Leaflet 1 New Life For Agriculture 1.jpg (306.36 KiB) Viewed 1650 times
ANTHROPOSOPHICAL AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION.
THE OLD MILL HOUSE, BRAY-ON-THAMES, BERKS.
LEAFLET No. 1.
OCTOBER 1931.
NEW LIFE FOR AGRICULTURE.
“To watch the corn grow and the blossom set, to draw hard breath over ploughshare and spade, to read, to think, to love, to hope, to pray; these are the things that make men happy."
MANY a farmer will agree with what Ruskin has said in the above lines, and many of the older men, at any rate, will realise that these are the very things we are letting slip from our grasp; even happiness itself.
An interesting question that might have been included on the census papers, would have been what were your reasons for choosing your particular vocation?” Would not the answer of the vast majority of those occupied in agriculture have been either “because my father was a farmer before me and it is in my blood” or else it was the life I fancied"? Business men might have replied that the business they had chosen seemed to them the easiest way of making money, but not so the farmer. Farming is not a business, it is life. Not only life for those actually engaged in agriculture, but the life of the Nation. Just as the world looks to English stockbreeders for the foundation and replenishment of their herds, so England herself has drawn her men from the land to repair the ravages of industry in the human stock of the cities and towns.
The way to look at the problem before us today is not only "how to make farming pay "or“ how to make England self-supporting in food in case of war." The most urgent problem is to find the best methods in agriculture for permanently employing the greatest number of men on the land.
Some of our leaders point to America and advocate large-scale farming. Yet it was stated some years ago that two million American farmers have vacated their farms since 1920. When we see a steam plough doing the work of a cyclopse and twenty idle men watching it, we see a parable of where these wholesale methods are leading. Not only are fewer men per acre employed by the use of machinery, but less weight of produce per acre is grown, and we only have a limited acreage in England suitable for arable land.
There was once an old farmer busy whitewashing his barn with a brush that had but few bristles left in it. The squire happened to pass by and pausing to wish his tenant “Good day,” noticed the brush: “Why don't you get a brush with more bristles in it, Giles?” he ventured good humouredly, "What for?” asked the painter; “What for?” echoed the other, “Why man, if you had a decent brush you could do twice as much work." "Mebbe so, mebbe so," returned old Giles,“ only you see I ain't got twice as much work to do."
Again, we are advised by these business magnates to "specialise.” If we were dealing with such stuff as motor cars are made of, specialisation and rationalisation might succeed, but we are dealing with the living earth and living animals and plants and the living relationship between them. We cannot maintain the fertility of the earth permanently with chemicals, nor does a chemical analysis tell us all we must know about the food we give our animals.
The farmer has received great benefit from the work of the scientist and great help can be derived from the right use of machinery on the farm; whether we would or not we cannot go back to old ways of living. These things are here and our problem is how to make the proper use of them,
without exploiting the earth and without exploiting humanity. We have to work out new methods adapted to our own times.
One of the greatest thinkers of our day has given us indications of the lines to work on. Dr. Rudolf Steiner in the Spiritual Science of Anthroposophy, from his deep understanding of Nature has given knowledge of the utmost importance to all farmers. By the practise of the methods Dr. Steiner has suggested, agriculture can be placed on a healthy and permanent foundation, as the basic industry of man.
ANTHROPOSOPHICAL AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION
ANTHROPOSOPHICAL
AGRICULTURE.
LEAFLET No. 2.
Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation,
THE OLD MILL HOUSE, BRAY-ON-THAMES, BERKS.
THE vocation of the farmer must of necessity begin with a study of the earth, for the measure of his knowledge and experience of the earth will be reflected in all his handiwork.
In the new conception of the earth's evolution given us by Rudolf Steiner, we learn to know the earth as a living organism, and to study the earth from this point of view can teach us to begin with, three things of the greatest practical value in matters of farming.
A. That the earth is a living being.
B. That other heavenly bodies, notably the planets, are near relatives of the earth, and connected in their life-processes with the earth.
That we cannot study the plant-world when we separate it from the life of the earth, and from the waters of the earth; neither can we separate the animals from their natural relation to the living forces in the elements of air and warmth. If the farmer is willing to consider these three points in connection with agriculture, he will begin to notice such manifestations of the life of the earth as Dr. Wachsmuth has put forward in his book " The Etheric Formative Forces in Cosmos, Earth and Man." He will gradually become aware that the morning hours can give him the feeling of a kind of out-breathing of the earth, of a resting time at midday, and an in-breathing towards evening, and it will seem as though at night the earth entered into a kind of concentration in itself.
Indeed the farmer and gardener will find that it is good to sow his seed during the afternoon when the earth is breathing in and, as it were, can take the seed into her womb, though he will not need to take this in a dogmatic fashion and apply it universally to everything he sows. The watering of plants, the application of liquid manure, and preferably all forms of manuring, he will find are best done towards evening, while the cutting of crops, and harvesting operations will be better suited to the morning hours.
Further, he will gain a new insight into the life of the Earth as it experiences the changing seasons of the year, or than following the tendency of the present day to make himself as independent of them as possible--though this applies more especially to the gardener.
The earth itself will come to our aid as farmers, when we pay attention to its rythmic life, and over-wet or too dry seasons will come to be less harmful.
That the sun is of extreme importance to all the living beings of the earth is a truth accepted as beyond question, but we have, most of us, ceased to attach any value to the influences of the planets of our system. In our Anthroposophical Agriculture and Horticulture we are especially interested, for instance, in the phases of the Moon, whereas in the planting of trees we have to consider also the more distant planets and their rising and setting.
In the laboratories of the Goetheanum, in Dornach, scientific workers who became pupils of Rudolf Steiner, have been able to demonstrate the active influences of the planets by scientific experiment, and to show the practical results of applying these discoveries in farm and garden. They have shown for example that in our own interest we should choose the waxing Moon for seed sowing (see " Notes and Correspondence," Vol. iii, 2).
Once the farmer begins to prove such statements as these for himself, he will find endless opportunities in the every day working of the farm of studying them more and more fruitfully. We mean this in a quite practical sense, and not at all that he should study them in any half-mystical, fanciful manner, or in astrological calendars, but with methods fully in accord with his everyday life of thought and experience.
We may say that the closer the union between the soil and the plants growing out of it, the healthier the both will be. Certain plants have direct affinity with certain kinds of soil ; they partake of the life of the earth organism, and its ureatmng nows through them ceaselessly.
Life forces saturate them when the earth breath passes through them. If we apply this practically, we shall soon discover that vegetables, flowering plants, fruits, etc., will remain fresh very much longer if they are cut or gathered in the early morning hours. This is of course largely done, but usually from the point of view of convenience in marketing.
Much is already gained if the farmer is willing to work experimentally, and in a modest way, with methods based on such conceptions as are but barely outlined here. He will Soon begin to feel that in his reliance on the living nature of the earth, he will be wise if he further considers the living nature of his own farm, if he regards his farm also as an organism, and indeed one which today is often in need of healing. If he has a well-balanced mixed farm it will even appear as having an organic life, of its own, and that the more he is able to put his own individuality into the working of it, the better he will be able to harmonize its different members, and keep the whole in health.
On the other hand, it is necessary today to face the fact that many soils are sick and exhausted, that the earth itself is in need of healing. Year after year the farmer must produce the same crops from the same limited area, and he must either continue to exploit it and stimulate it to fresh exertion with increasing doses of chemical manures, or he must turn to specialisation, to stock fattening, milk production, poultry and so on.
Rudolf Steiner, in giving a course of Lectures on Agriculture in 1924 at Koberwitz in Silesia, and they were given at the request of many farmers and gardeners who were facing the hard problems of agriculture today, gave us a great solution by indicating the way in which to make certain “preparations” which when added to organic manures such as dung, liquid manure or compost, not only enhance their quality but also make them go further. These “preparations” are made from organic substances such as plants, manure, etc., with the single exception of quartz (rock crystal). With the help of these preparations, which are really not in themselves “manures” in the sense of “plant foodstuffs," we could bring fresh and life-kindling forces to the soil. In comparatively small quantities, these “preparations” are added to the manure heap, the liquid manure tank, and the compost heap, or in other cases are applied as sprays to the growing plants. He told us further how we could deal with many so-called plant diseases. Neither did he forget the feeding and welfare of the domestic animals.
