Bad Harvests Research Articles

One hundred years of piñon nuts, a largely forgotten wild food crop from the American Southwest (1850–1950)

This is the first paper to intensively examine the history of piñon nuts, the seeds of the piñon pine (Pinus edulis), which Indigenous Americans have harvested in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest for millennia. The history of the piñon nut industry is reconstructed from its inception in the mid-19th century in the New Mexico Territory to its heyday in the early 20th century until consumption began to decline in the mid-20th century. Additionally, this paper provides some suggestions for reviving this iconic Southwestern American food. The commercial harvest of piñon nuts primarily involved Native and Mexican Americans. While the economic benefits of piñon nut harvesting were significant, the work was often dangerous, with reports of deaths due to exposure, accidents, and violence. Piñon nut production varied yearly due to the trees’ masting behavior, where trees produce large seed crops intermittently. Although there was considerable interest in cultivation during the early 20th century, slow growth and delayed nut-bearing limited cultivation efforts. Piñon nuts were popular throughout the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, gaining popularity, especially among immigrant communities in New York. In 1918, Fannie Spitz patented a piñon nut-shelling machine, significantly improving processing efficiency and impacting the industry by enabling quicker and more effective removal of kernels. Shelled piñon nuts were now sold for consumption out of hand and also for use in candy production. Farmers experimented with feeding hogs and chickens piñon nuts. However, this practice did not become widespread due to the availability of cheaper corn. Piñon wood was also valued for its use as firewood and in mining as props, though it had limited application as lumber for railroad ties. At the same time, smaller piñon trees gained popularity as Christmas trees. Piñon resin was chewed and also used medicinally in salves. By the mid-20th century, piñon nuts lost popularity to peanuts (Arachis hypogaea), which were marketed more aggressively and produced in higher quantities at lower prices. The piñon industry has struggled with crop variability, low supply, and high prices. Still, it might be revived with improved marketing, working cooperatively and through the construction of a strategic reserve to ensure a steady supply of piñon nuts every year, through both good and bad harvests.

Small-scale farmer responses to the double exposure of climate change and market integration.

Anthropologists have long studied how small-scale societies manage climate variation. Here, we investigate how Yucatec Maya subsistence farmers respond to climate stress, and the ways in which market integration may enhance or disturb response stategies. Using information on harvest returns, climate perceptions, household economics and helping networks, modelling results show that as farmers rely more on market inputs (e.g. seed, tractors, fertilizer) for a successful yield, the reasons given for a bad harvest shift from climate variables to access to quality inputs. We also find that social and economic diversification is key to mediating a household's experience of climate and market shocks. The Maya are astute stewards of climate knowledge, and have effective social and economic means to mitigate potential fluctuations in food availability. In the transition from a subsistence to a market integrated economy, these traditional strategies become strained. Reliance on market inputs forges a more rigid food production system that conflicts with the diversity and flexibility on which traditional strategies depend to manage climate variation. Moving forward, the best policies would be those that facilitate maintaining an equal footing in both a subsistence maize economy, while incorporating new market opportunities. This article is part of the theme issue 'Climate change adaptation needs a science of culture'.

Sweet Fuel: A Political and Environmental History of Brazilian Ethanol

Sweet Fuel: A Political and Environmental History of Brazilian Ethanol

Determinants of savings frequency among tomato farmers in Ghana

Multinomial logistic regression was employed to identify the determinants underlying the respondents’ frequency of savings—weekly, monthly and seasonally. The results of the study showed that amount saved per period, number of years of education and engagement in non-farm income generating activities significantly influenced farmers’ savings frequencies. The findings are quite significant as they take the decision to save beyond the suggested two-stage sequential process to include a third stage, which is the time horizon of savings. The findings revealed that rural households are predisposed to extend their savings time horizon by holding onto their surplus funds in order to retain some capacity for their present consumption and other needs before thinking of saving. On the other hand, the anticipation of a gloomy future as a result of bad harvest for instance may induce the rural householder to shorten his/her savings time horizon, that is, reduce the time-frame s/he holds onto surplus funds and quickly save such funds. Finally, the study suggests education as a catalyst to create a desirable behaviour of saving “now” (weekly or monthly) rather than procrastinating savings to the “future” that is, saving seasonally.

