Unit 1 Context B: Scotland and Britain 1830-1930

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Unit 1 Context B Scotland and Britain
1830-1930 How to do a General Knowledge and
Understanding Question Topic Farming Type of
KU question KU1 (describe) Origin of Question
2003 SQA Exam
2
Study the information in the sources. You must
also use your own knowledge in your answers.
Source A is an eyewitness account of farming
improvements in East Lothian in the nineteenth
century Source A There was hardly any waste
ground. It was all planted with crops. All the
fields were straight and tidy looking. I had
never seen anything like it. Red roofed steadings
with smoke coming from their chimneys was
evidence that threshing was taking place. Every
farm had its steam engine and threshing
machinery. 1. Describe the changes which had
taken place in farming in the nineteenth
century. 4
3
Study the information in the sources. You must
also use your own knowledge in your answers.
Source A is an eyewitness account of farming
improvements in East Lothian in the nineteenth
century Source A There was hardly any waste
ground. It was all planted with crops. All the
fields were straight and tidy looking. I had
never seen anything like it. Red roofed steadings
with smoke coming from their chimneys was
evidence that threshing was taking place. Every
farm had its steam engine and threshing
machinery. 1. Describe the changes which had
taken place in farming in the nineteenth century.
4

• Points to remember before starting
• The question is worth four marks.
• That means you are expected to write four clear
  points.
• Mostly, this also means you should be writing at
  least four sentences.

4

• Points to remember before starting
• The question tell you to write about the
  nineteenth century that means 1830-1899. Why?
  Because the unit you are studying is Scotland
  and Britain 1830-1930 so the question is on only
  the part of that period which is in the 19th
  century i.e. 1830-1899!

Study the information in the sources. You must
also use your own knowledge in your answers.
Source A is an eyewitness account of farming
improvements in East Lothian in the nineteenth
century Source A There was hardly any waste
ground. It was all planted with crops. All the
fields were straight and tidy looking. I had
never seen anything like it. Red roofed steadings
with smoke coming from their chimneys was
evidence that threshing was taking place. Every
farm had its steam engine and threshing
machinery. 1. Describe the changes which had
taken place in farming in the nineteenth century.
4
5
Study the information in the sources. You must
also use your own knowledge in your answers.
Source A is an eyewitness account of farming
improvements in East Lothian in the nineteenth
century Source A There was hardly any waste
ground. It was all planted with crops. All the
fields were straight and tidy looking. I had
never seen anything like it. Red roofed steadings
with smoke coming from their chimneys was
evidence that threshing was taking place. Every
farm had its steam engine and threshing
machinery. 1. Describe the changes which had
taken place in farming in the nineteenth century.
4

• Points to remember before starting
• You will not get full marks at General for a KU
  question unless you add at least one point from
  recall.
• This can be either
• a) evidence to add to points made in the source
  or
• b) new evidence not mentioned in the source.

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• Points to remember before starting
• The explanation of the source tells us that it is
  an eyewitness account. Dont be fooled into
  writing an Enquiry Skills 1 answer to the
  question.
• The description of the source tells us that it is
  an account of farm improvements. That does not
  mean to say that you should only mention
  improvements. The question asks you to describe
  changes these can be both good and bad changes.

Source A is an eyewitness account of farming
improvements in East Lothian in the nineteenth
century Source A There was hardly any waste
ground. It was all planted with crops. All the
fields were straight and tidy looking. I had
never seen anything like it. Red roofed steadings
with smoke coming from their chimneys was
evidence that threshing was taking place. Every
farm had its steam engine and threshing
machinery. 1. Describe the changes which had
taken place in farming in the nineteenth century.
4
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Source A There was hardly any waste ground. It
was all planted with crops. All the fields were
straight and tidy looking. I had never seen
anything like it. Red roofed steadings with smoke
coming from their chimneys was evidence that
threshing was taking place. Every farm had its
steam engine and threshing machinery. 1.
Describe the changes which had taken place in
farming in the nineteenth century. 4

• Some pupils have difficulties with KU source
  questions because they dont read the source
  carefully enough.
• At General level, you will always find that the
  content of the source is fairly clear and
  straightforward.
• There will always be at least three or four
  points made in the source which you could write
  about.
• The way to be careful with the source is to take
  it sentence by sentence.

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Source A There was hardly any waste ground. It
was all planted with crops. All the fields were
straight and tidy looking. I had never seen
anything like it. Red roofed steadings with smoke
coming from their chimneys was evidence that
threshing was taking place. Every farm had its
steam engine and threshing machinery. 1.
Describe the changes which had taken place in
farming in the nineteenth century. 4

• Lets look at the source.
• There are six sentences.
• There are five points that you would get marks
  for in the source.
• So five sentences have good and relevant points
  in them.
• Therefore one of the sentences has nothing to do
  with changes in farming.
• Can you find the useless sentence?
• I had never seen anything like it.

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So we can now work on the remaining five
sentences. We will take each sentence in turn and
think about what it is saying and try to add some
examples.

• There was hardly any waste ground.
• It was all planted with crops.
• All the fields were straight and tidy looking.
• Red roofed steadings with smoke coming from their
  chimneys was evidence that threshing was taking
  place.
• Every farm had its steam engine and threshing
  machinery.

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Source A There was hardly any waste ground.
Source A tells us that very little ground was
wasted. You could also refer to

• The fact that land was now drained and used to
  grow crops

• Stones and boulders were cleared from the ground
  so that crops could be grown.

• Whins and broom were uprooted to make way for
  crops

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Source A It was all planted with crops.
There was no need for fields to lie fallow as had
happened in the past

• Artificial fertilisers were brought in.

• Crops rotations meant that fields could be
  cropped every year.

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Source A All the fields were straight and tidy
looking.

• Large, square or rectangular shaped fields were
  set out
• These were better for the new crop rotations and
  the new machinery to work in.
• Stone dykes and later wire fences separated the
  fields

J. Patrick and M. Packham Years of Change
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Source A Red roofed steadings with smoke coming
from their chimneys was evidence that threshing
was taking place.
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Source A Every farm had its steam engine and
threshing machinery.
Steam Ploughing Exhibition Illustrated London
News 1857
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Additional Recall
New breeds of heavy horses were used to do much
of the work on the farm. Clydesdale horses were
especially important for ploughing.
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Additional Recall

• Another change in farming was the great economic
  depression from the 1870s 1890s.
• Many farmers went out of business due to foreign
  competition.

Philip Sauvain British Economic and Social
History 1850 to the present day
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Additional Recall

• Falling profits and the introduction of new
  machinery on farms led to unemployment in the
  countryside.
• Many left for better paid jobs in the cities.

Effects of coming of machinery on the farm Population of Britain Number involved in Farming
1851 21 million 2 million
1871 26 million 1.8 million