Viscount Charles Townshend

For centuries the chief way to keep a field fertile had been to let it lie fallow every two or three years. During those years, nothing was planted on the land.

Viscount Charles Townshend found the secret was just to rotate the crops. This was done by planting a different crop each year. While wheat or corn would wear out the land, turnips or clover would restore the field.

Not surprisingly, the Viscount was the nicknamed Turnip Townshend in honor of his favorite crop.

The result: Hooray! Farmers could use their fields each year without letting them lie fallow. That meant they could get more crops from each field. So what happened next?

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