It also had pictures and dried grass samples.

Some parts of the book about plants were not very original. They got bad reviews at first. But later, people realized his practical advice was very useful. Amos also added details in his book about building and using different farm tools.

These tools included his own designs. He made a horse-drawn thistle cutter, a sward-dresser, and a compound roller. A thistle cutter cut weeds. A sward-dresser helped prepare grassy fields. A compound roller smoothed the ground. He also designed a tree transplanter, but people doubted if it worked well.

Amos also joined others who wanted to improve farming. He called for removing "obstacles" that stopped farming from getting better. He criticized rich landowners for not managing their land properly.

Essays and Later Inventions

Amos wrote other articles between 1798 and 1816. These were mostly essays and letters in farming magazines. He wrote about many things, from growing potatoes to designing a reaping machine. A reaping machine cuts crops. He later admitted he didn't succeed with the reaping machine.

He won a gold medal from the Board of Agriculture for two of his essays. His "Essays on Agricultural Machines" were very popular. They were published in the Board of Agriculture's Communications in 1810. These essays covered:

• A new design for a dynamometer. This tool measures how much force is needed to pull ploughs.
• How to build a new roller and set of harrows. Harrows are tools that break up soil.
• How to train horses and oxen for farm work.
• How to build carriage wheels in a new way.

The most important essay was "On the Mathematical Construction of a Plough." In this, he offered a new and practical way to design an efficient plough. He focused on the mouldboard. The mouldboard is the part of the plough that turns over the soil. He even challenged Thomas Jefferson's claim about designing a mouldboard. Jefferson was a famous American. Some people later criticized Jefferson's design. Amos's ideas for ploughs, though building on others' work, earned him a place in the history of plough design.

William Amos's Impact on Farming

Not many people probably read Amos's books directly. Maybe only a few hundred. But his articles in Arthur Young's magazine and the Board of Agriculture's Communications reached many more. Reviews and encyclopedia entries also spread his ideas further.

Unlike famous pioneers of the Agricultural Revolution, like Thomas Coke or Jethro Tull, Amos was not rich or high in society. He didn't have the money or social standing to promote his ideas widely. However, his writings show that he was a very important person. He helped develop better, evidence-based farming methods in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Key Publications

• The Theory and Practice of the Drill Husbandry Founded Upon Philosophical Principles and Confirmed by Experience, 1st edition 1794, second edition 1802.
• Minutes in Agriculture, 1st edition 1804, 2nd edition 1810.
• "Essays on Agricultural Machines", Communications to the Board of Agriculture, volume vi, part i, (London, 1810), pp. 437–468.