Finally, and not least, he gave us a new outlook on the vocation of the farmer, and on farming as a part of the whole social life of a nation. We value what he taught us more especially because he did not offer superficial remedies for all our social, economic troubles. He went right down into practical details we can at once begin to carry out, while all that he said was based on a new conception of the living earth, and the living beings inhabiting it.
Today we can state that this foundation has proved so secure and strong that in the last seven years much has been built upon it. Practical results in farm and garden have arisen on this foundation wherever the biological-dynamic methods of Anthroposophical Agriculture have been put into practice with conscientiousness and devotion.
Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation,
THE OLD MILL HOUSE, BRAY-ON-THAMES, BERKS.
OCTOBER 1931.
IT is interesting to notice that not only the medical profession but many more lay persons occupy themselves today with the problems of nutrition than was the case some twenty years ago. Their points of view naturally differ; many theories and opinions, scientific, pseudo-scientific, or sentimental, appear in the daily press, and in the pamphlets of food-reforming societies, in addition to much advice given in the form of advertisements of patent foods, etc.
This clear evidence of a desire to come to a clearer understanding of the true needs of men and animal contains, however, a certain tragic element, one, we may say, of a two-fold nature.
In the first place, it shows how very little real knowledge exists of the processes and functions of nutrition, and in the second place is a witness that the solutions arrived at are nowhere felt to be really adequate to meet the needs of either the human or the animal organism, considered in their entirety.
It is also the case that, with few exceptions, the unfortunate consumer has practically no influence upon the manner in which his food is produced, or of the often questionable processes to which it is subjected before it reaches his table.
The highly complex organism of man cannot be understood by means of what we perceive with our physical sense organs, for the living body of man is permeated with a life-principle which is invisible, and it is these life forces
within him, and not the digestive processes alone, which must first raise the physical substances of man's food to the level or stage of evolution of his own human nature.
Further, this human being, when we see him as a whole, comprises the sum-total of his desires and impulses, together with his human self-consciousness; he is Man by reason of his Ego; he can address himself, and experience himself as an individual in his contact with the outer world.
Rudolf Steiner has described this whole man” for us in his book “An Outline of Occult Science," and from the purely medical point of view in his book, written in co-operation with Dr. Ita Wegman, “ Fundamentals of Therapy."
If we are able to accept such a conception as the above we see at once the necessity of widening our views on the question of what nourishment man needs if he is to carry on his duties in health, and have a healthy mental life. Food ceases to be merely the fuel needed to keep the machine running, for food can only sustain the physical body when it maintains these higher, supersensible members of the human organisation of this new man which we now recognise not only in part, but as a whole.
In a recent number of "Notes and Correspondence," Dr. Werr pointed out that during the last decades, the scientific view of nutrition has fundamentally changed, the tendency today being quite definitely to turn away from the purely mechanical and chemical conception of food as fuel for the body.
In our Anthroposophical Agriculture we act on the principle that food-substances must be rich in living forces if living forces are to build up the physical bodies of men and animals.
Even a superficial survey of the literature of dieteticsand we must here include all that the chemist has so far put! forward on the theory of vitamins-shows a disregard for the essential life-forces in its search for analysable substances. Neither can a study of the methods of production, or preparation of our food, in spite of a high standard of appearance, grading, window-dressing and so on, really convince the consumer that his needs are satisfied.
For example, the cereals before they are sown in the soil by the farmer, are dressed with chemicals of a highly poisonous nature, and it has been definitely proved by a German scientist that mercury (quicksilver) can be found in every part of the plant thus treated, and even in the bread! we eat.
Artificial manures, inoculations of soil, etc., have brought about an unhealthy condition of the soil itself and a sick soil cannot bring forth healthy plants. Whether in farm or garden, every year we hear of fresh diseases and attacks of pests of all kinds quite unknown in former times, and for these repeated sprayings with substances like arsenate of lead or sulphate of copper-both highly poisonous--are universally recommended. Below and above ground, the plants are dosed with these things.