17세기 흉황기, 『淸狂子集』에 나타난 朴士亨의 향촌안정책과 후학진흥

본 논문은 17세기 후반 소빙기 현상이 지속되고 있던 시기, 전라도 보성의 박사형이 향촌안정책과 인재양성책을 논하고 실천할 수 있었던 구심점은 무엇에 있었는지를 그의 문집 『청광자집』을 통해 지방사적 관점에서 살펴보았다. 17세기 후반의 조선은 경신[1670~1671]과 을병[1695~1699]의 대기근으로 생민들이 가혹한 현실에 직면해 있었다. 즉 각기 100여만 명에 달하는 사망자를 내면서 급격한 인구 감소를 초래하였던 것이다. 결국에는 농업생산성의 저하를 가져왔고, 경제에도 큰 타격을 주어 사회 구조 및 질서를 붕괴시킬 가능성이 커져 있었다. 이와 때를 같이 한 박사형(1635~1706)은 1658년(효종 9) 창궐한 역병과 학질로 부인을 비롯해 집안의 일문삼대(一門三代), 즉 조모·부모·형이 3개월 사이에 연이어 사망하였다. 자신 또한 폐질로 호전과 악화를 반복하며 오랫동안 고생하였다. 또한 1682년(숙종 8)부터 1687년(숙종 13)까지의 보성에서는 해마다 진휼을 해야할 만큼 혹독한 흉년과 기근이 반복되었다. 특히 병인·정묘년[1686년~1687년]에만 해도 수재, 한재, 우박, 구풍, 악풍의 다섯 가지 천변재이가 한꺼번에 들이닥친 피해는 더욱 심해 논과 밭농사를 90% 망쳐버렸다. 이에 1686년(숙종 12) 수령에게 「오재상서(五灾上書)」를 올려 국왕이 수전과 한전에 특별급재(特別給災) 실시를 명하여 조세 감면을 받기를 원하였다. 그 무렵 부민(富民)은 식리를 획책하며 시세 차익을 노려 보성에서 무곡(貿穀)한 곡물과 작물을 상업과 교통이 발달해 있던 낙안 벌교 등지로 반출하고 있었다. 이 까닭에 1687년(숙종 13)에 재차 「흉년상서(凶年上書)」를 올려 부민이 무곡할 곡물의 반출을 금지시키는 방곡령(防穀令)을 청원하기도 하였다. 이는 곧 경내 곡물의 외부유출을 억제해 읍민들이 식량 수급과 공급망을 확보케 하여 아사자를 막으려는 향촌안정책의 모색이었다. 박사형이 실천한 또 하나의 향촌안정책으로서 인재를 양성하는 데에 두고 있었다. 그의 후학진흥은 1663년(현종 4) 29세 때 흥양에서 처음 강학당을 열어 문인을 받고 나서부터 40여 년간 계속되었다. 그러나 문인들을 가르침에 있어 임진왜란과 병자호란 양란을 거치면서 무예(武藝)만을 숭상하는 풍속이나 문학을 좋아하지 않는 향풍, 다년간의 흉황기는 그가 학문을 진작시키는 데에 커다란 걸림돌로 작용하였다. 후학진흥은 한층 더 어려워져만 갔고, 문하생들의 학업에까지 그 영향이 미치어 폐학지경(廢學之境)으로 내몰렸다. 그러므로 관찰사에게 「서당상서(書堂上書)」(1696년, 숙종 22)를 올려 서량(書粮)과 특별제급(特別題給)을 호소하는 등 극한 속에서도 국시(國是)를 부축하여 국가를 지켜낼 선비 양성은 절대 중단하지 않았다. 문집의 「유사(遺事)」를 보면 수기치인(修己治人)에 뜻을 두고도 관직에 나아가지 않는 선비는 후학을 기르는 것이 학자의 본분이라고 하였다. 그는 이것이 성리학자로서 살아가는 본연의 자세라고 생각하였다. 때문에 폐학지경에 처한 문인들에게 학업을 포기하지 않도록 권면하며 학문진흥, 곧 흥학에 진력했던 것이다. 결과적으로 그의 문하에서 수학한 문인들은 보성·흥양·낙안·순천·장흥·나주, 그리고 멀게는 한성 등 다양한 지역에서 모여들었으며, 특히 24개 성씨 92명의 문하생 가운데 과거 합격자로 무과에 2명, 사마시에 생원 2명·진사 2명을 배출하여 6.52%의 합격률을 보였다. 이 밖에도 대다수의 문인들은 박만당처럼 생원시에 합격하거나 양징과 같이 강학당을 설립하여 학도들을 가르치거나 송일복처럼 지역의 문회(文會)에 참여하여 학문구도(學問求道)의 길을 걸으며 학문과 정치·사회 활동에 적극적으로 참여하였다.

