Hugo Werner (agricultural scientist)

Hugo Werner (born June 26, 1839 in Berlin ; † October 17, 1912 there ) was a German agricultural scientist . He was one of the all-rounders among the academically trained farmers of his time and set the trend in the fields of crop cultivation , animal breeding and agricultural management .

Life path

Hugo Werner, the eldest son of a large family, attended the Königliche Realgymnasium in Berlin and from 1856 completed an agricultural apprenticeship on a domain in Western Pomerania. From 1859 he studied natural sciences and economics at the University of Berlin and then agriculture at the Agricultural Academy Eldena near Greifswald. At times he worked as an economic inspector on the experimental farm in Eldena. In 1866 he received his doctorate from the University of Greifswald with a dissertation on the history and theory of drainage. In the same year he received the Venia legendi for the entire field of agricultural education and was entrusted with the management of the test field at the Eldena Academy.

In 1869 Werner followed a call to teach agriculture at the Agricultural Academy in Proskau . His teaching activities were interrupted by participating in the war against France in 1870/71. After the end of the war, he went to the Agricultural Academy in Bonn-Poppelsdorf as a lecturer and administrator of estate management in the spring of 1871 , where he was appointed professor in 1872. In 1889 he took over the chair for agricultural management at the Agricultural University in Berlin as a full professor . He taught here until 1909. In the 1893/95 term of office he was rector of this university. In 1895 he was appointed a secret councilor.

Research and Teaching

Werner was a universally educated scientist who saw it as his primary life task to summarize the secured knowledge in the main areas of agriculture in clear presentations. He published noteworthy treatises in specialist journals, wrote numerous textbooks and manuals and worked as a co-author and editor of compilations. His main fields of work were crop cultivation, animal breeding and agricultural management .

In Proskau, Werner initially dealt with business issues. Writings on economics and bookkeeping were among his first independent publications. At the Agricultural Academy in Bonn-Poppelsdorf he carried out extensive field tests: here his main interest was crop production. He set new standards for presenting agronomic knowledge in an exemplary manner for science and practice with his " Handbook of forage cultivation on arable land and the feeding of farm animals " (1875, 3rd edition 1907). “ The potato growing according to its current rational standpoint ” (1876, 10th edition 1949) developed into his book with the highest circulation .

The two-volume “ Handbuch des Getreidebaues ” (1885) , written by Hugo Werner together with Friedrich August Körnicke , is one of the classic works of crop cultivation . Werner is the sole author of the second volume, entitled “ The varieties and cultivation of grain ”. Noteworthy are his two practice-oriented guides “ Der rationelle Grainebau ” (1885, 2nd ed. 1895) and “ The practical sugar beet farmer ” (1888).

At the Agricultural University in Berlin , Werner's teaching and research activities shifted more to animal breeding and again to agricultural management . His main work from this last creative period is the book " Die Rinderzucht " (1892, 3rd edition 1912) with over 600 printed pages . In addition to writings on European cattle breeds, he also published articles on the historical development of agricultural production in Germany. He was also the editor of the third and fourth editions (1900, 1910) of Guido Krafft 's "Illustrated Agricultural Lexicon", which was published by Paul Parey in Berlin.

Major works

• The agricultural yield attack, the economic organization and economic management . Verlag Korn Breslau 1872; 2. completely reworked. Edition ibid. 1887.
• Textbook of “single” and “double” agricultural accounting and proof of taxable income. For self-teaching and for use in agricultural schools . Publisher H. Voigt Leipzig 1875; 2. verb. Edition ibid. 1894.
• Handbook of forage cultivation on arable land and feeding of farm animals . Publishing house Parey Berlin 1875; 2nd ed. 1889; 3rd edition 1907.
• The potato growing according to its current rational point of view . Verlag Paul Parey Berlin 1876 (Thaer Library, Vol. 28); 2nd ed. 1886; 3rd edition 1895; 4th edition 1902; 5th edition 1906; 6th edition 1910; 7th edition 1917; 8th edition 1919; 9th edition 1930, 10th edition 1949. - 7th and 7th ed. 8th edition reworked by C. von Eckenbrecher, 9th a. 10th edition revised by Kurt Opitz.
• What is the future of grain production in Germany? Verlag Strauss Bonn 1879.
• Handbook of Grain Cultivation . Verlag Strauss Bonn 1885. Vol. 1: The types and varieties of grain , edited by FA Körnicke. Vol. 2: The types and cultivation of the grain , edited by Hugo Werner.
• The rational cultivation of grain . Verlag Strauss Bonn 1885; 2nd edition Verlag J. Neumann Neudamm 1895.
• The practical sugar beet farmer. Guide to the rational cultivation of sugar beet . Publishing house Cohen and Son Bonn 1888.
• A contribution to the history of European domestic cattle . F. Dümmler´s Verlag Berlin 1892.
• The cattle breeding. Physique, lofts, breeding, keeping and use of the cattle. Practical manual . Publisher Paul Parey Berlin 1892; 2nd edition 1902; 3rd edition 1912.
• The technology of modern agriculture Verlag F. Telge Berlin 1895; 2nd edition under the title: Contemporary agricultural enterprise , Verlag Deutsche Tageszeitung Berlin 1906; 3rd edition ibid. 1909; 4th edition, reworked by Konrad Schliephake 1923.

literature

• Prof. Dr. Hugo Werner, Berlin, on his 70th birthday, June 26, 1909 . In: Deutsche Landwirtschaftliche Presse vol. 36, 1909, pp. 252-254 (with picture).
• H. Thiehl: Go. Reg.-Rat Professor Dr. Werner †, b. June 26, 1839, d. October 17, 1912 . In: Deutsche Landwirtschaftliche Presse vol. 39, 1912, p. 985 (with picture on p. 984).
• Hugo Werner † . In: Communications from the German Agricultural Society, vol. 27, 1912, p. 587.
• Hugo Werner . In: Yearbook of the German Agricultural Society Vol. 28, 1913, before p. 333 (with picture).

Web links

• Literature by and about Hugo Werner in the catalog of the German National Library