Sir John Bennet Lawes. 235 



beginning. All the time he could spare in the midst of many other 

 responsibilities and duties he had given to the work. But with 

 Dr. Gilbert it had been the work of his life. If it had not been for 

 Dr. Gilbert's collaboration their investigations would have been in a 

 very different state to what they were then." 



Shortly after the Jubilee celebration Dr. Gilbert received the honour 

 of Knighthood. In September of the same year the Liebig Silver Medal 

 was awarded to Sir John Lawes and Sir Henry Gilbert by the curators 

 of the Liebig Foundation of the Koyal Bavarian Academy of Sciences. 

 In the following year, 1894, the Albert Gold Medal of the Society of 

 Arts was presented to Lawes and Gilbert by H.R.H. the Prince of 

 Wales, " for their joint services to scientific agriculture, and notably 

 for the researches which, throughout a period of fifty years, have been 

 carried on by them at the Experimental Farm, Rothamsted." 



Something must now be said as to the personality of the remark- 

 able man whose life's work we have attempted to describe. He 

 possessed an extremely vigorous constitution, and when past 85, 

 exhibited but few of the infirmities of old age. His holiday was 

 always spent in Scotland, and deer stalking and salmon fishing were 

 then his chief occupations. At home, all his leisure time was spent 

 on the farm. He was a keen observer, and knew the experimental 

 fields better than anyone else. His interest in agricultural problems 

 never tired, he was continually finding fresh subjects for inquiry. 

 While gifted with a full share of the scientific imagination, he was 

 thoroughly practical in his conclusions. His long experience as a 

 farmer, and the careful attention to economy learnt in business, were 

 of great use to him when he brought the results of scientific investi- 

 gation before the agricultural world. He took a broad, statesman-like 

 view of all agricultural questions, and was looked up to by the 

 English farmer as his safest guide and his highest authority. 



Sir John Lawes seldom took part in public functions, he was not 

 seen at meetings of scientific societies, and took no active part in 

 politics ; excepting the hours unavoidably spent on his London 

 business, he lived as far as possible a country life. It was, however, 

 in no sense a secluded life ; his correspondence was very large, and the 

 visitors to the Rothamsted experiments were extremely numerous and 

 of all nationalities. They found at Rothamsted a genial host and a 

 ready guide to the fields, where the lessons taught by the experimental 

 crops were described in brief and pithy sentences by one who knew 

 thoroughly the whole history of each plot. 



Sir John Lawes by no means confined his attention to science, 

 agriculture, and business ; he was a man of active benevolence. The 

 agricultural labourers of Harpenden found in him their best friend. He 

 began to provide allotment gardens in 1852, and before his death the 



