Duhamel du Monceau
Name: Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau
Achievements: Introduced ideas of Jethro Tull to 18th cent. French agriculture.
Born: 1700; Paris, France
Died: August 23, 1782; Paris, France (Aged 82)
Field & Discipline: Agriculture: Agronomist
Language: French
Father: Alexander Duhamel
Mother: Unknown
Siblings: Unknown
Spouse: None
Children: None
Education: College d'Harcourt
Major Work:
"Treatise on Farming following the Principles of Mr Tull" (1750-66)
Life & Times:
Duhamel was a rich young man whose father was a member of the landed gentry. He had a reputation as rather a wild student but in his twenties he went to lectures on science at the Jardin du Roi and from then on devoted his energies to scientific enquiry.
He got to know the botanist [a pal of] Bernard de Jussieu* and became interested in botanical research. In 1728 he presented a paper to the Academy of Sciences on the cause of a disease in saffron plants (which was particularly virulent at the time). Duhamel demonstrated that the blight was caused by a plant parasite that spread under the surface from one saffron bulb to another.
On the strength of his findings, Duhamel was elected to the Academy as associate chemist. His range of interests was broad and during the 1730's he took part in chemical research. This included an attempt to make tartar soluble, enquiries into the synthesis of sal ammoniac, and into the nature of the purple dye obtained from shellfish.
In 1737 he presented a paper on his most important chemical work, on the nature of sea salt. Duhamel suggested that there were different fixed alkaline components of salts and that these were essentially soda and potash. In 1730, he became an associate botanist at the Academy.
His interests included timber cultivation, and in 1732 he was appointed Inspector General of the Navy with the task of supervising the timber used to build ships for the French navy. He published several papers on the structural properties of wood, the management of timber cultivation, and the rigging of ships. Duhamel's chief interest was agriculture, a hot topic at the time. In 1738 he was elected to the French Academy of Sciences, and served three times as its president. He was appointed Inspector-General of the Marine in 1739, and made scientific studies of shipbuilding, the conservation of wood, the paramedical and fair of sailors, etc. In 1741 he co-founded a school of Marine science.
In the first half of the century, [publicized the work of] Tull*'s farming innovations had triggered a technological revival in English agriculture, and thinkers in France began to compare French farming practices unfavourably with this. Among other works on the subject, Duhamel read Tull’s work, and he also visited England.
In 1750 he published the first volume of "Treatise on Farming following the Principles of Mr Tull" in which he described Tull's theories. Duhamel did not accept Tull's ideas wholesale, opposing Tull's rejection of the use of manures. What Duhamel did was adapt Tull's ideas to the situation in France and include his own ideas on the subject.
His work stimulated experiment among French landowners and he corresponded with them extensively. His own experiments and the information he received led him to produced revised editions of his treatise and make additions including case histories where the new system had been tried out.
Duhamel designed experiments which his brother carried out on the family estate of Denainvilliers in Gatinais (where they built one of the first arboreta), and other progressive landowners followed suit.
Extra Connections: [influenced] John Hill* (at Kew) was influenced by his work.
Following the work of René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, in 1757 Duhamel released the Descriptions des Arts et Métiers and opposed the writers of the Encyclopédie. The Encyclopédistes didn't take this well, and criticised him on occasion. For example, Denis Diderot (1767) recalled:
This Duhamel has invented an infinity of machines which serve no purpose, has written and translated a multitude of books on agriculture, of which it is not known if they have any useful result, that is still awaited.*[4]- Denis Diderot, 1767.
Diderot seems to forget his debt to Duhamel du Monceau for the Encyclopédie, including the articles "Agriculture," "Rope," "Pipe" and "Sugar."
Assessment: Duhamel was responsible for introducing English agrarian innovations to France.
Oneliner: Duhamel de Monceau, early French agronomist
Bibliography:
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography.