John Young (September 1, 1773 – October 6, 1837) was a

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-born merchant, author, agronomist, and agricultural reformer in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. He represented Sydney County in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

from 1824 to 1837. He supported the

Royal Acadian School The Royal Acadian School was a school developed for marginalized people in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The school was established by British officer and reformer Walter Bromley on 13 January 1814. He promoted the objectives of the British and Foreign S ...

. He was born in

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, the son of William Young, and studied theology at

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

but did not graduate. He entered business at Falkirk and then

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. Young married Agnes Renny. In 1814, he came to Halifax with his wife and sons and set up in business as a dry goods merchant there. Believing that there was room for improvement in the state of agriculture in the province, Young wrote a number of letters to the ''Acadian Recorder'' under the name Agricola. This led to the creation of a provincial agricultural society in 1818. From this society a Central Board of Agriculture was formed in 1819, Young became secretary and treasurer. Young ran unsuccessfully for the Halifax Township seat in the provincial assembly in 1823 before being elected for Sydney County in an 1824 by-election. He died in office in Halifax at the age of 64. His sons

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and

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also served in the Nova Scotia assembly and his son

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was colonial administrator for Prince Edward Island. Nova Scotian artist William Valentine painted Young's portrait.

''Letters of Agricola''

John Young, under the pseudonym of Agricola, wrote 38 letters in the ''Acadian Recorder'' from 1818 to 1819. These letters, would prove to be the basis of establishment and communication with a number of different agricultural societies throughout the province, as well as provide the basis for the subsequent development of the Central Board of Agriculture in 1819 and Young's appointment to the Central Board of Agriculture following Young revealing his identity to the public in 1819. Following this, Young would establish his own experimental farm before writing publicly under his own name again in 1821. These letters, published as a group in 1822, are structured as such: *Climate *Soil *Agricultural Machinery *The Plough *The Harrow *Manures *Correspondence *Sherbooke Agricultural Society *Provincial Agricultural Society *Natural Obstructions in the Soil *Prizes Awarded *Digby Agricultural Society These letters are often recognized as one of the earliest basis for the agricultural sciences and devoted attention to agricultural improvement in Canada.

Legacy

* Namesake of Agricola Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia * Namesake of the Agricola Collections of the MacRae Library of the

Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture The Faculty of Agriculture at Dalhousie University is a Canadian agricultural college and faculty of Dalhousie University located in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia. The Faculty of Agriculture offers the only university level programs in agriculture in ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, George R 1773 births 1837 deaths Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Canadian agronomists Canadian agrarianists