unit 4: A founding father of farming (activity book p.22)

 

unit 4

Activity Book, page 22, 

8 Read about Ibn Bassal.

A founding father of farming Ibn Bassal was a writer, a scientist and an engineer who lived in Al-Andalus in the eleventh century CE. He worked in the court of Al-Ma'mun, who was the King of Toledo.  His great passions were botany,  which is the study of plants, and agriculture. Although he was a great scholar,  he was also a practical man and all of his writing came from his own 'hands-on' experience of working in the land. One of the many things which Ibn Bassal achieved was A Book of Agriculture. The book consisted of sixteen chapters which explain how best to grow trees, fruit and vegetables, as well as herbs and sweet-smelling flowers; perhaps the most famous chapter of all was the one that described how to treat different types of soil.  IbnBassal also worked out how to irrigate the land by finding underground water and digging wells.   He designed water pumps and irrigation systems. All of these things were passed on through his writing. The influence of IbnBassal‟s book was enormous. As farmers down the generations followed his instructions and advice, the land became wonderfully fertile and produced more than enough food for the fast-growing population. The irrigation systems that he and his followers put in place are still in evidence in Spain. Although his name is not widely known, IbnBassal's legacy to the world has been great.

Explanation

English Meaning	WORD
The person who starts something new, such as an organisation or city.	Founder ( n)
To supply land with water so that crops and plants will grow.	Irrigate (v)
It means what someone leaves to the world after their death.	Legacy ( n)
Agriculturally productive; produced more than enough food.	Fertile land (n)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ibn Bassal was a writer, a scientist and an engineer who lived in Al-Andalus in the eleventh century CE. He worked in the court of Al-Ma'mun, who was the King of Toledo.  His great passions were botany,  which is the study of plants, and agriculture. Although he was a great scholar,  he was also a practical man and all of his writing came from his own 'hands-on' experience of working in the land.

• Ibn Bassal was a polymath because he was a writer, a scientist and an engineer.
• Botany is the study of plants.
• The King of Toledo was called Al-Ma'mun.
• Ibn Bassal had two great interests which were botany and agriculture.
• Ibn Bassal was also a practical man because all of his writing came from his own 'hands-on' experience of working in the land.
• The underlined pronoun 'which' in the text above refers to botany

One of the many things which Ibn Bassal achieved was A Book of Agriculture. The book consisted of sixteen chapters which explain how best to grow trees, fruit and vegetables, as well as herbs and sweet-smelling flowers; perhaps the most famous chapter of all was the one that described how to treat different types of soil.  Ibn Bassal also worked out how to irrigate the land by finding underground water and digging wells. He designed water pumps and irrigation systems. All of these things were passed on through his writing.

• Ibn Bassal achieved many things, such as:

       1.  Writing A Book of Agriculture.

       2. Working out how to irrigate the land by finding underground water and digging wells. 
       3.  Designing water pumps and irrigation systems.

• Ibn Bassal's book 'A Book of Agriculture'  discusses many things like :

        1. how best to grow trees, fruit and vegetables, as well as herbs and sweet-smelling flowers.

        2. how to treat different types of soil.  

• The most famous chapter of his book was the one that described how to treat different types of soil.
• The verb irrigate means: to supply land with water so that crops and plants will grow.
• The underlined pronoun 'which' in the text above refers to: sixteen chapters.
• The underlined word 'one' in the text above refers to: the most famous chapter.
• Ibn Bassal also worked out how to irrigate the land in two ways: 

       1. Finding underground water                       2. Digging wells. 

The influence of Ibn Bassal‟s book was enormous. As farmers down the generations followed his instructions and advice, the land became wonderfully fertile and produced more than enough food for the fast-growing population. The irrigation systems that he and his followers put in place are still in evidence in Spain. Although his name is not widely known, Ibn Bassal's legacy to the world has been great.

• According to the text, the benefits farmers who followed Ibn Bassal's instructions gained are:

         1. The land became wonderfully fertile.

         2. The land produced more than enough food for the fast-growing population.

• The land became wonderfully fertile and produced more than enough food because farmers down the generations followed Ibn Bassal's instructions and advice.
• fertile land means: Agriculturally productive; produced more than enough food.
• What someone leaves to the world after their death is called legacy
• The underlined word 'that' in the text above refers to the irrigation systems.
• The area around Toledo had a 'fast-growing population' because:  

          1. Farmers down the generations followed Ibn Bassal's instructions and advice.

          2. The land became wonderfully fertile and produced more than enough food for the fast-growing population.