Again, our economic situation, our trade, the world-wide spaces from which our food is brought necessitates storage, and methods of preservation, involving treatments of a very doubtful kind. The gifts of the plant kingdom to man are first forced into unseasonable growth and early maturity, and must then be held back by cold or chemicals from the processes of decay.
Is it not the consumer who should today take up the task of first studying man and his organisation in its wonderful revelation as body, soul and spirit, and then ask himself! whether he is content with what is offered him as daily bread in the widest sense ?
Mr. E. Maurice Wood, in a companion leaflet, tells us that what the consumer demands, the farmer must supply and this is common-sense economics.
Rudolf Steiner has given us a new knowledge of man, not only as he stands before our physical gaze, but as he is in his complete being. In the biological dynamic methods of Anthroposophical Agriculture, he showed us ways and means of nourishing and sustaining MAN.
ANTHROPOSOPHICAL AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION
BROOME FARM, CLENT, Nr. STOURBRIDGE, WORCESTERSHIRE
LEAFLET No. 4.
JULY 1934.
IT was not until four years after a number of farmers and gardeners in Germany and other central European countries had already begun to work experimentally on the lines indicated by Rudolf Steiner, at Koberwitz, in Silesia, in 1924, that anything was publicly known in England of the biological dynamic methods of agriculture. The occasion was a lecture, given at the World Conference on Spiritual Science and its Practical Application, held in London in 1928. So much interest was then aroused that an Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation was formed to further and financially support similar work in this country.
Dr. Mirbt acted from the beginning as Agricultural Adviser. It was our endeavour to make known what the biological-dynamic methods are and also to assist farmers and gardeners in practically applying them. The office of the Foundation tries to keep in close touch with enquirers as well as with those applying the methods.
Other English-speaking countries that now have representative workers have been affiliated and give a wider scope and field of interest to our work.
Quite at the beginning of the work in England when it was important to let an increasing circle of people share in the literature and information available from German sources, as well as to supply news of what was being done in England, a Circular Letter was type-written and sent round to, at first, only about a dozen readers. This has gradually grown into a journal now printed and published under the title of "Notes and Correspondence." In this periodical an endeavour is made to provide both theoretical and practical information on Anthroposophical Natural Science as applied to agriculture and horticulture, as well as to nutrition.
Another branch of the Foundation's activities is the arranging of lectures, week-end circles for study, and conferences either held by invitation, or as opportunity arises. In the last years excursions have been arranged to farms and gardens in Holland and Germany where the biological dynamic methods have been applied for several years. These opportunities were much appreciated.
The work of the Foundation has found a growing interest expressing itself among towns-people, that is, among the consumers, for the consumer is today becoming more and more aware of the fact that the food offered him is no longer of the same wholesome quality as even a few years ago, and though the positive values of biological-dynamic products in this respect are not as yet fully understood, the consumer is ready to appreciate the purity and health-giving nature of food-products grown by methods which absolutely exclude all use of artificial chemical, and often poisonous fertilisers and sprays in the treatment of either soil or plant at any stage of cultivation.
This growing interest of the consumer affects the work of the Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation in two ways. In the first place, it calls for careful and conscientious study of the consumer's requirements, and where the need arises (and it is usually present today) some general indication of right principles of nutrition and of better methods in the preparation of food in particular. In the second place, the demands of the consumer must result in more attention being given by the farmer and marketgardener to methods which can fully satisfy these requirements. It is the aim of the Foundation to establish this co-operation on a real and firm basis of united work. A closer association between producer and consumer bears in itself the seeds of a new and far healthier economic and social life in the sense in which this has been fore-shadowed in Rudolf Steiner's book "The Threefold Commonwealth."
For the first years of its existence the Foundation's financial needs were met by a small number of generous friends. Since 1931, a gradually but steadily growing number of members have to shoulder the responsibility alone. The obligations are many : to maintain an office and enable it to attend to enquiries as well as to all demands for literature, preparations, etc. The work of the Agricultural Adviser has grown so much that it was necessary to provide him with a motor car. A further item of our expenditure, entirely dependent on the amount of money available. is conferences and literature. In arranging the former, lecturers are frequently invited from abroad. As regards the latter, we have a large programme of valuable books awaiting translation.
