Cyrus Pringle
Encyclopedia
Cyrus Guernsey Pringle was an American
botanist who spent a career of 35 years cataloguing the plants of North America
, especially Mexico
. He is in the top five historical botanists for quantity of new species discovered — approximately 1,200 species, 100 varieties, twenty-nine genera, and four combinations.
stock. He studied in Hinesburg and Bakersfield, Vermont
, and later at Stanbridge, Quebec
, before entering the University of Vermont
in the year 1859, enrolling in the classical course. However, the death of his older brother during the first semester, made it necessary for him to aid his widowed mother in the management of the farm and to give up all ideas of college.
In the early part of his life he was interested in the Quaker religious doctrine of the Friends, and it was through these meetings that he met, and later married, on February 25, 1863, Almira L. Greene of Starksboro, Vermont
, a school teacher and a speaker of the Friends.
In 1858 he started his first nursery, containing a small pear orchard, fruit yards, gardens of currants, cherries, grapes, peaches and potatoes. He made a plan for each orchard or garden, giving the name and location of each plant. By crossing, he obtained a new variety of potato
seedling "No. 6 (1870)," which was called "Snowflake." This potato was introduced to the public in New York. Robert Fenn, an Englishman much interested in crossing American and English varieties of potatoes, recognized Pringle's ability and the two of them worked together on other projects, such as the crossing of "Snowflake" with "Rector of Woodstock" and vice versa.
Another cross-bred potato of 1870, "Ruby," gained a first-class certificate from the London Horticultural Society, and, with "Snowflake," was awarded a Silver Medal by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
He sold seedlings of lilies, gladioli and wheat. He grew more than 100 varieties of iris and nearly all the species of lilies. His Hubbard squash seeds brought a dollar a pound at one time, and he ran a "hospital" for bulbs. "People sent him their sick specimens from great distance to healthy Vermont and his skillful practice," according to Davis’s account.
, about five months after his marriage, he, along with two other Vermont Quakers, was drafted into the Union Army
on July 13. They shared the Quakers' disapproval of war, and when Doctor Pringle's uncle offered to pay the $300 necessary for his release, he would not allow this to be done, regarding that solution as a selfish compromise with principle. Refusing to perform all military duty, he was subjected to severe discipline. The Friends were kept for days in the guardhouse in company with drunks and criminals. Finally, on October 3, 1863, at Culpepper, Doctor Pringle was staked to the ground, with his arms outstretched and his legs cruelly racked; he was left in this position for hours, until "so weak he could hardly walk or perform any exertion". He was even threatened with death if he would not give up, but his only reply was, "It can but give me pain to be asked or required to do anything I believe to be wrong." After a day of extreme pain he wrote in his diary, "This has been the happiest day of my life, to be privileged to fight the battle for universal peace."
When Secretary of War
Stanton
heard of this treatment, he ordered "the three incorrigibles" sent to Washington. Isaac Newton, Commissioner of Agriculture, went to President Lincoln
about their case, and the President asked the Secretary to release them. The Secretary refused, claiming that his oath of office stood in the way of giving them a discharge. In the meantime Doctor Pringle's physical strength began to give way, and he spent most of his three weeks in Washington in bed. It was only after President Lincoln had gone personally to Stanton that the parole was granted.
After recovering his health in 1868, Pringle again turned his energies to plant breeding, attempting to hybridize new varieties of fruit and corn, tomatoes, and grains such as wheat and oats.
Sometime around the 1870s, Pringle began to collect plants throughout Vermont, from deep in mossy woods, by lakesides, or high on mountain summits. On December 13, 1874, he was appointed to the Vermont Board of Agriculture. During three successive years he took boat trips up the lower St. Lawrence, to the Saguenay, a river in Canada, and the St. Francis and St. John Rivers of northern Maine.
In 1878, he displayed many of the Vermont specimens which he had been collecting, at the Paris Exposition
.
In 1880, he was named as botanical collector for the American Museum of Natural History
, and as an agent for the United States Census Department, to explore the forests of that region and to collect data for a final report.
In 1884, he made a botanical survey of the north and northwestern portions of Arizona, under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution
, and this later branched into a 26-year survey of Mexico
. The Mexican Herald referred to him as one of the most brilliant and scholarly men ever to grace Mexico with his presence.
During his thirty-five years of field work in the United States, Canada and Mexico, he distributed to herbaria over 500,000 specimens, embracing some 20,000 species, about 12 per cent of which were new to science.
In April, 1896, he was elected a member of the New England Botanical Club, within the first year of its existence and when in Boston attended the meetings. He became vice-president and charter member of the Vermont Botanical Club.
In the last year of his life he talked of planning a trip to South America, but died before he ever realized that dream, on May 25, 1911. He is buried in Morningside Cemetery, Charlotte, Vermont. His last name on the front of his stone is Prindle, with a plaque on the reverse Pringle.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
botanist who spent a career of 35 years cataloguing the plants of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, especially Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He is in the top five historical botanists for quantity of new species discovered — approximately 1,200 species, 100 varieties, twenty-nine genera, and four combinations.
Biography
He was born on May 6, 1838 in East Charlotte, Vermont. His ancestry on his father's side was Scottish Presbyterian; his maternal grandfather, Asa Harris, was of PuritanPuritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
stock. He studied in Hinesburg and Bakersfield, Vermont
Bakersfield, Vermont
Bakersfield is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,215 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 44.6 square miles , of which, 44.6 square miles of it is land and 0.04 square miles of...
, and later at Stanbridge, Quebec
Stanbridge, Quebec
The name Stanbridge, Quebec could refer to one of the following locations in the Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality, QuebecParishes* Notre-Dame-de-Stanbridge, Quebec* Saint-Ignace-de-Stanbridge, QuebecMunicipalities*Stanbridge East, Quebec...
