Wilhelm Hirschfeld

Wilhelm Hirschfeld (born January 31, 1795 in Altona , † October 26, 1874 in Stoffsee near Groß Nordsee , Rendsburg district ) was a German agricultural scientist , farmer , landowner , author of specialist books and politician . His extensive knowledge of the theory and practice of agriculture , which he acquired as a student and assistant to the agricultural scientist Albrecht Daniel Thaer, through self-study and as manager of a model farm in Holstein, he passed it on to farmers in lectures and publications.

Live and act

Wilhelm Hirschfeld, the son of a doctor and later postmaster, learned practical farming on an estate near Eutin and acquired basic theoretical knowledge of scientific farming through self-study . From 1816 to 1818 he worked as a pupil and assistant to the agricultural scientist Albrecht Daniel Thaer in Möglin . In 1819 he acquired the Groß-Nordsee estate on the old Eider Canal , which he managed himself. He built a Meierhof on a peripheral area of ​​his property , which he named "Möglin" in memory of Thaer's agricultural training center.

Hirschfeld maintained close written and personal contacts with numerous agricultural scientists, soil scientists and agricultural chemists about the methods of optimal land management . On the areas of his estate, he tested the effects of improved tillage techniques and experimented with new crop rotations . His estate gradually developed into a model agricultural business and at the same time into a small experimental and research facility.

Hirschfeld has published his experiences as a farmer and the findings of agricultural science in specialist journals, farmer magazines and in several books. Especially after the publication of his first work " The Nutrition and Growth of Plants, Explained According to the Latest Chemical and Physical Observations and Applied to Agriculture " (1844), in which he presents the scientific principles of plant cultivation and his own experiences with the Cultivation of field crops reported, he became known as a competent specialist author far beyond the borders of his regional environment. Even more effective were his committed, partially published lectures, which he gave at conferences of regional agricultural associations.

In 1847, Hirschfeld organized the 11th meeting of German farmers and foresters in Kiel - a major event with over 2,500 participants from all German countries and from abroad. His " Guide to the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein ... " published for this event is still considered an exemplary description of the agricultural conditions in this region.

His interest in state politics and his passionate commitment to reforms in agriculture also led Hirschfeld into regional politics . From 1842 to 1846 he was a member of the Holstein assembly of estates ; from 1848 to 1851 he was a member of the Schleswig-Holstein assembly of estates . In 1849 he was involved in the founding of the Schleswig-Holstein Agricultural Central Association - the forerunner of the later Chamber of Agriculture . Until 1857 he was the first president to lead this association.

Hirschfeld received high awards for his services to agriculture. He was an honorary member of many domestic and foreign agricultural associations, knight of the Legion of Honor and holder of the Imperial Austrian Great Golden Medal for the arts and sciences. In 1869 he was awarded the Prussian Order of the Crown .

Major works

• The nutrition and growth of plants, explained according to the most recent chemical and physical observations, and applied to agriculture . Schwerssche Buchhandlung Kiel 1848.
• Attempt to revise the material of the true plant food . Verlag FH Nestler and Melle Hamburg 1846.
• A contribution to the determination of the legal conditions of the water for state and agriculture . Publishing house Köbner Altona 1846.
• Guide through the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein for members of the XI. Assembly of German farmers and foresters . Kiel 1847.
• Official report on the XI. Meeting of German farmers and foresters in Kiel, September 1847 . Edited by W. Hirschfeld and H. Carstens. Issued by the Board of Directors of the Assembly. Printed by HW Köbner'schen Officin, Altona 1848.
• The fertility of the soil . Series of publications: Agricultural lectures 1. Issue. Publishing house by Carl Schröder and Comp. Kiel 1852.
• Plant life . Series of publications: Agricultural lectures 2nd issue. Publishing house by Carl Schröder and Comp. Kiel 1853.
• Description of a noble estate in Schleswig-Holstein . Publishing house by Carl Schröder and Comp. Kiel 1867.
• Historical reviews collected: A contribution to the 25th anniversary of the Schleswig-Holstein survey . Publisher Nolte Hamburg 1874.

literature

• Hans-R. Hirschfeld: Wilhelm Hirschfeld, farmer, writer and politician . In: Schleswig-Holsteinisches Biographisches Lexikon, Karl Wachtholtz Verlag Neumünster, Vol. 5, 1979, pp. 131-133.
• H.-P. Blume: Wilhelm Hirschfeld - student of Albrecht Daniel Thaers and founder of the Holstein region of Möglin . In: THAER TODAY. Series of publications by the Fördergesellschaft Albrecht Daniel Thaer e. V. Möglin, Vol. 2, 2005, pp. 67–82 (with picture and list of scriptures).

Web links

• Works by Wilhelm Hirschfeld in the catalog of the Berlin State Library