William Fream (1854–1906) was an English writer on agriculture.
Life
Born at
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, he was second son in the family of four sons and three daughters of John Fream, a builder and contractor, by his wife Mary Grant. As a boy he was a chorister in
Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to S ...
. After education at
Sir Thomas Rich's Blue Coat Hospital, he worked for a Gloucester corn and seed merchant.
Gaining a royal exhibition at the
Royal College of Science, Dublin
The Royal College of Science for Ireland (RCScI) was an institute for higher education in Dublin which existed from 1867 to 1926, specialising in physical sciences and applied science. It was originally based on St. Stephen's Green, moving in 1 ...
, in May 1872, Fream studied there for three years, and took prizes in botany, practical chemistry, and geology, with special distinction in geology. While in Ireland he made botanical walking tours
Connemara
Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...
and other wild parts of the country. He became an associate of the Royal College by diploma. He also matriculated at the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, and graduated in science with honours in chemistry at the first B.Sc. examination in 1877.
From 1877 to 1879 Fream was professor of natural history at the
Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester
;(from Virgil's Georgics)"Caring for the Fieldsand the Beasts"
, established = 2013 - University status – College
, type = public university, Public
, president = Charles III, King Charles
, vice_chancellor = P ...
. In 1879 he filled a temporary vacancy as lecturer and demonstrator in botany at
Guy's Hospital Medical School
GKT School of Medical Education (abbreviated: GKT) is the medical school of King's College London. The school has campuses at three institutions, Guy's Hospital (Southwark), King's College Hospital (Denmark Hill) and St Thomas' Hospital (Lambeth ...
. The following winter he studied botany and zoology at the
Royal School of Mines
The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioe ...
in London, also taking up writing for the agricultural press. Early in 1880 he joined
John Wrightson
Professor John Wrightson Chemical Society, FCS, Royal Agricultural University, MRAC (1840 – 30 November 1916) was a British agriculturalist and the founder of Downton Agricultural College (1880–1906) at Downton, Wiltshire, Downton in Wilts ...
in establishing and developing the College of Agriculture at
Downton, Wiltshire
Downton is a village and civil parish on the River Avon in southern Wiltshire, England, about southeast of the city of Salisbury. The parish is on the county boundary with Hampshire and is close to the New Forest; it includes the villages of Wi ...
. He taught natural history there and instituted field classes and laboratory demonstrations.
Fream paid visits to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 1884, 1888 and 1891; in 1888 he received from
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
an honorary degree of LL.D. In 1890
Eleanor Anne Ormerod
Eleanor Anne Ormerod (11 May 182819 July 1901) was a pioneer English entomologist. Based on her studies in agriculture, she became one of the first to define the field of agricultural entomology. She published an influential series of articles on ...
chose Fream to be the first Steven lecturer at Edinburgh University on
agricultural entomology
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
; he had included the first course on the subject in Great Britain in his curriculum at Downton, and remained Steven lecturer for the rest of his life. An unsuccessful candidate in March 1887 for the post of secretary of the
Royal Agricultural Society of England
The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) promotes the scientific development of English agriculture. It was established in 1838 with the motto "Practice with Science" and received its Royal Charter from Queen Victoria in 1840. RASE is bas ...
, he was appointed in 1890 editor of the ''Journal'' of the society, when it became a quarterly; he resigned in 1900, when it became an annual publication. He was a chief examiner in the principles of agriculture under the
Science and Art Department
The Science and Art Department was a British government body which functioned from 1853 to 1899, promoting education in art, science, technology and design in Britain and Ireland.
Background
The Science and Art Department was created as a subdivis ...
, South Kensington.
In 1890 Fream was employed by the Board of Agriculture to report on agricultural education in Scotland. He lived mostly at Downton, but he had working quarters in London. He died, unmarried, at Downton on 29 May 1906, and was buried in Gloucester cemetery.
Works
Fream's major book was ''The Elements of Agriculture'', published for the Royal Agricultural Society of England, in 1891 (7th edit. 1902). ''The Rothamsted Experiments on the Growth of Wheat, Barley, and the Mixed Herbage of Grass-land'' (1888) was a textbook. He published also:
*''The Gates of the West'' (1892)
*''Across Canada: a Report on Canada and its Agricultural Resources'', written for and published by the government of Canada (Ottawa, 1885)
*''Canadian Agriculture'' (parts i. and ii.), in ''Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society'' (1885)
*''The Farms and Forests of Canada, as illustrated in the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886'' (Toronto, 1886)
*''The Provincial Agriculture of Canada'' (London, 1887).
For 12 years, from January 1894 till his death, Fream was agricultural correspondent of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', writing weekly articles on agriculture and annual reports on crop returns. He edited the 13th and 14th editions of
William Youatt
William Youatt (1776 – 5 February 1847) was an English veterinary surgeon and animal welfare writer.
Life
Youatt was the son of a non-conformist minister. He was educated for the nonconformist ministry, and undertook ministerial and scholastic ...
's ''Complete Grazier'' (1893 and 1900).
Notes
;Attribution
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fream, William
1854 births
1906 deaths
English agriculturalists
English writers
Alumni of Imperial College London