Julius Kühn

This article refers to the agricultural scientist Julius Kühn. The handball player of the same name can be found under Julius Kühn (handball player) .

Julius Kühn, 1871. Graphic by Adolf Neumann and CH Schulze.

Julius Kühn

Grave site in Halle

Julius Kühn (born October 23, 1825 in Pulsnitz , † April 14, 1910 in Halle (Saale) ) was a German agricultural scientist. After Albrecht Daniel Thaer , he is considered the most important reformer of agricultural studies and the pioneering designer of agricultural university studies in Germany.

Life path

Julius Kühn, son of an estate inspector, received his primary school education in Pulsnitz. Although his father fell ill and the family was in financial difficulties, his relatives enabled him to train at the Royal Technical Educational Institute in Dresden from 1839 onwards . At Easter 1841 Kühn went into agricultural practice. As an apprentice, assistant and later estate manager, he acquired extensive knowledge of agriculture. First he went to his father for half a year, then he practiced until 1844 with the agricultural reformer and commissioner Heinrich August Blochmann on his estate and castle in Wachau . He then moved to Count Kospoth on Halbau and became an administrator there after three months. At Easter 1845 he became the administrator in Nieder-Kaina . From Easter 1846 he was administrator of the Friedrichstal estate near Radeberg , which also belonged to Heinrich August Blochmann. From 1848 to 1855 he was administrator of a count's estate in Groß Krauschen near Bunzlau . During this time he studied the diseases of agricultural crops intensively with the help of a microscope and published several articles about it.

In 1855 Kühn enrolled at the agricultural college in Bonn-Poppelsdorf . For financial reasons, however, he had to give up his studies after two semesters. In 1856 he received his doctorate at the University of Leipzig with the dissertation " About the fire in the grain and the infestation of the rape and about the development of the maize fire ". In the same year he completed his habilitation at the Agricultural Academy in Proskau , where he held a lecture on arable farming systems and crop rotations as a private lecturer in the winter semester of 1856/57.

In the spring of 1857 Kühn returned to agricultural practice. He became economic director for the possessions of Count Egloffstein near Groß-Glogau in Lower Silesia. On June 2, 1857, he married Anna Gansel, daughter of a master bricklayer and builder of several churches in Silesia. The marriage resulted in two daughters and three sons.

In 1858 Kühn published the book “ The diseases of cultural plants, their causes and their prevention ”, a critical presentation of the most important plant diseases with references to their dependence on climate and soil conditions. He published numerous results of his previous observations and studies on plant diseases here for the first time. He insisted on taking greater account of physiological findings in agricultural science. The attached article “ The microscope as the farmer's household appliance ” is considered programmatic . With this book Kühn became the actual founder of modern plant pathology .

His book “ The most expedient feeding of cattle from a scientific and practical point of view ”, published in 1861 , was a prize-winning work from the Silesian Society for Patriotic Culture. During Kühn's lifetime, twelve German-language editions and several translations in other languages ​​were published.

On April 30, 1862, Julius Kühn was appointed full professor of agriculture at the University of Halle (Saale) . Here he taught and researched for almost five decades until his retirement in 1909.

His grave is in the north cemetery of Halle.

Teaching and Research

With the appointment of Julius Kühn to Halle, a new chapter began in the history of agricultural science and agricultural studies in Germany. On February 27, 1863, Kühn received ministerial approval to set up an agricultural university institute. According to his plans, he developed this institute into the most important agricultural science teaching and research facility in Germany in the following years. He created an exemplary test field of around 115 hectares and an agricultural-botanical demonstration garden. At the same time he set up an experimental station and an agricultural-physiological laboratory. With the construction of what would later become a world-famous “ pet garden”, he laid the foundation stone for a pet education collection (today: Kühn Museum or Museum für Petkunde Julius Kühn ). He paid the costs for the ongoing expansion of these facilities partly from his private assets.

In 1872 and 1888, he published two fundamental works on the conception and content of the agricultural studies in Halle. For Kühn, agricultural science was primarily an applied natural science in the sense of a "physiology and biology of cultivated plants", which, however, also had to take into account questions of economic profitability. There was no contradiction between science and practice for him. He believed that practical experience must be the basis for all agricultural science. For this reason, he required every applicant to provide evidence of several years of practical training in order to be admitted to the agricultural course.