The Fight Against Climate Change: Adaptive and Strategies Activities Among Farmers

Farmers are the ones who provide food to the people in the society and they are considered to be heroes of today. This study was conducted to determine the challenges experienced by farmers related to climate change, their coping strategies, and different means to ensure crop yield. Qualitative-phenomenology was employed. Findings revealed that farmers experienced failure due to unpredictable weather patterns, bad harvest, slow growth of crops, low quality of fruits, costs them much expenses with loss of capital because of climate change. They cope by employing waterworks and waited for government’s assistance. To ensure crop yield, they applied fertilizers, chemicals, and waterworks.

Общественные организации Нижегородской губернии во второй половине XIX - начале XX В. И их вклад в разрешение социальных проблем

The purpose of this article is to highlight the activities of public organizations in Nizhny Novgorod and other major district centers in the second half of the 19th - early 20th century, to identify the main directions and results of their work. The article provides an overview of public organizations of Nizhny Novgorod province, creates a typology of public associations based on the orientation of their activities: charitable, medical, educational, professional, natural science, leisure, religious. Particularly detailed is the description of charity organizations that by the end of the 19th century had become the most mass and authoritative and showed themselves in different spheres of life. The social groups that receivedpublic support are shown. The goals, management structure, composition and sources of funds of the societies are examined on the basis of the sources. The reasons for the emergence of such a large number of voluntary associations in post-reform provincial Russia are revealed. The ways and character of interaction between civil society and provincial authorities are considered. It is shown, that especially demand for public support of the state arises in crisis periods of life of a province (bad harvest years, epidemics). The author dwells upon the results of the societies' activity and their role in the improvement of life of different layers of the population. The shortcomings of the functioning of the public organizations in the conditions of absolute monarchy are revealed. This allowed the author to evaluate their role in solving social problems and to identify controversial points of public activity. The author substantiates the thesis that public self-organization in the provinces was not inferior to St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Trifluoromethylpyridine thiourea derivatives: design, synthesis and inhibition of the self-assembly of tobacco mosaic virus particles.

Devastating plant virus diseases leading to bad harvests and lower quality of crops have made feeding the beyond seven billion population a huge challenge. Nevertheless, growing resistance and cross resistance of crop protection agents have made this challenge harder. Therefore, an efficient crop protection agent with novel structure and mode of action showing higher efficiency and eco-friendly is urgently needed. The coat protein (CP) of a virus is a potential target for the discovery of new antiviral agents. Antiviral molecules can inhibit infection by obstructing the assembly of virus particles. A series of novel phthalamide-like thiourea derivatives containing trifluoromethylpyridine was designed and synthesized. Most of the compounds exhibited good antiviral activity against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). Compound 7b showed notable curative, protective and inactivation activities against TMV. Its inactivation half-maximal effective concentration (EC50 ) value (20.5μg mL-1 ) was better even than commercial ningnanmycin (23.2μg mL-1 ). Compound 7b also had stronger TMV-CP binding ability than ningnanmycin and destroyed the external shape of TMV particles and hindered the self-assembly of TMV-CP and TMV-RNA. These phthalamide-like thiourea derivatives especially compound 7b containing trifluoromethylpyridine are potential lead compounds and inhibitors of TMV particle self-assembly. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

The interplay between oil and food commodity prices: Has it changed over time?

Using a structural time-varying-parameter Bayesian vector autoregression (TVP-BVAR) framework, this paper documents that oil price increases caused by oil supply disruptions did not affect food commodity prices before the start of the millennium, but had positive spillover effects in more recent periods and particularly in the era around the Great Recession. Likewise, shortfalls in global food commodity supply resulting from bad harvests have positive effects on crude oil prices since the early 2000s, in contrast to the preceding era. The econometric evidence suggests that these developments are not the consequence of the popular biofuels narrative and more likely the result of informational frictions about the global business cycle and information discovery in financialized commodity markets.

