Sir Albert HowardCIE (8 December 1873 – 20 October 1947) was an English botanist. His academic background might have been botany. While working in India, he was generally considered a pathologist; this is more than likely the reason for his consistent observations of the value of compost applications being an increase in health (of the whole system). Howard was the first Westerner to document and publish the Indian techniques of sustainable agriculture. After spending considerable time learning from Indian peasants and the pests present in their soil, he called these two his professors. He was a principal figure in the early organic movement. He is considered by many in the English-speaking world to have been, along with Eve Balfour, one of the key advocates of ancient Indian techniques of organic agriculture.1
This page is based on “Albert Howard” from English Wikipedia, (r1375026420) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
In 1899, he lectured in agricultural science at Harrison College in Barbados. That same year, and in 1902, he was a mycologist and agricultural lecturer at the Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies.5
From 1903 to 1905, he was a botanist at the South Eastern Agricultural College, and from 1905 to 1924, Imperial Economic Botanist to the government of India.6
In 1914, he was named a Companion of the Indian Empire (C.I.E.), and received a Silver Medal of the Royal Society of Arts in 1920. From 1924 to 1931, Howard was director of the Institute of Plant Industry, Indore, and agricultural adviser to states in Central India and Rajputana. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1928 and, in 1930, received the Barclay Memorial Medal of that society.
He was knighted in 1934 and was made an honourable fellow of the Imperial College of Science in 1935.78
Howard worked in India as an agricultural adviser9 and was in charge of a government research farm at Indore.10 He worked together with Gabrielle Matthaei (1876–1930) and her sister Louise (1880–1969). He married Gabrielle in 1905. After her death, he married Louise in 1931.711 Gabrielle was herself a professionally trained botanist,7 and both women contributed to organic farming research.11
Howard observed and came to support traditional Indian farming practices over conventional agricultural science. Though he journeyed to India to teach Western agricultural techniques, he found that the Indians could in fact teach him more. One important aspect he took notice of was the connection between healthy soil and the villages' healthy populations, livestock, and crops. Patrick Holden, director of the UK Soil Association, quoted Howard as saying, "The health of soil, plant, animal, and man is one and indivisible." He was president of the 13th session of the Indian Science Congress in 1926.
Organic farming
Howard built on the traditional Indian composting system into what is now known as the Indore method. He went on to further document Indian organic farming techniques, and spread its knowledge through the UK-based Soil Association, and the Rodale Institute in the US. His 1940 book, An Agricultural Testament, is a classic organic farming text. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining humus, keeping water in the soil, and the role of mycorrhiza. It was his first book aimed at the general public and is his best-known work. However, his 1931 book, The Waste Products of Agriculture, based on 26 years of studying improved crop production in Indian smallholdings, is considered by some as his most important scientific publication.1 His 1945 book, Farming and Gardening for Health or Disease, was also intended for a general audience and was republished in 1947 as The Soil and Health: A Study of Organic Agriculture.1 Howard's documentation of Indian farming practices influenced and inspired many farmers and agricultural scientists who furthered the organic movement, including Lady Eve Balfour (the Haughley Experiment, The Living Soil) and J. I. Rodale (Rodale Institute).
Howard advocated studying the forest in order to farm like the forest. He devoted the last half of his career to understanding that end, presaging those contemporary ecologists who advocate the understanding of the interface between ecology and agriculture.1213 Indeed, Howard is grouped, along with Rudolf Steiner,14Sir Robert McCarrison, and Richard St. Barbe Baker, as one of the key progenitors of the Western organic agriculture movement.141516 (However, he says, in the Preface to An Agricultural Testament, "Some attention has also been paid to the Bio-Dynamic methods of agriculture in Holland and in Great Britain, but I remain unconvinced that the disciples of Rudolf Steiner can offer any real explanation of natural laws or have yet provided any practical examples that demonstrate the value of their theories."17)
Publications
The following is a selection of publications by Albert Howard, including his better-known works, and some lesser-known publications. His knighthood was conferred in 1934, so in publications prior to that, he is not referred to as "Sir." Even subsequent to that, he did not always refer to himself as "Sir," as per his contribution to Nature in 1936 and his correspondence to the British Medical Journal in 1939. In the listings below, from 1945 onwards, he is cited as "Sir Albert Howard"; hence, his authorship is not duplicated thereafter.
