OLIVIER DE SERRES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 August 1939, Page 2

OLIVIER DE SERRES

FATHER OF AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE.

Olivier de Sevres, whose fourth centenary was celebrated at Villeneuve-de-Berg, his native town, on July 9 has been called the father of French agriculture. The Frenchman whose memory will be honoured was a Protestant and ever a stout 'defender of his faith.

The experimental farm of Olivier de Serves was visited in 1789 by Arthur Young, and the visit of the English gentleman farmer will be commemorated at the same time.

Olivier de Serres’s great title to fame and the gratitude of his country is the introduction of the cultivation of the mulberry tree into France, and with it the cultivation of the silk-worm which laid the foundation for the silk industry, even today one of the richest in France. As part of the celebrations, the Museum of Cloth-making at Lyons will hold a special exhibition of silk. Agricultural interests in France are taking a deep interest in the fourth centenary of the man who wrote the “Theatre d’Agriculture,” a book which was honoured by King Henri IV, who read several pages of it every day and appointed its author to a position of authority where his agricultural knowledge would prove useful.

The commemorative ceremonies at Villeneuve-de-Berg were of a practical character and took place on July 7, 8 and 9. There was an exhibition of fruit organised by the local fruit industry, an exhibition of silk-worm cultivation, and an exhibition of art and literature connection with the region of the Vivarais. The most important day was July 9, under the presidency of M. Henri Queuille, Minister of Agriculture. There was a Protestant service in the morning and a Roman Catholic service with a famous choir from Hochstatt. Then came a visit to what remained of .the experimental farm at Le Pradel, with the unveiling of a tablet to the memory of. Olivier de Serres and of Arthur Young, his great admirer. A museum of Olivier de Serres was inaugurated, and after a luncheon presided over by the French Minister of Agriculture, there was a folklore gathering, when delegations from many regions of France sang their local songs and gave exhibitions of dances, all wearing the costumes of their different provinces.

The unveiling of the tablet was followed by the naming of a section of the high road from Brioude to Viviers, which passes through Villeneuve-de-Berg. the Route Arthur Young.