Notas de la agricultura al final del antiguo régimen en un pueblo de la montaña leonesa, Las Bodas (Boñar), 1750-1840

«Notes on the agriculture at the end of the ancient regime in a village in the mid mountain in the province of León. Las Bodas (Boñar) 1750-1840».The general features of the agricultural activity in the transitional period to the liberalism are analysed: the superiority of the crops of grain, the solid dividing of the ground of agricultural use, the existence of small property and the importance of the agricultura! heritage of the church.The agricultural production, according to church documents, will increase at the end of the XVIII century and the beginning of the XIX c, with some bad harvest years, which will be reflected in the evolution of prices

Notas de la agricultura al final del antiguo régimen en un pueblo de la montaña leonesa, Las Bodas (Boñar), 1750-1840

«Notes on the agriculture at the end of the ancient regime in a village in the mid mountain in the province of León. Las Bodas (Boñar) 1750-1840».The general features of the agricultural activity in the transitional period to the liberalism are analysed: the superiority of the crops of grain, the solid dividing of the ground of agricultural use, the existence of small property and the importance of the agricultura! heritage of the church.The agricultural production, according to church documents, will increase at the end of the XVIII century and the beginning of the XIX c, with some bad harvest years, which will be reflected in the evolution of prices

박완서 『도시의 흉년』에 나타난 ‘우리집’의 공간성과 주체 모색의 정치성

박완서 『도시의 흉년』은 1970년대 박완서 소설세계를 가장 대표적으로 보여주는 작품이다. 이 작품은 해방전후, 한국전쟁, 그리고 산업화를 연결지으며 통시적인 연결고리 속에서 한국적 근대와 성장 이데올로기의 정체성을 비판적 시선으로 그려내면서도 산업화 시대의 경제문제와 함께 정치권력과의 결탁과 그 문제를 표상해낸다. 그러한 문제는 ‘우리집’의 공간적 특성으로 형상화되고 있는데, 이는 1인칭 주인공 화자 ‘지수연’의 시선과 서술로 매개되어 잘 나타난다.<BR> 우선 지수연의 시선에 비친, 서울의 돈암동에 홀로 우뚝 선 우리집은 물질적으로는 부족할 것 없이 풍요롭지만 정신적 가치가 비어있다. 『도시의 흉년』에서 우리집의 비어있음은 그 역사적 기원이 있는데, 한국전쟁이 결정적인 계기로서 그 무렵 김복실 여사의 빈집 도둑질이 바로 ‘우리집’을 가능하게 한 원인인 것이다. 역설적이게도 70년대의 우리집 역시 도둑질의 대상이 돼버리고 만다. 궁극적으로 비어있음이 우리집의 본질이고 또 그러한 상황에 도달하는 것이 우리집의 운명인 셈이다. 다음으로 우리집에 대한 지수연의 역할과 관련하여 검토해보면, 우리집은 고립되어있지만 동시에 열린 공간이기도 하다는 모순적 종합을 보인다. 이는 지수연의 성격화와 관련이 깊은데, 그녀는 홀로 외로우면서도 또 주변 인물들과의 연결책이 되어 온갖 사건의 주동자가 되기도 하고 깊은 관찰자 역할을 수행하기도 한다. 그 결과 그녀는 우리집이 주변의 여러 공간과 맺는 관계성을 이룩하고 또 상호모순적인 양가성을 종합해낸다. 마지막으로 지수연은 매우 오랜 기간 살아온 우리집에 대한 장소애가 없거나 장소애를 버리려고 하지만 또한 장소애의 미련을 버리지 못하는 모순적인 태도를 보인다. 이를 보면 지수연에게 우리집의 공간적 성격이란 궁극적으로 탈장소적 정체성과 장소애적 주체성이 혼융된 상태라 정리할 수 있다.<BR> 이 작품에서 한국적 근대에 서린 정치경제학적 욕망의 역사적 전개와 그것을 공간화한 우리집은 흉년(凶年)으로 표상된다. 그러한 우리집의 공간성을 온몸으로 매개하는 지수연은 구주현에 대한 애정을 보여주는 과정에서 모순된 마음의 혼란에 대한 돌파구를 예술적 자유에서 찾고자 하는 모습을 보인다. 바로 그러한 측면에서 이 작품은 70년대 개발독재 시대의 닫힌 상황을 돌파해나가려는 미적 열정을 구현함으로써 주체 모색의 정치성을 형상화해내고 있는 것이다.

Central Europe, 1531–1540 CE: The driest summer decade of the past five centuries?