Howard, Albert; Howard, Gabrielle L.C.; Khan, Abdur Rahman (1910), The economic significance of natural cross-fertilization in India, India Dept. of Agriculture. Memoirs. Botanical series, vol. III, (No.6) Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co.; London: W. Thacker & Co. (Published for the Imperial Department of Agriculture in India; Calcutta). Listing at Open Library
Greenwell, Bernard; Howard, Albert; Wrench, G.T. (February 1939), "Address to a Meeting of the Farmers' Club", Journal of the Farmers' Club, Discussion held at the Royal Empire Society, Craven Street, W.C.2, on Monday 30 January 1939 (Part 1)
Howard, Albert (27 May 1939), "Medical "Testament" on Nutrition (correspondence concerning the Cheshire Medical Testament on Nutrition)", British Medical Journal, 1 (4090): 1106, doi:10.1136/bmj.1.4090.1106, PMC2209719 (Registration to view BMJ articles is free).
Howard, Albert (29 July 1939), ""Medical Testament" on Nutrition (correspondence)", British Medical Journal, 2 (4099): 251, doi:10.1136/bmj.2.4099.251, PMC2209719
Howard, Albert; Howard, Louise E (1945), Farming and Gardening for Health or Disease, (Subsequently published as The Soil and Health), London: Faber and Faber Ltd, retrieved 10 August 2010
Howard, Albert (1945), "Introduction (Howard on earthworms)", The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms with Observation on their Habits, London: Faber & Faber, retrieved 9 August 2010 (Howard's introduction to the 1945 publication of Charles Darwin's book, first published in 1881).
"Harnessing the Earthworm", Organic Gardening, 10 (4), March 1947
"Organic Campaign", Organic Gardening, 10 (5), April 1947
a.^ The online reproduction of Howard's 1931 work refers to him as "Sir Albert Howard". However, this is an error. He was not knighted until 1934, and would not have been referred to as Sir. The error is an artifact of the manner in which Howard's name has passed into contemporary public knowledge, via his two most famous books An Agricultural Testament (first published 1940), and Soil and Health (first published 1945 under a different title, but known mostly by this 1947 title), by which time he was referred to as "Sir". Indeed, prior to the advent of the internet and the related information explosion, these were the only two works popularly known by all but the most dedicated researchers, with even less known about his life history, beyond brief synopses associated with the books, and replicated in various book descriptions.18
Medical Testament: Nutrition, Soil Fertility, and the National Health, County Palatine of Chester: Local Medical and Panel Committee, 22 March 1939, retrieved 9 August 2010 (The subject of two letters by Sir Albert Howard to the British Medical Journal – see 'Publications' section).
Heckman, J (2006), "A history of organic farming: Transitions from Sir Albert Howard's War in the Soil to USDA National Organic Program", Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 21 (3): 143–150, doi:10.1079/RAF2005126, S2CID154599842
Rodale, J.J. (December 1947), "Sir Albert Howard: In Memoriam", Organic Gardening, 2 (6)
"Sir Albert Howard Memorial Issue", Organic Gardening Magazine, 13 (8), September 1948, retrieved 9 August 2010 (Contains tributes to Sir Albert Howard).
