Harry Marshall Ward and the fungal thread of death.
Ayres P. 2005.
Saint Paul, MN: APS Press,The American Phytopathological Society. $79 (hardback).168 pp.
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Much of his work concentrated on plant pathology, especially the effects of the environment on infection, but it appears that he was always open to suggestions about interesting problems and he published papers and reports on a wide variety of topics, such as coffee disease in Sri Lanka, wheat rust in the UK, the microbiology of drinking water and the Ginger Beer Plant. The latter led to further studies on symbiosis and fermentation. Most of these involved him in extensive innovative experimental work and original observations. In this he followed the example of one of his mentors, Anton de Bary. His published output was impressive, although there was some criticism that his papers read like laboratory notebooks. This is probably not surprising when, for example, I count that he published 87 pages in 1887 and 285 pages and a book on the oak tree in 1892. The impression is that he wanted to finish one problem and move onto the next as quickly as possible.
Ward started his career with a scholarship to the Science School in South Kensington (this eventually became Imperial College) in a scheme designed to produce science teachers. Following this, private sponsorship from a friend allowed him to take a degree at Cambridge. After a series of posts he eventually returned to the chair of Botany at Cambridge in 1895 and was instrumental in resuscitating a moribund department and in the construction of new laboratories, The Botany School, that opened in 1904. During his period at Cambridge until his death in 1906 he continued his work on plant pathology and also helped establish two other lines of research, plant breeding with R.H. Biffen and plant physiology with F.F.Blackman.
The author makes a good case for Marshall to be one of a small group who revived plant science in the UK to a point where, in the early part of the 20th century, it took over leadership from Germany. This is history, but Marshall's career probably also provides a lesson for the present day. Young scientists are now encouraged to concentrate their efforts to such an extent that they often have little knowledge outside their own specialization, and the UK's Research Assessment Exercise forces them into basic work rather than applied research. It is refreshing, therefore, to read about someone who could make significant contributions to so many pure and applied topics and show how the experience gained in one can be used to progress understanding in another.
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