Abstract. Based on three drought indices (SPI, SPEI, Z-index) reconstructed from documentary evidence and instrumental records, the summers of 1531–1540 were identified as the driest summer decade during the 1501–2015 period in the Czech Lands. Based on documentary data, extended from the Czech scale to central Europe, dry patterns of various intensities (represented, for example, by dry spells, low numbers of precipitation days, very low rivers, and drying-out of water sources) occurred in 1532, 1534–1536, 1538, and particularly 1540, broken by wetter or normal patterns in 1531, 1533, 1537, and 1539. Information relevant to summer droughts extracted from documentary data in central Europe was confirmed in summer precipitation totals from a multi-proxy reconstruction for Europe by Pauling et al. (2006) and further by self-calibrated summer Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) reconstruction from tree ring widths in Old World Drought Atlas (OWDA) by Cook et al. (2015). The summer patterns described are consistent with the distribution of sea level pressure deviations from a modern reference period. Summer droughts were responsible for numerous negative impacts, such as bad harvests of certain crops, reduction and lack of water sources, and frequent forest fires, while in the wetter summers central Europe was affected by floods. However, there are no indications of severe impacts of a multi-country or multi-year effect. Reconstructions based on documentary data indicate that the summers of 1531–1540 constitute the driest summer decade in central Europe for the past five centuries between 1501 and 2010 CE.

The great (1506\u2013)1507 drought and its consequences in Hungary in a (Central) European context

Although in contemporary documentation 1506–1507 is the best-documented drought event in the medieval and sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Carpathian Basin, until now no investigations have been carried out on this subject. Based on contemporary sources—such as narratives, charters, official and private correspondence, estate, town, county and taxation accounts—a concise overview of the documented natural–physical characteristics, temporal–spatial distribution of the drought event and related weather extremes is provided. In a European context, the present investigation reveals that 1506 was a dry year not only in the Carpathian Basin but also in most of Europe. Drought continued in the Carpathian Basin and Italy in 1507, while opposing weather patterns developed in West–Central, Western and Northern Europe, showing similarities to the 2007 and 2015 summer heat and drought events. In the Carpathian Basin, the drought was characterized by the critical low water levels of the River Tisza, heat and high-intensity convective events. Major socio-economic consequences were the higher occurrence rate of major urban fires, bad harvests (cereals, grapevine/wine, hay) and livestock problems (lack or loss of bee, bee products, sheep, cattle, fish, fur)—the latter ones might serve as indicators for future studies. The drought induced numerous individual and institutional responses, including various types of tax relief and common works. The ensuing plague epidemic reached a particularly high level in Hungary; the drought, bad harvests, a change to cooler and wetter conditions, and nutrition problems could have contributed to the intensification of the epidemic outbreak in 1508–1511.

Landscape and business’ risks: History and climate (Rural Russia)

A history of transformations in using a landscape by humans is difficult, because such history depends on social-cultural factors and local changes in climate and environment. A business in rural sector usually respond acuteness on all of these factors. That has determined special attention to this topic. A goal of this investigation was to determine a business’ risks in using a particular landscape in the context of the influence of a specific climate. Attention is given to facts in local history of climate and landscape-using. Extremely hot weather became an especially important factor for society, life and business in the last few decades in the Eurasian area. In 2010 an extremely hot summer period in a central part of European Russia caused a fire in peat areas and a bad harvest for potatoes and cereals. Forest fire covered more than ten million hectares in an area of European Russia and temperature set a record (38.2 degrees Celsius) on 29 July 2010. A lot of fires in peat areas were a result of drainage of a peat-bog, after finishing a process of peat extraction. A history of local landscape using includes many facts that document extremely hot periods in this area in the past (for instance, in 1972 and 2003). Analysis of data derived from taking measures allows researchers to recommend diversification in the landscape using (particularly in expansion of non-agricultural business), and also eco-protection activity as prospective keys for reducing risks for a business in a local landscape and also for realizing a model of Sustainable Development for this local area.

Weather Anomalies and Their Economic Consequences: Penury in Northeastern Hungary in the Late 1870s

This study investigates an episode of penury in 1879–1880 in Borsod and Zemplén Counties which occurred as one of the negative consequences of a short-term weather change which was experienced across Europe in the late 1870s and early 1880s. From the mid-1870s on, due to the wetter and cooler weather, the annual crop yields repeatedly fell below the usual and expected averages in Hungary. After a catastrophic harvest in the autumn of 1879, when the quantity of harvested cereals was sufficient neither for reserves nor for spring sowing, the situation became severe. 1878 had also been a bad year for agriculture: the severe floods in the second half of 1878 not only had washed the crops from the fields but had also covered them with thick sludge that made it impossible to sow in autumn. Since the spring of 1879 was characterized by unfavorable conditions for agriculture (increased rainfall, widespread floods, low average spring temperatures), the local and national authorities continuously kept their eyes on the crops. Thanks to this preliminary attention, the administration was able to respond quickly and in an organized manner to the bad harvest in July and August and could avert catastrophe at national level. The leadership of the two counties responded more or less in the same way to the near-famine conditions. First, they asked the Treasury to suspend tax collection until the next harvest at least so that the farmers who were facing financial difficulties would not have to go into debt. Second, they appealed to the government for financial and crop relief to save the unemployed population from starvation. For those who were able to work, they asked for the approval of public works and major construction projects from the Ministry of Transport and Public Works. For many, such state-funded road construction or river regulation projects were the only way to make a living. Third, the county administrations also gave seeds for spring sowing to the farmers. While Borsod county survived the years of bad harvests without dire problems due to the higher proportion of better quality fields, in the more mountainous region of Zemplén, most landowners had smaller and lower quality lands, and they often chose to emigrate to avoid starvation. These difficult conditions may have provided the initial impetus for mass emigration to Western Europe and America.

