Friday, April 26, 2013

A Global timeline for agricultural developments


Its been fascinating over the past few years working on this Homage to the Seed project how many times I've seen disputed the origins of agriculture. Perhaps its fair to say that new data is being found all the time and also methods of checking data have become profoundly more accurate ... plus the global sharing of information is also likely to contribute significantly.


wheat


Despite the fact that this Wiki information below comes with a disclaimer suggesting they are quite aware of flaws in their documentation of this material I am nevertheless posting it here as a considerably worthwhile way to look into this subject ... a subject now constantly in the news.

Threshing; Tacuinum Sanitatis, 14th century.

Use of winnowing forks


Wiki: Overview map of the ancient Near East
.... early sites for domestication of grain.


Timeline of agriculture and food technology

Neolithic Revolution

[edit]Antiquity

  • 2600 BC – Large scale commercial timbering of cedars in Phoenicia (Lebanon) for export to Egypt and Sumeria. Similar commercial timbering in South India.
  • 1700 BC – Wind powered machine developed by Babylonians
  • 1300 BC – Creation of canal linking the Nile delta to the Red Sea
  • 691 BC – First aqueduct (approx. 50 miles long) constructed to bring water to Nineveh.
  • 530 BC – Tunnel of Eupalinos first underground aqueduct
  • 500 BC – The moldboard iron plough is invented in China
  • 500 BC – Row cultivation of crops using intensive hoeing to weed and conserve moisture practised in China
  • 300 BC – Efficient trace harness for plowing invented in China
  • 200 BC – Efficient collar harness for plowing invented in China
  • 100 BC – Rotary winnowing fan invented in China
  • 100 BC – The multi-tube seed drill is invented in China
  • AD 200 – The fishing reel invented in China
  • 600 – The distillation of alcohol in China
  • 607 – The Chinese begin constructing a massive canal system to connect the Yellow and Yangtze rivers

[edit]Arab Agricultural Revolution

[edit]British Agricultural Revolution

[edit]Green Revolution

  • 1944 – Green Revolution begins in Mexico
  • 1974 – China creates the first hybrid rice,[24] thus starting a food revolution that has benefited tens of millions around the world. See Yuan Longping.
  • 2000 – Genetically modified plants cultivated around the world.
  • 2005 – Lasers used to replace stickers by writing on food to "track and trace" and identify individual pieces of fresh fruit.[25]

[edit]See also

[edit]References : read source at Wiki.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

House-hunting Saturdays

If you read my blogs you might already be aware that this is a transition time  and my studio is in storage temporarily whist we sell our home and relocate within Brisbane.

That means house hunting each Saturday and being ready for when our newly on the market home sells.


65 Reeve Street, Clayfield, Qld 4011
Our Clayfield home

 Recently this brought a rather unusual house that's currently for sale to my attention.




It didn't have the criteria we need... number of rooms etc, but I was determined to see it as the garden seemed quite spectacular and its incredibly unusual to see something like this in the area. 

There's been a rather extraordinary lack of trees and growing things in far too many places Ive seen. For me that is frankly concerning... and seeing such an abundant garden looking for a new owner is worth taking note of.





After walking through the gardens I said to the agent it was like being at Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens here in Brisbane and she looked at me and said ...well ...the owner is in Horticulture there... on of the Gardeners and thats why this is so spectacularly well done!




If this were my decision alone I'd be thinking hard about this property and VERY keen to see the garden preserved, I might worry about what might happen of I could't maintain it to this level of care and wonder... but I would certainly love to have a studio under the house and run classes there where participants could wander outside and draw from this amazing plethora of tropical vegetation and species.


 The back garden is mostly food growing area... and a grassy open space for contrast and recreation.




If in Brisbane you might like to tell anyone you know house-hunting at present and looking for a garden to enjoy... this one is pretty special and i shall be keen to see it find an owner who will cherish this botanical wonder!

Link to this house and garden: http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-chermside-113338175

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