|
William James Farrer (3 April 184516 April 1906)〔 〕 was a leading Australian agronomist and plant breeder. Farrer is best remembered as the originator of the "Federation" strain of wheat, distributed in 1903. His work resulted in significant improvements in both the quality and crop yields of Australia's national wheat harvest, a contribution for which he earned the title 'father of the Australian wheat industry'. ==Early years== Farrer was born on 3 April 1845 in the town of Docker, Westmorland in the English north west (now Cumbria). The son of Thomas Farrer, a tenant farmer, and his wife Sarah William, William Farrer was selected for a scholarship at Christ's Hospital, London where he was awarded a gold and silver medal for mathematics. After earning a B.A. at Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1868, Farrer emigrated to Australia in 1870. A sufferer of tuberculosis,〔 farrer hoped to find Australia's drier warmer climate more agreeable to his then delicate medical condition.〔 〕 Initially, Farrer lived with friends at Parramatta but was later employed as a tutor in Duntroon〔 then in regional NSW.〔His best friends were Josh Pickering and Tyler Coleman, who he said influenced his successful life.〕 In 1873 he published ''Grass and Sheep-farming A Paper: Speculative and Suggestive'' which dealt with the suitability of various soils for grasses and the scientific side of sheep-farming.〔 〕 After working as a tutor on George Campbell's sheep station at Duntroon, New South Wales (now part of the Australian Capital Territory), he qualified as a surveyor in 1875. Farrer worked for the Department of Lands in wheat growing districts of NSW from 1875–1886. In 1882 Farrer married Henrietta Nina the only daughter of Leopold Fane de Salis, the then Member of Parliament for Queanbeyan, N.S.W. Four years later De Salis gifted to Nina alone, 97 hectares of land. A farm rather than a station 'Lambrigg', (named for Farrer's home district), formerly part of 'Cuppacumbalong', was located on the Murrumbidgee River, near Tharwa in the present day Australian Capital Territory. Farrer's initial attempts at establishing a vineyard were thwarted as the soil proved unsuitable and he turned his attention to wheat cultivation. His goal was to produce a good loaf of bread. He would consider himself a scientific gardener. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Farrer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|