Tull invented his drill about 1701 at Howberry.  The first occasion for making it, he says, was that it ’was very difficult to find a man that could sow clover tolerably; they had a habit to throw it once with the hand to two large strides and go twice in each cast; thus, with 9 or 10 lb. of seed to an acre, two-thirds of the ground was unplanted.  To remedy this I made a hopper, to be drawn by a boy, that planted an acre sufficiently with 6 lb. of seed; but when I added to this hopper an exceeding light plough that made 6 channels eight inches asunder, into which 2 lb. to an acre being drilled the ground was as well planted.  This drill was easily drawn by a man, and sometimes by a boy.’

His invention was largely prompted by his desire to do without the insolent farm servant whom he has described above, and the year after it was invented he certainly had his wish, for they struck in a body and were dismissed:  ’it were more easy to teach the beasts of the field than to drive the ploughman out of his way.’

His ideas were largely derived from the mechanism of the organ which, being fond of music, he had mastered in his youth—­a rotary mechanism, which is the foundation of all agricultural sowing implements.  His first invention may be described as a drill plough to sow wheat and turnip seed in drills three rows at a time, a harrow to cover the seed being attached.  Afterwards he invented a turnip drill, so arranged as regards dropping the seed and its subsequent covering with soil that half the seed should come up earlier than the rest, to enable a portion at least to escape the dreaded fly.  He was a great believer in doing everything himself, and worked so hard at his drill that he had to go abroad for his health.  He was somewhat carried away by his invention, and asserts that the expense of a drilled crop of wheat was one-ninth of that sown in the old way, giving the following figures to prove his assertion: 

The Old Way
L s. d.

Seed, 2-1/2 bushels, at 3s. 7 6
Three ploughings, harrrowing, and sowing 16 0
Weeding 2 0
Rent of preceding fallow 10 0
Manure 2 10 0
Reaping 4 6
---------
L 4 10 0[412]
=========

The New Way

Seed, 3 pecks 2 3
Tillage 4 0
Drilling 6
Weeding 6
Uncovering (removing clods fallen on the wheat) 2
Brine and lime 1
Reaping 2 6
-----
10 0
=====

It should be noted that he has omitted to charge rent for the year in which the crop was grown in both cases.