Abstract
ONE of our truly great men has passed away. Born in 1814, his life extended over the greater part of a century full of great men and great deeds; yet among this goodly company he will surely be placed in the front rank if we have regard to his personal qualities, and to the far-reaching and beneficial character of his achievements. An only son, he was left at the age of eight without a father, and owed much of his bringing up to the care of his mother, to whom he was extremely attached. Educated at Eton and Oxford, he entered in 1834, at the age of twenty, on the management of the paternal estate at Rothamsted, Herts. How many youths placed thus early in the possession of a beautiful home, and a sufficient income, would have fallen into habits of easy enjoyment, and left nothing behind them worth recording? But these circumstances, so full of danger to the average lad, were exactly suited for the development of the work which the youthful squire was to accomplish. His active mind obtained at once perfect freedom of action. His love of work and high sense of duty led him to devote himself to the management of the home farm, and under his keen observation its fields became to him pages of nature, which year by year told him new facts, answered new questions, and revealed fresh wonders.
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WARINGTON, R. Sir John Bennet Lawes, Bart., F.R.S. . Nature 62, 467–468 (1900). https://doi.org/10.1038/062467a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/062467a0