Kühn attached great importance to practical exercises during his studies. In the winter semester of 1862/63 he set up an “Agricultural Conservatory” (from which today's Corps Agronomia Hallensis in Göttingen emerged ) to give students the opportunity to practice free speech and problems from science and agricultural practice at an early stage to be presented properly. After Kühn's appointment, the number of students who wanted to study agriculture in Halle skyrocketed. In 1862 Kühn had started his first lecture with three people, in 1864 there were already 120 students. From 1865 onwards, the Agricultural Institute in Halle was considered the most popular agricultural training institute in Germany for decades.

On the large test field of his institute, Kühn carried out numerous long-term experiments, including questions about soil cultivation , crop rotation and fertilization . The long-term field test “ Ewiger Roggenbau ”, which was set up in 1878 and is still being carried out today, became famous among experts . In 1898 Kühn acquired the Lindchen manor near Senftenberg in Lower Lusatia, where he investigated the possibilities of improving the cultivation of agricultural crops on very light sandy soils.

Kühn continued to devote a large part of his research work in Halle to the field of phytopathology and questions of plant protection . The most extensive studies concerned the biology and control of the beet nematode . Kühn recognized the beet nematodes living in the arable soil as the cause of the "beet fatigue" which was widespread at the time and developed methods with trapping plants to combat this pest. On his initiative, a “test station for nematode control” was founded in Halle in 1889. From 1890 to 1908 Kühn was chairman of the special committee for plant protection of the German Agricultural Society.

Kühn has published over 300 papers and essays from almost all areas of agriculture. From 1863 he published many of his contributions in the irregularly appearing "Mittheilungen from the physiological laboratory and the experimental station of the agricultural institute of the University of Halle". Since 1872 Kühn has published his more extensive contributions in the series of publications he edited "Reports from the physiological laboratory and the experimental station of the agricultural institute of the University of Halle". 20 issues had appeared by 1911. After Julius Kühn's death, these reports were continued as the “ Kühn Archive ”. This “archive” soon developed into one of the most respected specialist journals in German agricultural science. A total of 85 volumes were published from 1911 to 1971. The magazine was reactivated in 1992, but in 1997, with volume 91, it had to cease publication due to insufficient subscribers.

On October 1, 1909, "Father Kühn", as his students called him, retired. For almost five decades he played a decisive role in the development of agricultural science in Germany. His institute in Halle became a model for some agricultural institutes founded at other universities. Many of the professors appointed to these new institutes were students of Julius Kühn. Among the most important are Gustav Drechsler (1833–1890), who founded an agricultural teaching and research institute based on the model in Halle at the University of Göttingen, and Kurt von Rümker (1859–1940), who after 1895 at the University of Breslau became the universalist Kühn's approach to a specialization-based agricultural science.

honors and awards

Kühn received calls to Göttingen (1863), Hohenheim (1865) and Vienna (1869), all of which he refused. In 1882 he became a Privy Councilor, in 1892 a Secret High Councilor and in 1903 a Real Privy Councilor with the title of Excellency . Extensive commemorative publications were presented to him on his 70th and 80th birthday. In 1877 he was awarded the Golden Liebig Medal . The city of Halle (Saale) granted him honorary citizenship in 1895 . The University of Krakow honored him with an honorary doctorate in 1900 .

No other German agronomist has received as many decorations as Julius Kühn. For his extraordinary contribution to agricultural science he was presented with:

the Order of the Red Eagle II class with oak leaves and star

the Royal Crown Order (Prussia) 2nd class with star

the Grand Ducal Saxon House Order of Vigilance or of the White Falcon

the Grand Ducal Mecklenburg House Order of the Wendish Crown

the Duke of Anhalt House Order of Albrecht the Bear Knight 1st Class

the Duke of Saxony-Ernestine House Order

the Royal Saxon Order of Albrecht

the Imperial Austrian Franz Joseph Order

the Imperial Russian Order of Saint Stanislaus with a star

From 1874 Kühn was a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and since 1899 a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences in Paris. 24 agricultural associations or specialist societies awarded him honorary membership , including the Royal Hanoverian Agricultural Society in Celle (1864), the Imperial-Royal Agricultural Society in Vienna (1888) and the Imperial Agricultural Society in Moscow (1893).

