9 First ideas and grand plans!

"The average yield of an acre is about eight to nine bushels (a bushel is 60 pounds) of grain. With some luck, we can cultivate about two-thirds of our lands. The rest would be too hard to cultivate on. In the south, the ground is softer and easier to work on. They could work between twenty-and-forty acres of land. 'Ere, we're happy if we can get close to twenty acres of workable land per farm." Barn explained

"We work a farm with four to five' families, working on seventy acres or so. We grow wheat, barley, maize and oat. We also have small patches of beets, carrots and radishes. Every other year we switch to kale, spinach and cabbage. This way, the people 'round here taste something else every year. Good to 'ave some variety to your diet, ya know." Barn became very enthusiastic telling about his beloved profession.

"If the cold returns to quickly some of the crops won't make it. We're always looking to harvest at the earliest signs of the cold setting in. Luckily we can usually harvest before the cold gets 'em. It's never an 'easy season m' lord." Barn admitted to the hardness of the profession as well. He was characteristically honest and upfront with the details. Theodore learnt a lot from their ride past the farm lands.

He was happy to know the farmers already knew of crop rotation. This would keep the lands fertile. He also learned why the fields were long stretches, they wanted to reduce the number of times the plough would have to turn around. He also learned that with the little number of oxen available, all farmers helped each other out to get their fields worked. He really liked the collective spirit of the farmers.

They also used marl (a mixture of clay and carbonate of lime) to fertilize the grounds. They knew animal manure would be better, but with animal manure always in shortage, (because the community could not feed large numbers of animals), marl was the next best thing.

Ideas on how to improve their situation had already begun forming in his mind. If he could improve their production, he could feed more animals, use their manure to improve the lands and have both better meat production and crop harvest! This would also lead to a decreased need for hunting, which was also one of his goals. He would rather not depend on hunting, and overhunting would eventually put his city in a crisis anyway.

He decided that their plows were outdated. They were rough in every sense of the word. He would design a new one for them and deliver them for free. He would adopt the mouldboard plough. He knew about this because his history teacher had hammered home the importance of technological improvements during the middle ages. He also would introduce much more intensive farming than their current way of farming. He would have the improve their yield and then expand after initial success.

Though he did not know exactly how these ploughs looked, he did know how they worked! They would have two handles at the back, a sharp shovel that would go in the ground and a knife like a strong metal structure that would cut in the ground in front of the shovel. The knife would loosen the earth and the shovel would push the ground to the sides.

He would need Trevor and Wesley to cooperate on the design and creation of his 'mouldboard plough'. He also decided the 'shovelboard' to be made of iron in order to have it sturdy and durable enough.

He would also have to experiment whether he could use two oxen and two ploughs in one line. This would improve the speed and would require less manpower. He would also introduce a more modern looking scythe! The one they used now looked rather unwieldy. Since it wasn't a huge improvement he decided to sell them for a low price for those interested..

Afterwards Theodore was sent back to town with his guards and Mr Ferris. Barn quickly said his goodbyes at the castle gate as he was afraid the darkness would set in before he got home.

Theodore then locked himself up in his room to digest all the information and make the first iteration of his plans to improve his city. He would schedule a meeting with miss Ilverny and Mr Heardly tomorrow to hear about their finding.

First he decided to improve the roadworks. Roads were a very important factor in growing his city and also make his rides more enjoyable.. His bottom was once more in favor of his idea!

He would dig ditches at either side of the roads to allow for drainage. The middle of the road would be slightly elevated to make sure the rain would be drained to the sides. He would introduce the roman way of road building. The roads would curve no more!

He also hit his first problem when he thought of renewing the roads : the roads were simply to small. They could narrowly fit two carriages in the main street. This was not quite future proof, and Theodore liked to think big!

Therefore he put up a map on his desk and started to look for suitable land to START OVER.

Yes, he would build a new city. This idea excited him to no ends. He could make sewers, have rain properly drained, make wide - beautifully made stone roads. He dreamed of concrete skyscrapers and glass facades.

Alas, he was rudely awakened by reality. This was simply impossible for now. His building engineering heart wept silently.

His idea on starting a new city with proper sewage however, was something he was not willing to give up. Sewage was first introduced on large scale in the US in the 1800s. But Theodore didn't care for history. He could build one now. It would greatly improve the health of his citizens and reduce the risk of epidemics. It was also not to hard to make. The lands naturally flowed towards the lower located river. He could not care much about poluting the river at this point. One step at a time, he told himself.

He would place septic tanks below all houses and start connecting them to a drain. The sewers would eventually discharge in the river. Another great bonus of the sceptic tank was that the human feces would be able to be reused for agricultural purposes. The only drawback : someone would have to collect the feces.. Theodore smirked 'luckily I'm a white privileged noble'. He laughed at his one private joke.

He would use mortar and cut stones to create the roads. And use a modern day grid to organize the streets. The main road would be wide enough for four carriages, whilst other streets would allow only two carriages to pass one-another.

He decided to put the industries outside of the city. Have shops and high end residences would be found in the city center. He also marked a big spot for a church and a city park surrounding it. He was very well aware of the importance of religion in these times.

After working on it for several hours, his candle naturally died out. This was a signal for Theodore that he had overworked himself. He ruefully smiled 'It's like a sim-game, way too addictive.'

He then put his plans away and dragged himself to bed.