, before entering the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
in the year 1859, enrolling in the classical course. However, the death of his older brother during the first semester, made it necessary for him to aid his widowed mother in the management of the farm and to give up all ideas of college.
In the early part of his life he was interested in the Quaker religious doctrine of the Friends, and it was through these meetings that he met, and later married, on February 25, 1863, Almira L. Greene of Starksboro, Vermont
Starksboro, Vermont
Starksboro is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,898 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 45.5 square miles , of which 45.5 square miles is land and 0.1 square mile is...
, a school teacher and a speaker of the Friends.
Apples and potatoes
His first horticultural undertakings were on his mother's farm in 1857, when, at the age of nineteen, he budded a small seedling apple tree, with a large, striped, sweet summer apple.In 1858 he started his first nursery, containing a small pear orchard, fruit yards, gardens of currants, cherries, grapes, peaches and potatoes. He made a plan for each orchard or garden, giving the name and location of each plant. By crossing, he obtained a new variety of potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
seedling "No. 6 (1870)," which was called "Snowflake." This potato was introduced to the public in New York. Robert Fenn, an Englishman much interested in crossing American and English varieties of potatoes, recognized Pringle's ability and the two of them worked together on other projects, such as the crossing of "Snowflake" with "Rector of Woodstock" and vice versa.
Another cross-bred potato of 1870, "Ruby," gained a first-class certificate from the London Horticultural Society, and, with "Snowflake," was awarded a Silver Medal by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
He sold seedlings of lilies, gladioli and wheat. He grew more than 100 varieties of iris and nearly all the species of lilies. His Hubbard squash seeds brought a dollar a pound at one time, and he ran a "hospital" for bulbs. "People sent him their sick specimens from great distance to healthy Vermont and his skillful practice," according to Davis’s account.
Civil War
During the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, about five months after his marriage, he, along with two other Vermont Quakers, was drafted into the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
on July 13. They shared the Quakers' disapproval of war, and when Doctor Pringle's uncle offered to pay the $300 necessary for his release, he would not allow this to be done, regarding that solution as a selfish compromise with principle. Refusing to perform all military duty, he was subjected to severe discipline. The Friends were kept for days in the guardhouse in company with drunks and criminals. Finally, on October 3, 1863, at Culpepper, Doctor Pringle was staked to the ground, with his arms outstretched and his legs cruelly racked; he was left in this position for hours, until "so weak he could hardly walk or perform any exertion". He was even threatened with death if he would not give up, but his only reply was, "It can but give me pain to be asked or required to do anything I believe to be wrong." After a day of extreme pain he wrote in his diary, "This has been the happiest day of my life, to be privileged to fight the battle for universal peace."
When Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Stanton
Edwin M. Stanton
Edwin McMasters Stanton was an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during the American Civil War from 1862–1865...
heard of this treatment, he ordered "the three incorrigibles" sent to Washington. Isaac Newton, Commissioner of Agriculture, went to President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
about their case, and the President asked the Secretary to release them. The Secretary refused, claiming that his oath of office stood in the way of giving them a discharge. In the meantime Doctor Pringle's physical strength began to give way, and he spent most of his three weeks in Washington in bed. It was only after President Lincoln had gone personally to Stanton that the parole was granted.
After recovering his health in 1868, Pringle again turned his energies to plant breeding, attempting to hybridize new varieties of fruit and corn, tomatoes, and grains such as wheat and oats.
Collector
In 1872 Pringle's wife separated from her husband to pursue evangelistic work, and they divorced on October 16, 1877.Sometime around the 1870s, Pringle began to collect plants throughout Vermont, from deep in mossy woods, by lakesides, or high on mountain summits. On December 13, 1874, he was appointed to the Vermont Board of Agriculture. During three successive years he took boat trips up the lower St. Lawrence, to the Saguenay, a river in Canada, and the St. Francis and St. John Rivers of northern Maine.
In 1878, he displayed many of the Vermont specimens which he had been collecting, at the Paris Exposition
Paris Exposition
Paris Exposition or Paris Exhibition can refer to*The French Industrial Exposition of 1844-World's fair:* Exposition Universelle , The Paris Exposition of 1855* Exposition Universelle , The Paris Exposition of 1867...
.
In 1880, he was named as botanical collector for the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, and as an agent for the United States Census Department, to explore the forests of that region and to collect data for a final report.
In 1884, he made a botanical survey of the north and northwestern portions of Arizona, under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, and this later branched into a 26-year survey of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The Mexican Herald referred to him as one of the most brilliant and scholarly men ever to grace Mexico with his presence.
During his thirty-five years of field work in the United States, Canada and Mexico, he distributed to herbaria over 500,000 specimens, embracing some 20,000 species, about 12 per cent of which were new to science.
In April, 1896, he was elected a member of the New England Botanical Club, within the first year of its existence and when in Boston attended the meetings. He became vice-president and charter member of the Vermont Botanical Club.
In the last year of his life he talked of planning a trip to South America, but died before he ever realized that dream, on May 25, 1911. He is buried in Morningside Cemetery, Charlotte, Vermont. His last name on the front of his stone is Prindle, with a plaque on the reverse Pringle.
Writing
He wrote many articles in The Country Gentleman from 1869 to 1880. For example in an 1880 issue he wrote "Origin of the Snowflake Potato." In 1884 he published Pringle's Reports on Forests of Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia in Dr. C. S. Sargent's "Report on the Forests of North America," Census Office, 1884.- Cyrus Pringle, The Record of a Quaker Conscience, Cyrus Pringle's Diary (Full text, Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/16088)