Max Pressler

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Max Robert Pressler

Maximilian Robert Preßler (born January 17, 1815 in Dresden- Friedrichstadt ; † September 30, 1886 in Tharandt ) was a German engineer , forest scientist , inventor and economist .

As the father of the pure soil yield theory , which exerted a strong influence on German forestry, he is one of the most controversial personalities in the history of forestry . The inventive pressler also developed an incremental drill and the “ Messknecht ”.

Live and act

Max Preßler was the son of the noble valet Johann Preßler and grew up in poor circumstances. He attended secondary school and from 1830 to 1834/35 the technical educational institute in Dresden. After studying engineering, he worked as a senior teacher at the trade school in Zittau from 1836 . In 1840 Preßler was appointed professor of agricultural and forestry engineering and mathematics at the Academy for Farmers and Foresters in Tharandt. Until his retirement in 1883, he dealt intensively with mathematical and economic issues.

With his book Der rationelle Waldwirth and his silviculture of the highest yield , published for the first time in 1858, Preßler caused a sensation in forestry circles. The goal represented therein was a maximum return on land capital. His theses immediately became the most controversial forest issue of the day. The fact that Preßler had declared the highest financial effect to be the criterion of rational forest management initially met with sharp rejection from most foresters. In a review of Preßler's book, Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold Pfeil recognized the mathematical coherence of the calculations made in it, but strictly rejected the adoption of these ideas in forestry practice, with reference to the then no longer guaranteed sustainability . Heinrich Christian Burckhardt made a similarly clear statement .

Bust of Max Preßler in the Tharandt Forest Botanical Garden

Regardless of this, Preßler continued to develop his theory, so that he subsequently became the father of the so-called pure land yield theory , which he propagated in combative writings. In 1865 he presented his apprenticeship to the assembly of German farmers and foresters in Dresden. At the latest, their triumphant advance began in practice, especially among the forestry offspring. Even though most of the German state forest administrations - especially Hanover, Prussia and Bavaria - refused to introduce the pure soil yield theory, it was used in Saxony from 1867 to 1920. Tharandt became the center of the forestry school of pure soil yield, which remained the dominant opinion on the forestry chairs for decades.

“The new teaching was not an aberration of a mathematician in an unfamiliar field, it was entirely in line with the economic thinking of the time and was eagerly taken up by numerous forest scientists. One individual only said what many others meant and thought. A passionate and often hateful dispute between schools developed over decades (pure soil yield against pure forest yield). "

- Karl Hasel , Ekkehard Schwartz in Forest History. A floor plan for study and practice , Remagen 2002, p. 96.

According to Preßler's calculations, in addition to the pine, the spruce performed best in terms of pure soil yield. In the eyes of many of his contemporaries, the mathematician had thus provided a convincing scientific justification for the increased cultivation of conifers . In Saxony, where there was a great need for wood due to the industrial revolution , spruce was grown wherever possible. This resulted in large pure stands ( monocultures ). An example that quickly found imitators throughout Germany, so that the area under cultivation of the spruce was expanded far beyond its actual natural range - with profound effects on the landscape and the ecology of the forests. The rise of the spruce to the “bread tree” of the forest owners, but also devastating insect and storm damage in coniferous forests founded as monocultures can be seen as an indirect consequence of Preßler's ideas.

Modern model of the incremental drill invented by Preßler

In addition to his economic investigations, Preßler also confirmed himself as an inventor. So he constructed an incremental drill , a mechanical drill (hollow drill), with which wood samples can be taken from standing trees. Using these samples, the number of annual rings and thus the age and growth of a tree can be determined without having to cut it down. The Preßler incremental drill, in a further developed form, is still a tool of the trade in forestry and forest science.

The Messknecht (Engineer Messknecht) developed by him was also known. This wallet-sized measuring and calculation instrument could be used, among other things, for height and area calculations, angle measurements and leveling work. Preßler tried to make the instrument, which was literally overloaded with a lot of numerical material, popular as a "mathematical cinderella " - as he called it - not only among engineers in the most varied of fields, but also in schools and everyday workshop use.

Professor Max Robert Preßler died on September 30, 1886 in Tharandt. All of his writings and instruments were acquired by the Viennese publisher Moritz Perles in 1887 .

Awards

The University of Giessen awarded Preßler an honorary doctorate for his research . The king appointed him Royal Saxon Privy Councilor . In addition to this title, Preßler was awarded numerous medals and was an honorary member of many associations. A bust of him is in the entrance area of ​​the Tharandt Forest Botanical Garden .

Fonts (selection)

  • The acolyte, an extremely simple, dangerous, cheap and versatile measuring and calculation instrument for the needs of forest officials, forest owners, farmers, timber traders, building trades and the like. At the same time with explanations about Gangloff's wooden calculation stock , Braunschweig 1852
  • The acolyte and his internship , Tharandt 1852
  • New cattle measurement. An aid for the simple and safe measurement of the total and type weight, as well as the fattening progress of animals for slaughter of all kinds - without any calculation and for any size and weight. For farmers, cattle masters, cattle dealers, butchers and for taxation , Dresden 1856
  • New wood industry tables ... etc. , Leipzig 1857
  • The rational forest host and his silviculture of the highest net income ... etc. , 2 volumes, Dresden 1858/1885 (later under the title The rational forest landlord and his sustainable forestry with the highest net income )
  • The forest financial accounting with application to forest valuation and business operations , 1859
  • The high forest operation of the highest ground power with the highest mass and net yield , 1865
  • The economist's silviculture as the founder of true unity between agriculture and forestry and their schools , 1868
  • Forestry aid book for school and practice in tables and rules for carrying out wood-business and technically related measurement, appraisal, accounting and operational work , Dresden 1869
  • Metrical wooden boards , 1873

Most of the works by Preßler saw several new editions well into the first third of the 20th century, with the titles varying. He was also one of the editors of the two-volume standard work Die Holzmeßkunst (Berlin 1873) and edited the 6th edition of Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold Pfeil's Forestry (Leipzig 1870).

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Pressler, Max
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pressler, Max Robert; Pressler, Max
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German forest scientist, economist and inventor
DATE OF BIRTH January 17, 1815
PLACE OF BIRTH Friedrichstadt (Dresden)
DATE OF DEATH September 30, 1886
Place of death Tharandt