Notes
Footnotes
Stinner, D.H. (2007), "The Science of Organic Farming", in William Lockeretz (ed.), Organic Farming: An International History, Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, Massachusetts: CAB International (CABI), pp. 40–72, ISBN 978-0-85199-833-6, retrieved 10 August 2010 ebook ISBN 978-1-84593-289-3 ↩↩2↩3
Heckman, J (2005). "A history of organic farming: Transitions from Sir Albert Howard's War in the Soil to USDA National Organic Program". Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 21 (3): 143–150. doi:10.1079/RAF2005126. ↩
Vogt, G (2007), "The Origins of Organic Farming", in William Lockeretz (ed.), Organic Farming: An International History, Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, Massachusetts: CAB International (CABI), pp. 9–29, ISBN 978-0-85199-833-6, retrieved 10 August 2010 ebook ISBN 978-1-84593-289-3 ↩↩2
Sir Albert HowardCIE (8 December 1873 – 20 October 1947) was an English botanist. His academic background might have been botany. While working in India, he was generally considered a pathologist; this is more than likely the reason for his consistent observations of the value of compost applications being an increase in health (of the whole system). Howard was the first Westerner to document and publish the Indian techniques of sustainable agriculture. After spending considerable time learning from Indian peasants and the pests present in their soil, he called these two his professors. He was a principal figure in the early organic movement. He is considered by many in the English-speaking world to have been, along with Eve Balfour, one of the key advocates of ancient Indian techniques of organic agriculture.1
In 1899, he lectured in agricultural science at Harrison College in Barbados. That same year, and in 1902, he was a mycologist and agricultural lecturer at the Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies.5
From 1903 to 1905, he was a botanist at the South Eastern Agricultural College, and from 1905 to 1924, Imperial Economic Botanist to the government of India.6
In 1914, he was named a Companion of the Indian Empire (C.I.E.), and received a Silver Medal of the Royal Society of Arts in 1920. From 1924 to 1931, Howard was director of the Institute of Plant Industry, Indore, and agricultural adviser to states in Central India and Rajputana. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1928 and, in 1930, received the Barclay Memorial Medal of that society.
He was knighted in 1934 and was made an honourable fellow of the Imperial College of Science in 1935.78
Howard worked in India as an agricultural adviser9 and was in charge of a government research farm at Indore.10 He worked together with Gabrielle Matthaei (1876–1930) and her sister Louise (1880–1969). He married Gabrielle in 1905. After her death, he married Louise in 1931.711 Gabrielle was herself a professionally trained botanist,7 and both women contributed to organic farming research.11
Howard observed and came to support traditional Indian farming practices over conventional agricultural science. Though he journeyed to India to teach Western agricultural techniques, he found that the Indians could in fact teach him more. One important aspect he took notice of was the connection between healthy soil and the villages' healthy populations, livestock, and crops. Patrick Holden, director of the UK Soil Association, quoted Howard as saying, "The health of soil, plant, animal, and man is one and indivisible." He was president of the 13th session of the Indian Science Congress in 1926.
Organic farming
Howard built on the traditional Indian composting system into what is now known as the Indore method. He went on to further document Indian organic farming techniques, and spread its knowledge through the UK-based Soil Association, and the Rodale Institute in the US. His 1940 book, An Agricultural Testament, is a classic organic farming text. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining humus, keeping water in the soil, and the role of mycorrhiza. It was his first book aimed at the general public and is his best-known work. However, his 1931 book, The Waste Products of Agriculture, based on 26 years of studying improved crop production in Indian smallholdings, is considered by some as his most important scientific publication.1 His 1945 book, Farming and Gardening for Health or Disease, was also intended for a general audience and was republished in 1947 as The Soil and Health: A Study of Organic Agriculture.1 Howard's documentation of Indian farming practices influenced and inspired many farmers and agricultural scientists who furthered the organic movement, including Lady Eve Balfour (the Haughley Experiment, The Living Soil) and J. I. Rodale (Rodale Institute).
Howard advocated studying the forest in order to farm like the forest. He devoted the last half of his career to understanding that end, presaging those contemporary ecologists who advocate the understanding of the interface between ecology and agriculture.1213 Indeed, Howard is grouped, along with Rudolf Steiner,14Sir Robert McCarrison, and Richard St. Barbe Baker, as one of the key progenitors of the Western organic agriculture movement.141516 (However, he says, in the Preface to An Agricultural Testament, "Some attention has also been paid to the Bio-Dynamic methods of agriculture in Holland and in Great Britain, but I remain unconvinced that the disciples of Rudolf Steiner can offer any real explanation of natural laws or have yet provided any practical examples that demonstrate the value of their theories."17)
Publications
The following is a selection of publications by Albert Howard, including his better-known works, and some lesser-known publications. His knighthood was conferred in 1934, so in publications prior to that, he is not referred to as "Sir." Even subsequent to that, he did not always refer to himself as "Sir," as per his contribution to Nature in 1936 and his correspondence to the British Medical Journal in 1939. In the listings below, from 1945 onwards, he is cited as "Sir Albert Howard"; hence, his authorship is not duplicated thereafter.
