Industrial Revolution sectors of the economy. However, per-capita food supply in Europe was stagnant or declining and did not improve in some parts of Europe until the late 18th century. Industrial technologies that affected farming included the seed drill, the Dutch plough, which contained iron parts, and the threshing machine. Jethro Tull invented an improved seed drill in 1701. It was a mechanical seeder which distributed seeds evenly across a plot of land and planted them at the correct depth. This was important because the yield of seeds harvested to seeds planted at that time was around four or five. Tull's seed
Seed drill larger and more efficient drills that allowed farmers to seed ever larger tracts in a single day. Recent improvements to drills allow seed-drilling without prior tilling. This means that soils subject to erosion or moisture loss are protected until the seed germinates and grows enough to keep the soil in place. This also helps prevent soil loss by avoiding erosion after tilling. The development of the press drill was one of the major innovations in pre-1900 farming technology. "Drilling" is the term used for the mechanized sowing of an agricultural crop. Traditionally, a seed drill used to consist of a