A Piece of History....A small selection of topics to be found in our Library....
SCOTTISH AGRICULTURAL HISTORY
The Library has all the general histories of Scottish agriculture, and most of the particular histories. The Society’s own Transactions, published from 1799 to 1968, also contain many interesting and valuable accounts of agricultural experiments and improvements.
The Library can also supply details of medal winners in the various competitions held during the Highland Shows, and at other times. The fullness of the detail available for some of the competitions depends on when they were held.
The Library also holds records of long-service awards given to agricultural workers from 1913 onwards.
Royal Dick Vet - WILLIAM DICK
Through the efforts of John Barclay (1758-1826) and the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, the talents of William Dick (1793-1826) as an authoritative lecturer and propounder of sound veterinary practice were noticed, and he was encouraged to deliver a series of annual lectures, beginning in 1823, which was to be the foundation of the college which now bears his name. Thanks to the work of Dr Alastair MacDonald of the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, the Society’s many manuscripts and printed items relating to Dick and veterinary education in Scotland have been catalogued. As a result, the Library now has many files documenting the work of Dick and his influence. The work of Dick’s predecessors, James Clark (1732-1808) and John Feron (1751?-1824) has also been revealed.
MILK
The Library is particularly rich in material for the study of milk – its early purity in the days of William Harley’s Bath Street dairy in Glasgow, its adulteration in Victorian times, the invention by William Murchland of Kilmarnock, of the world’s first working milking machine, patented in 1889, and the collection of milk records by John Speir. Speir’s correspondence of some 88 manuscript letters on the subject are held in the Library, along with their replies. The Library also has practically all the printed papers of James Fowler Tocher (1864-1945), the Society’s chemist from 1911 to his death in 1945, on many aspects of the analyses and quality of milk. The uses of milk are also referred to in the works of Lord John Boyd Orr.
AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY
The Library has a selection of important works in this field, such as:
- Francis Home (1719-1813). The principles of agriculture and vegetation. First published in Edinburgh in 1756, this work describes various experiments, the results of which eventually led to the understanding of the principles of photosynthesis. The Library has a transcribed online copy of the 1757 edition.
- Archibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald (1749-1831). A treatise, shewing the intimate connection that subsists between agriculture and chemistry. This was another important early work first published in 1795, and the Library has a copy of the second edition of 1803.
- Richard Kirwan (1733-1812). What are the manures most advantageously applicable to the various sorts of soils, and what are the causes of their beneficial effect. This work was first published in Dublin in 1794, and the Library has a copy of the third edition of 1796.
- Johnston, James Finlay Weir. ‘The use of lime in agriculture’ Durham, 1843 (with manuscript annotations by the author) and ‘Lectures on agricultural chemistry and geology’, Edinburgh, 1844. The works of Johnston represent the widening knowledge of the subject in the 19th century.
CROFTING
The Library has built up a representative collection of works on crofting, adding to the generous gift by Dr Susan Jones of the University of Colorado-Boulder of several modern works on the subject. The Transactions of the Society also contain many references to crofting.
EARTHWORMS
Earthworms have been described as ‘the most important animals in the world.’ Their value was first appreciated by Gilbert White, but the first scientific survey of their activities was Charles Darwin’s ‘The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms with observations on their habits’. London, 1881. The Library holds a copy of this title, together with a bibliography of the subject.
JUSTUS VON LIEBIG
The Library has made efforts to acquire copies of Liebig’s writings on agricultural chemistry, including photocopies of his two works published in Scotland. Professor Sydney Ross of Troy, New York State, has also donated an early edition of Liebig’s letters, published in Giessen in 1928. An extensive bibliography is available.
LORD JOHN BOYD ORR
Lord John Boyd Orr (1880-1971) was one of the most important nutritionists of his day, as well as an advocate of world co-operation and peace. His report ‘Food, health and income’ in 1936 led to the introduction of free milk for schoolchildren. The Library has a good collection of Orr’s works, together with a selection of articles, and an extensive bibliography.
NATURALISTS’ LIBRARY
The Library has a complete set of the forty volumes of Sir William Jardine’s ‘Naturalists’ Library’, 1833-1845, one of whose features is a biography, with portrait of a naturalist or botanist in each volume. All volumes have been indexed, and so provide a valuable early account of many leading figures in the field.
OSSIAN AND GAELIC
In its early days, the Highland Society took up the cause of the Gaelic language, financing the two-volume ‘Dictionarium Scoto-Celticum: a dictionary of the Gaelic Language’ in 1828, and the Library has several other Gaelic dictionaries from that period, together with Irish and Welsh dictionaries. The Society also took an interest in the works of Ossian in the late eighteenth century. It set up a committee, under the chairmanship of the writer Henry Mackenzie, to ‘inquire into the nature and authenticity of the poems of Ossian’, and its report was published in 1805. The Library has a good basic collection of Ossianic works.
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