Diseases in Early Modern Sweden

In early modern Scandinavia, the population’s sensitivity to disease and food supply shortages was great. Researchers have long been interested in the crises caused by these conditions, and the dominant causes of death have been well documented in Sweden since the late eighteenth century. But for the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, in the mortality regime preceding the initial stage of the demographic transition, our understanding of the infectious diseases is significantly limited. Through an analysis of causes of death and tithe levels, this article gives new insight regarding mortality rates, harvests and, above all, diseases in a parish located in a Swedish forested area during the mid- and late seventeenth century and first half of the eighteenth century. It presents new research about which diagnoses were most common, how often the more prevalent diseases of fevers, smallpox, and dysentery broke out, and the varying role of diseases on mortality rates during bad harvest years. The inhabitants in this parish presumably had a food supply buffer in their summer farm system, yet they remained vulnerable to bad harvests, and people in the area were just as susceptible to the common infectious diseases as the inhabitants in more tightly populated areas.

The Interplay between Oil and Food Commodity Prices: Has it Changed Over Time?

Using time-varying BVARs, we find that oil price increases caused by oil supply shocks did not affect food commodity prices before the start of the millennium, but had positive spillover effects in more recent periods. Likewise, shortfalls in global food commodity supply—resulting from bad harvests—have positive effects on crude oil prices since the early 2000s, in contrast to the preceding era. Remarkably, we also document greater spillover effects of both supply shocks on metals and minerals commodity prices in recent periods, as well as a stronger impact on the own price compared to earlier decades. This (simultaneous) time variation of commodity price dynamics cannot be explained by the biofuels revolution and is more likely the consequence of heightened informational frictions and information discovery in more globalized and financialized commodity markets.

Inevitable Decay: Debates over Climate, Food Security, and Plant Heredity in Nineteenth-Century Britain

Climate change and the failure of crops are significant but overlooked events in the history of heredity. Bad weather and dangerously low harvests provided momentum and urgency for answers to questions about how best to improve and acclimatize staple varieties. In the 1790s, a series of crop failures in Britain led to the popularization of and widespread debate over Thomas Andrew Knight’s suggestion that poor weather was in fact largely unconnected to the bad harvests. Rather, Knight argued, Britain’s older varieties—particularly its fruit trees—were coming to the natural end of their lifespans. At a period when Britain was trying to maximize its agricultural land usage, Knight campaigned that his fellow farmers ought to set aside land and resources in order to cultivate new varieties—an expensive and time-consuming procedure—in order to avoid disaster. In this paper, I argue that Knight’s lifelong commitment to his position demonstrates the role played by changes in climate and weather on popular understandings of plant heredity. Further, drawing upon the historiography of Britain’s climate and agriculture, I show that despite reliable weather and good harvests, Knight’s campaign survived for several decades before the continued health of Britain’s trees was finally treated as sufficient evidence to dispense with Knight’s warnings. This case provides a means of thinking about the history of heredity as it is shaped and impacted by changes in climate and local conditions.

Ottoman Credit System and Usurers in Agriculture in the Nineteenth Century: Practices of Usury Contracts (Selem)

ABSTRACTOttoman agriculture was usually set in small-scale farms. Peasants borrowed in years of low production and encountered risk during the bad harvest years. Eventually, they were forced into indebtedness as they borrowed to pay back the previous year’s loan. These borrowings sometimes resulted in selling the farm and land under the debt burden. This study aims to explain the heavy costs and social destruction on the peasants that were created by usurers. The usury regulations are examined by focusing on the importance of lending in the agricultural sector. Documents from the Ottoman archives were mainly used for the study.