Ralph Austen
Ralph Austen (c. 1612–1676) was an English writer on
Life
Austen was a native of
One of the
According to Anthony Wood, Austen died at home in the parish of St Peter-le-Bailey, Oxford, and was buried in its church, in the aisle adjoining the south side of the chancel, on 26 October 1676. He had been a gardener and planting trees for half a century.[1]
Works
In 1653 Austen published A Treatise on Fruit-trees, showing the manner of grafting, setting, pruning, and ordering of them in all respects, and along with it a long pamphlet on the Spiritual Use of an Orchard.
A second edition of the Treatise with additions and improvements, appeared in 1657. Its dedication was to Robert Boyle, where the first edition was dedicated to Hartlib; and in it Austen argued for husbandry books that were concise and in plain language, a point taken up by John Worlidge.[11] He also argued that fruit trees were books in which the attributes of God could be read.[12] Wood stated that sales were hindered by the association of gardening with a purely theological treatise, but there were further editions in 1662 and 1667. The Spiritual Use of an Orchard was reprinted separately in 1847.[1]
In 1658 Austen published Observations on some parts of
References
- ^ a b c d e Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1885). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 2. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ISBN 978-0-8126-9507-6.
- ISBN 978-0-19-929104-5.
- ISBN 978-0-521-36882-7.
- ^ James Turner, "Ralph Austen, an Oxford Horticulturist of the Seventeenth Century", Garden History, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Summer, 1978), pp. 39–45, at p. 42. The Garden History Society. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1586699
- ^ James Turner, Ralph Austen, an Oxford Horticulturist of the Seventeenth Century, Garden History Vol. 6, No. 2 (Summer, 1978), pp. 39-45, at p. 43. Published by: The Garden History Society. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1586699
- ISBN 978-0-8028-3634-2.
- ISBN 978-0-521-25775-6.
- Museum of the History of Science site: Retrieved 25 September 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-8135-5608-6.
- ISBN 978-0-8014-4143-1.
- ISBN 978-0-521-09084-1.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1885). "Austen, Ralph". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 2. London: Smith, Elder & Co.