Farming Structure

‘Structure’ is used as a term referring to the inner composition of something. We talk about the structure of a building, implying that it can be thought of in terms of subordinate parts which together make the whole. Again, the structure of an atom can be described in terms of electrons, protons and neutrons. The term need not only apply to material things; we can describe the structure of, say, a cricket club committee as consisting of a chairman, secretary, treasurer and other elected members. The purpose of knowing about the structure of anything goes beyond simple curiosity; such information gives insight into how the atom, committee or building functions or ‘works’ and, even more important, allows us to suggest explanations for why certain things have happened in the past and enables future responses to be predicted.