John Donaldson (agriculturalist)

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Smith's Steam Cultivator at Work, from Donaldson's British agriculture, 1860. British agriculture, 1860, p. 220.jpg
Smith's Steam Cultivator at Work, from Donaldson's British agriculture, 1860.

John Donaldson (1799–1876) was Scottish agriculturalist, professor of Botany at the Royal Agricultural Training School, Hoddesdon, government land drainage surveyor, and author of prize essays works, [1] best known as author of the 1854 Agricultural Biography. [2]

Botany science of plant life

Botany, also called plant science(s), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek word βοτάνη (botanē) meaning "pasture", "grass", or "fodder"; βοτάνη is in turn derived from βόσκειν (boskein), "to feed" or "to graze". Traditionally, botany has also included the study of fungi and algae by mycologists and phycologists respectively, with the study of these three groups of organisms remaining within the sphere of interest of the International Botanical Congress. Nowadays, botanists study approximately 410,000 species of land plants of which some 391,000 species are vascular plants, and approximately 20,000 are bryophytes.

Hoddesdon town in Hertfordshire, England

Hoddesdon is a town in the Broxbourne borough of the English county of Hertfordshire, situated in the Lea Valley. It grew up as a coaching stop on the route between Cambridge and London. It is located 3 miles (5 km) West of Harlow 4 miles (6 km) southeast of Hertford, 5 miles (8 km) north of Waltham Cross and 11 miles (18 km) southwest of Bishop's Stortford. At its height during the 18th century, more than 35 coaches a day passed through the town. It saw a boom in the mid 20th century as gravel was extracted from the area, but was exhausted by the 1970s. The lakes and water pits left behind have been used as leisure amenities. Today, Hoddesdon has a little light industry but is mainly a London commuter belt town. The town hosted the eighth Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne in 1951. It is twinned with the Belgian city of Dinant.

Surveying The technique, profession, and science of determining the positions of points and the distances and angles between them

Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is called a land surveyor. These points are usually on the surface of the Earth, and they are often used to establish maps and boundaries for ownership, locations, such as building corners or the surface location of subsurface features, or other purposes required by government or civil law, such as property sales.

Contents

Biography

Donaldson was born in Northumberland in 1799. He was probably related to James Donaldson (fl. 1794), [3] writer on agriculture and land surveyor from Dundee, whose subjects he made his own.

Northumberland County of England

Northumberland is a county in North East England. The northernmost county of England, it borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham and Tyne and Wear to the south and the Scottish Borders to the north. To the east is the North Sea coastline with a 64 miles (103 km) path. The county town is Alnwick, although the County council is based in Morpeth.

Dundee City and council area

Dundee is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was 148,270, giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or 6,420/sq mi, the second-highest in Scotland. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea. Under the name of Dundee City, it forms one of the 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland.

In his early years in the 1820s Donalson had the management of large farms, and extensive estates, such as those of Loudon Castle in Ayrshire, and Donnington Park in Leicestershire, both in Scotland and England. [4] In the 1840s Donaldson was appointed Head of Agricultural School at Hoddesdon, which at that time had just been established. [5] In the title pages of his chief writings, Donaldson is described as "Professor of Botany" and "Government Land Drainage Survey." [6] He was elected Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London. [2]

Donington Hall

Donington Hall is a house and residential 1,100-acre (450-hectare) estate in Castle Donington, North West Leicestershire, located close to the city of Derby. The hall served as the headquarters for the airline British Midland International until it was merged into British Airways on 28 October 2012. It is now the headquarters of the Norton Motorcycle Company.

Agricultural education

Agricultural Education is the teaching of agriculture, natural resources, and land management. At higher levels, agricultural education is primarily undertaken to prepare students for employment in the agricultural sector. Classes taught in an agricultural education curriculum may include horticulture, land management, turf grass management, agricultural science, small animal care, machine and shop classes, health and nutrition, livestock management, and biology.

Donaldson was presented to the Charterhouse by the Prince Consort in August 1855, and died a poor brother there on 22 March 1876, leaving a will in favour of Elizabeth Saine, a widow. [7] In the year after his death a posthumous work on 'Suburban Farming' was edited by Robert Scott Burn. [6]

Robert Scott Burn was a Scottish engineer and author, known as prolific writer between 1850 and 1860 on a wide range of subjects ranging from agriculture, building construction and mechanical engineering to architectural and technical drawing.

Work

Donaldson is described by Fussell (1983) as "another of these Victorian goliaths whose output was large, and... was intimate with the writings of all his bucolic and farming literary ancestors." [8]

His chief writings Agricultural Biography, (1854) : contains a chronological series of articles on the life and writings of the British authors on agriculture, from the earliest date in 1480 until the mid 19th century. It was considered a very useful specimen of biographical grouping, though the notices are often merely bibliographical.

His 1860 British Agriculture : Cultivation of Land, Management of Crops, Economy of Animals, is an elaborate compilation dedicated to the Duke of Argyll. [6]

Selected publications

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References

  1. ↑ Frederick Law Olmsted (1852) Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England. p. 483
  2. 1 2 William White (1888) "John Donaldson F.S.A." in: Notes & Queries, 1888. p. 4
  3. ↑ Gordon Goodwin. Donaldson, James (fl.1794), in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 15.
  4. ↑ John Claudius Loudon The Gardener's Magazine and Register of Rural & Domestic Improvement, Vol. 6 (1840), p. 94-95
  5. ↑ George Edwin Fussell. Agricultural history in Great Britain and western Europe before 1914: a discursive bibliography. Pindar Press, 1983. p. 28
  6. 1 2 3 Thomas Seccombe. Donaldson, John (1799-1876) in Sidney Lee. Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement. London: Smith, Elder & Co
  7. ↑ Times, 29 March 1876: an account of the inquest of which Donaldson's sudden death by syncope was the cause.
  8. ↑ George Edwin Fussell. The old English farming books: vol. IV, 1840-1860, 1983, p. 6
Attribution

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Thomas Seccombe. Donaldson, John (1799-1876) in Sidney Lee. Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement. London: Smith, Elder & Co

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