The German Phytomedical Society has been awarding the Julius Kühn Prize to young scientists since 1979 . The Plant Production Section of the University of Halle awarded a “ Julius Kühn Badge ” between 1983 and 1990, among others to students with excellent academic achievements. In 1980 the rector of the University of Halle donated the “ Julius Kühn Medal ”. By 2004, 60 medals had been awarded to deserving scientists.

Since January 1, 2008, federal plant research has been called the Julius Kühn Institute - Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants with its headquarters in Quedlinburg (Saxony-Anhalt). It was formed from two institutes of the previous Federal Research Center for Agriculture (FAL), the Federal Biological Institute for Agriculture and Forestry (BBA) and the Federal Institute for Breeding Research on Cultivated Plants (BAZ). The Julius Kühn Institute was established on the basis of the law on the reorganization of departmental research of October 24, 2007 within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection .

Books and writings

• The diseases of cultural plants, their causes and their prevention . Landw. Verlagbuchhandlung Gustav Bosselmann Berlin 1858; 2. unchangeable Ed. 1859.
• The most appropriate feeding of cattle from the scientific and practical point of view . Schönfeld's Verlagbuchhandlung Dresden 1861; 2nd ed. 1864; 3rd edition 1866; 4th ed. 1868; 5th ed. 1871; 6th edition 1873; 7th ed. 1878; 8th edition, 1881; 9th edition, 1887; 10th edition 1891; 11th edition, 1897; 12th edition. Verlag RE Schmidt & Co. Berlin 1906; 13th edition edited by Paul Holdefleiß, Verlag Schaper Hannover 1918.
• News about studying agriculture at the University of Halle . Publishing house Wiegandt & Hempel Berlin 1872.
• Report on attempts to test Gülich's method in the cultivation of potatoes . Bookstore of the Halle orphanage 1872 = reports from the physiological laboratory and the research facility of the agricultural institute of the University of Halle H. 1.
• The results of the experiments to determine beet fatigue and to study the nature of the nematodes . Schönfeld's Verlagbuchhandlung Dresden 1881 = reports from the physiological laboratory and the research institute of the agricultural institute of the University of Halle H. 3.
• The effectiveness of the nematode trapping plants according to the test results of 1881 . Schönfeld's Verlagbuchhandlung Dresden 1882 = reports from the physiological laboratory and the research institute of the agricultural institute of the University of Halle H. 4.
• Studying agriculture at the University of Halle. Historical development and organization of it. A commemorative publication to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the University's agricultural institute . Plötz'sche Buchdruckerei Halle a. P. 1888.
• Business administration . Handwritten edition. Halle (Saale) 1889. 211 pages. Available in: University and State Library Saxony-Anhalt, Halle.

