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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "bruce smith" <cityhomesteader@gmail.com>
  • To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] A History of Organic Farming--
  • Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:49:05 -0500

I am loving these articles Guys!!  Where can I read them in the entirety..


On Jan 25, 2008 12:36 PM, TradingPostPaul <tradingpost@riseup.net> wrote:

Excellent. You have some great sources.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 1/25/2008 at 2:06 AM Dieter Brand wrote:

>>Yes, tho they did specify it was only about the organic movement in this
>>country. As opposed to traditional practices in the past. ...
>
>  That is true, it is mostly about the US organic movement.  They
>  did, however, start by giving Steiner a write off to establish Howard
>  as the father of all organics.  It doesn't really matter either way,
>  but if people make this sort statement they at least ought to
>  present the facts.  Steiner gave his lectures in 1924, which picked
>  up on traditional methods still in practice at the time.  And even
>  though I don't practice biodynamics, I recognize his merit for
>  presenting an organic alternative to farmers at a time when
>  agro-chemistry was considered the only way to go and anybody
>  who did not use synthetic fertilizers was considered a backward
>  peasant.  Howard, who published his Testament in the US in 1945,
>  is a great guy.  And there were probably many, contemporary or
>  since, who deserve equal praise.
>
>>And you're correct; Liebig did regret the opinion later in life. Most
>>writers don't know this. Scientists following him missed that point and
>>agribusiness since then pushed his original view. I've never actually
read
>>his words on it, thanks.
>
>  The English translation of the Liebig quote is from a book on Organic
>Soil
>  Conditioning by Dr. W. Jackson.  I have never seen the German original
>  since it has been out of print for over 100 years.  Makes you wonder why
>  some people are none too eager to get to know the whole of the story.
>
>  Here is some more:
>
>"I had sinned against the wisdom of our creator, and received just
>punishment for it. I wanted to improve his handiwork, and in my blindness,
>I
>believed that in this wonderful chain of laws, which ties life to the
>surface
>of the earth and always keeps it rejuvenated, there might be a link
missing
>that had to be replaced by me--this weak, powerless nothing.
>
>  "The law, to which my research on the topsoil led me, states, 'On the
>outer
>crust of the earth, under the influence of the sun, organic life shall
>develop'. and so, the great master and builder gave the fragments of the
>earth
>the ability to attract and hold all these elements necessary to feed
plants
>and further serve animals, like a magnet attracts and holds iron
>particles, so
>as no piece be lost. Our master enclosed a second law unto this one,
>through
>which the plant bearing earth becomes an enormous cleansing apparatus for
>the
>water. Through this particular ability, the earth removes from the water
>all
>substances harmful to humans and animals--all products of decay and
>putrefaction, of perished plant and animal generations.
>
>  "What might justify my actions is the circumstance, that a man is the
>product of his time, and he is only able to escape the commonly accepted
>views
>if a violent pressure urges him to muster all his strength to struggle
>free of
>these chains of error. The opinion, that plants draw their food from a
>solution that is formed in the soil through rainwater, was everyone's
>belief.
>It was engraved into my mind. This opinion was wrong and the source of my
>foolish behavior.
>
>  "When a chemist makes a mistake in rating agricultural fertilizers,
don't
>be too critical of his errors, because he has had to base his conclusions
>upon
>facts which he can't know from his own experience, but rather, has to take
>from agricultural texts as true and reliable. After I learned the reason
>why
>my fertilizers weren't effective in the proper way, I was like a person
>that
>received a new life. For along with that, all processes of tillage were
now
>explained as to their natural laws. Now that this principle is known and
>clear
>to all eyes, the only thing that remains is the astonishment of why it
>hadn't
>been discovered a long time ago. The human spirit, however, is a strange
>thing. Whatever doesn't fit into a given circle of thinking, doesn't
>exist."
>
>And here is another Liebig quote in English from Benckiser and Dekker:
>
>  "Unfortunately the true beauty of agriculture with its intellectual and
>animating principles is almost unrecognized. The art of agriculture will
>be lost when ignorant, unscientific and short sighted teachers persuade
>the farmer to put all his hopes in universal remedies, which don't exist
>in nature. Following their advice, bedazzled by an ephemeral success, the
>farmer will forget the soil and lose sight of his inherent values and
their
>influence."
>
>  Truly prophetic.  Both Liebig quotes are from:
>
>Die Grundsatze der Agriculturchemie mit Rucksicht auf die in England
>angestellten Untersuchungen. Braunschweig. (1855)
>
>  Dieter Brand
>  Portugal
>
>
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--
Bruce Smith

@{--+----+------+------------

A little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but a lot of faith will bring heaven to your soul.  ~Author Unknown


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