STEPHEN HALES 

 1677 1761 



BY FRANCIS DARWIN 



An error corrected Hales' scientific contemporaries Physiology or Physics 

 Hales the Founder of the experimental method in Physiology His 

 style Cambridge days Teddington Vegetable Staticks Experiments 

 described Transpiration Root Pressure Assimilation Practical 

 application to greenhouses Distribution of growth first measured 

 Hales' other activities Sachs 5 tribute. 



IN attempting to give a picture of any man's life and work 

 it is well to follow the rule of the Dictionary of National 

 Biography, and begin with the dates of his birth and death. 

 Stephen Hales was born in 1677 an< ^ died in 1761, having had 

 experiences of the reigns of seven sovereigns. 



The authorities for the life of Hales are given in my article 

 on him in the Dictionary of National Biography. Botanists in 

 general probably take their knowledge of the main facts of his 

 life from Sachs' History of Botany. It is therefore worth while 

 to point out that both the original and the English translation 

 (1890) contain the incorrect statement that Hales was educated 

 at Christ's College, Cambridge, and that he held the living of 

 Riddington, whereas he is one of the glories of Corpus, and 

 was perpetual curate of Teddington. These inaccuracies how- 

 ever are trifles in relation to the great and striking merits of 

 Sachs' History, a work which to my thinking exhibits the 

 strength and brilliance of the author's mind as clearly as any 

 of his more technical writings. Sachs was no niggling bio- 

 grapher, and his broad vigorous outlines must form the basis of 

 what anyone, who follows him, has to say about the Botanists 

 of a past day. 



O. B. 5 