literature

• Festschrift for the seventieth birthday of Julius Kühn . Publishing bookstore Paul Parey Berlin 1895 (with picture).
• Max Ohnefalsch-Richter and Paul Holdefleiß: Report on the celebration of the 70th birthday of Julius Kühn, made on behalf of the festival committee . Hall / S. 1895 (with picture).
• The solemn opening lecture of Mr. Geh. Ober-Reg.-Rat Prof. Dr. J. Kühn for the 81st semester of his teaching activity in Halle . In: Fühlings Landwirtschaftliche Zeitung vol. 51, 1902, pp. 801–809 (with picture).
• F. Wohltmann, P. Holdefleiß (editor): Julius Kühn. His life and work. Festschrift for the 80th birthday on October 23, 1905 . Published on behalf of the Festival Committee. Paul Parey publishing house in Berlin 1905 (with extensive bibliography).
• Carl Steinbrück (editor): Report on the celebration of the 80th birthday of Julius Kühn . Published on behalf of the Festival Committee. Book printing of the orphanage Halle a. S. 1906 (with picture).
• Hugo Thiel: Julius Kühn † . In: Communications from the German Agricultural Society , Volume 25, 1910, pp. 241–242.
• Hans Wohlmannstetter: Julius Kühn . In: Soziale Kultur Vol. 30, 1910, pp. 321–337.
• W. Staudinger: A man by his own strength. A memorial sheet for Julius Kühn . In: Die Gartenlaube, born 1910, pp. 634–637 (with picture).
• Hugo Bode: From the spirit of Julius Kühn . In: Kühn Archive Vol. 3, 1913, pp. 117–127.
• Gustav Frölich: Julius Kühn. Occasional speech of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birthday (October 23, 1925) given on October 30, 1925 . Halle / Saale 1926 = Hallische University Speeches H. 30.
• Paul Holdefleiß : Julius Kühn . In: Mitteldeutsche Lebensbilder , Volume 2: Lebensbilder des 19. Jahrhundert, Magdeburg 1927, pp. 353-360 (with picture).
• Gustav Könnecke: Julius Kühn, his life and work . In: Kühn Archive Vol. 74, 1960, pp. 1–12 (with picture).
• Maximilian Klinkowski: The phytopathologist Julius Kühn . In: Kühn Archive Vol. 74, 1960, pp. 13-18.
• Fritz Scheffer: In memory of Julius Kühn . In: Landwirtschaftliche Forschung , Vol. 13, 1960, pp. 1-4.
• Mauritz Dittrich: Julius Kühn and his agricultural institute in Halle. A contribution to the history of scientific methodology . In: Journal for Agricultural History and Agricultural Sociology , Vol. 10, 1962, pp. 61–70.
• Heinz Schwabe: On the idea of ​​the universitas litterarum with Julius Kühn and his successors. From agricultural trades to the productive force of agricultural science . In: 100 Years of Agricultural Institutes at the University of Halle. Published by the Halle Faculty of Agriculture in 1963.
• Mauritz Dittrich: Julius Kühn (1825-1910) . In: Great Farmers. Edited by Günter Franz and Heinz Haushofer. DLG-Verlag Frankfurt (Main) 1970, pp. 220-230 (with picture).
• Heinz Schwabe: On Julius Kühn's contribution to the development of academic agricultural training . In: Conference report of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the GDR No. 173 (5), 1979, pp. 101–113.
• Gerhard Heinze: Julius Kühn, the founder of the Agricultural Institute in Halle / Saale and creator of modern phytopathology in the 19th century in Germany . In: Newsletter of the German Plant Protection Service, Volume 43, 1991, pp. 252-253.
• Helmuth Schmalz: Julius Kühn (1825–1910) - his life and work . In: Monday lectures on the history of the University of Halle II. Important scholars of the University of Halle since it was founded in 1694. Edited by Hans-Hermann Hartwich and Gunnar Berg. Verlag Leske and Budrich Opladen 1995, pp. 81-104.
• German Bundestag, printed matter 16/6124 of July 23, 2007

Quotes

Julius Kühn on his job and his highest goal as an agricultural scientist:

“My job was a goal that wasn't stated before. But scientific research is not yet agriculture. The real goal is to produce as much food and clothing as possible. Just as medical science has as its practical goal the preservation of strength and health of the body, our science has a duty to try to meet the needs of mankind for food and clothing. We have to recognize the laws of nature, we have to apply the laws of nature with the greatest possible rent, for the production of matter. The highest scientific goal is the practical goal ... Our task is the benefit « .

Source: Saale-Zeitung (Halle), March 11, 1907, No. 118, supplement.

Web links

Commons : Julius Kühn  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Julius Kühn  - Sources and full texts

• Literature by and about Julius Kühn in the catalog of the German National Library
• Entry on Julius Kühn in the Catalogus Professorum Halensis
• Biography Julius Kühn - Museum for Pet Lore "Julius Kühn"
• History of the Julius Kühn Institute

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hans-Hermann Hartwich: Important scholars of the University of Halle since its foundation in 1694 . Springer Verlag, 2013, ISBN 3-322-97338-7 .