5 



INTRODUCTION 



John Bennet Lawes was the founder of the Rothamsted Experi- 

 mental Station. He began experiments with various manurial 

 substances^ first with plants in pots and then in the fields soon after 

 entering into possession of the estate at Rothamsted in 1834. More 

 systematic field experiments were begun in 1843 ; the services of 

 Joseph Henry Gilbert were then obtained as Director, thus starting the 

 long association which only terminated with the death of Lawes in 

 1900, followed by that of Gilbert in 1901. 



The Rothamsted Experimental Station has never been connected with 

 any external organisation, but was long maintained entirely at the 

 cost of the late Sir John Lawes. In 1889 he instituted a Trust for 

 the continuance of the investigations, setting apart for that purpose 

 the old laboratory which had been built by public subscription and 

 presented to him in 1855, certain areas of land on which the experi- 

 mental plots were situated, and a Trust Fund of £100,000. 



By the provision of the Trust Deed the management is vested in 

 a Committee nominated by the Royal Society (four persons), the 

 Royal Agricultural Society (two persons), the Chemical and the 

 Linnean Societies (one each), together with the owner of Rothamsted. 



Mr. A. D. Hall (now Sir A. Daniel Hall) was appointed Director in 

 1902 and held the position till he resigned in 191 2, when the present 

 Director, Dr. E. J. Russell, was appointed. Mr. Hall brought about 

 great developments, re-organising the work, increasing the staff, and 

 considerably extending the buildings and laboratories. In 1906 

 Mr. J. F. Mason, M.P., presented the Committee with £1,000 for the 

 building and equipment of the " James Mason " liacteriological 

 Laboratory, together with an annual grant towards its maintenance. 

 In 1907 the Goldsmiths' Company made a grant of £10,000, the income 

 of which is devoted exclusively to the investigation of the soil. The 

 Permanent Nitrate Committee also made a grant of £2,000 to the 

 endowment. In 1913 Lady Gilbert presented the library of the late 

 Sir J. Henry Gilbert. Since 1913 the Hon. Rupert Guinness has 

 provided funds to maintain a special research chemist, and in 191 7 

 Mr. W. B. Randall similarly made provision for a research biologist. 

 The collection of smaller donations and annual subscriptions is the 

 work of the Society for extending the Rothamsted Experiments which 

 was founded in 1904. . 



During the year 191 1 a scheme for the encouragement of agri- 

 cultural research was issued by the Board of Agriculture, funds being 

 provided by the Development Commission ; under this scheme 

 a certain number of institutes were established for fundamental 

 researches in agriculture each dealing with one great branch of the 

 subject. The Rothamsted Experimental Station is recognised as the 

 Institute for deahng with Soil and Plant Nutrition Problems. In 

 accordance with this scheme an annual grant of £2,500 was made, 

 which has since been increased to £2,850. 



Besides the regular staff, a number of post graduate workers and 

 holders of scholarships carry out their investigations at Rothamsted, 



