It was always going to be biology, and being a farm boy, animals and plants were in the mix. So, at University I took both stage I (first year) botany and zoology, but after observing a fertilised chicken egg at the 8 cell blastodermal stage, I’d had enough and it was plant physiology then for the rest of my career. It was unsettling, therefore, to learn that the acknowledged founder of modern plant physiology, Stephen Hales (1677-1761) in the early 18^th century, was also known as the butcher of Teddington. I came across him in two ways, through my own science of plant physiology, with an interest in science history, and from an interest in early and rare books, resulting in the purchase of Hales’ Vegetable Staticks. A lovely book, in extremely good condition, and which can still be read, with care.

Hales experimentation and thinking is intriguing, coming after the pioneering work of the 17^th century such as that on gas exchange by Boyle, the nature of gases and particulate matter by Newton, and the anatomical discoveries of Malpighi and Grew. He applies the experimental enquiry of the earlier chemists and physicists to the workings of the plant, how water flows, the effects of light and temperature on water loss and gas exchange, the composition of gases, and the measurement of growth. Hales is the pioneer of measurement, collecting data, calculating, observing and concluding from thoughtful experiments, some 124 of them recorded and illustrated in Vegetable Staticks. Here is a piece on Hales and his wonderful book.