Howard, Albert; Howard, Gabrielle L.C.; Khan, Abdur Rahman (1910), The economic significance of natural cross-fertilization in India, India Dept. of Agriculture. Memoirs. Botanical series, vol. III, (No.6) Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co.; London: W. Thacker & Co. (Published for the Imperial Department of Agriculture in India; Calcutta). Listing at Open Library
Greenwell, Bernard; Howard, Albert; Wrench, G.T. (February 1939), "Address to a Meeting of the Farmers' Club", Journal of the Farmers' Club, Discussion held at the Royal Empire Society, Craven Street, W.C.2, on Monday 30 January 1939 (Part 1)
Howard, Albert (27 May 1939), "Medical "Testament" on Nutrition (correspondence concerning the Cheshire Medical Testament on Nutrition)", British Medical Journal, 1 (4090): 1106, doi:10.1136/bmj.1.4090.1106, PMC2209719 (Registration to view BMJ articles is free).
Howard, Albert (29 July 1939), ""Medical Testament" on Nutrition (correspondence)", British Medical Journal, 2 (4099): 251, doi:10.1136/bmj.2.4099.251, PMC2209719
Howard, Albert; Howard, Louise E (1945), Farming and Gardening for Health or Disease, (Subsequently published as The Soil and Health), London: Faber and Faber Ltd, retrieved 10 August 2010
Howard, Albert (1945), "Introduction (Howard on earthworms)", The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms with Observation on their Habits, London: Faber & Faber, retrieved 9 August 2010 (Howard's introduction to the 1945 publication of Charles Darwin's book, first published in 1881).
"Harnessing the Earthworm", Organic Gardening, 10 (4), March 1947
"Organic Campaign", Organic Gardening, 10 (5), April 1947
a.^ The online reproduction of Howard's 1931 work refers to him as "Sir Albert Howard". However, this is an error. He was not knighted until 1934, and would not have been referred to as Sir. The error is an artifact of the manner in which Howard's name has passed into contemporary public knowledge, via his two most famous books An Agricultural Testament (first published 1940), and Soil and Health (first published 1945 under a different title, but known mostly by this 1947 title), by which time he was referred to as "Sir". Indeed, prior to the advent of the internet and the related information explosion, these were the only two works popularly known by all but the most dedicated researchers, with even less known about his life history, beyond brief synopses associated with the books, and replicated in various book descriptions.18
Medical Testament: Nutrition, Soil Fertility, and the National Health, County Palatine of Chester: Local Medical and Panel Committee, 22 March 1939, retrieved 9 August 2010 (The subject of two letters by Sir Albert Howard to the British Medical Journal – see 'Publications' section).
Heckman, J (2006), "A history of organic farming: Transitions from Sir Albert Howard's War in the Soil to USDA National Organic Program", Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 21 (3): 143–150, doi:10.1079/RAF2005126, S2CID154599842
Rodale, J.J. (December 1947), "Sir Albert Howard: In Memoriam", Organic Gardening, 2 (6)
"Sir Albert Howard Memorial Issue", Organic Gardening Magazine, 13 (8), September 1948, retrieved 9 August 2010 (Contains tributes to Sir Albert Howard).
Notes
Footnotes
Stinner, D.H. (2007), "The Science of Organic Farming", in William Lockeretz (ed.), Organic Farming: An International History, Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, Massachusetts: CAB International (CABI), pp. 40–72, ISBN 978-0-85199-833-6, retrieved 10 August 2010 ebook ISBN 978-1-84593-289-3 ↩↩2↩3
Heckman, J (2005). "A history of organic farming: Transitions from Sir Albert Howard's War in the Soil to USDA National Organic Program". Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 21 (3): 143–150. doi:10.1079/RAF2005126. ↩
Vogt, G (2007), "The Origins of Organic Farming", in William Lockeretz (ed.), Organic Farming: An International History, Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, Massachusetts: CAB International (CABI), pp. 9–29, ISBN 978-0-85199-833-6, retrieved 10 August 2010 ebook ISBN 978-1-84593-289-3 ↩↩2