The safest and soundest way of meeting all the increased obligations of the Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation is to increase the membership. The annual subscription is one pound.
For this sum the members receive a free copy of “ Notes and Correspondence," as issued, and a discount of 10% on all publications of the Foundation, as well as upon the fees for consultation and the charges for preparations. Needless to say that the Agricultural Adviser and the Enquiry Office of the Foundation are only too gladly willing to help all members by giving information and advice.
Finally, the Foundation wishes it to be clearly understood that membership is by no means limited to those who have facilities, and wish to work practically with these methods in farm and garden, but for everyone interested and willing to help in the solution of the critical problems of agriculture and nutrition, on the basis of a true knowledge of Man, will be welcomed.
The following is a list of some of the articles in the recent numbers of the journal" Notes and Correspondence."
Dr. G. Wachsmuth M. K. Schwarz
L. Kolisko Dr. C. A. Mirbt
VOLUME III. No. 1. The Formative Forces in Nature and their
Importance for Agriculture ...
The Natural Manures in Gardening ... No. 2. The Moon and the Growth of Plants (Illustrated)
The Moon and the Farmer No. 3. Sterility Diseases in Cattle and Methods of
Feeding ... ... ... ...
Honey as Food and as Remedy... No. 4. Agriculture and our Daily Bread
Food Free from Taint No. 5/6. Do the Etheric Formative Forces Exist? ...
The Geographical Distribution of the Grazing!
Animals No. 7. Compost ...
The Reform of the Calendar The Vegetable Garden
Bread and the Farmer No. 8. Some Observations on the Parasites of our
Domestic Animals ... ... The Swarming of the Bees Anthroposophical Science
Dr. Josef Werr
M. P. Dr. C. A. Mirbt S. L. Bensusan P. E. Schiller
Dr. Joseph Werr Dr. C. A. Mirbt Dr. E. Vreede
M. Pease E. M. Wood
Dr. J. Werr
M. P. C. A. M.
M. P. C. A. M.
VOLUME IV. No. 1. Organic Wisdom in the Insect World ...
The Biological Dynamic Methods The following leaflets have so far been published :No. 1. New Life for Agriculture... ... No. 2. Anthroposophical Agriculture ... No. 3. Nutrition and Agriculture No. 4. The Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation
(2nd Edition) ... No. 5. Scale of Charges; Literature ... No. 6. The Biological-Dynamic Methods
E. M. Wood Dr. C. A. Mirbt Dr. C. A. Mirbt
Dr. C. A. Mirbt
INFORMATION already given in Leaflet IV should have made it clear that in addition to those who are already members of the Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation, all enquirers are invited not only to avail themselves of the literature provided by the Foundation, but also to make use of the facilities afforded for practical application of the biological dynamic methods in agriculture and horticulture as indicated by Rudolf Steiner.
As these methods have to be applied by individuals, and as merely general advice is not desirable, it is best that enquirers should in the first instance consult the Agricultural Adviser, either personally or by correspondence.
The first essential in beginning to apply these methods whether on the farm or in the garden, is to have a clear understanding of the making of the compost heaps and their further treatment with the special preparations, so that no beginner may take the first steps blindly but with some knowledge of the principles involved, even if not in all detail.
One of the main principles, and one constantly emphasised by Rudolf Steiner, is that each farm or garden, if it is to be rightly considered, must be regarded as an individual organism in itself. Further, there will be the obviously distinctive conditions of soil, altitude, climate and so on, which have also to be taken into account, In view of these readily admitted facts, it is advisable that when. ever possible a preliminary visit of the Agricultural Adviser should by correspondence. be arranged, after which it will be a simple matter to obtain adv
CHARGES. A. Preliminary correspondence leading to practical experimental work or application of the biological-dynamic methods.
10s. B Visit to farm or garden for consultation and advice.
(Travelling expenses extra) £1 Os. Od. C. Charges for further consultations and correspondence to be arranged individually.
PREPARATIONS. The following scale of charges is based approximately on the area to be treated. The quantities mentioned below are adjusted (unless otherwise stated) to one acre, though any lesser area will require equal quantities. In the case of larger areas the amounts of certain of the preparations may be reduced in quantity.
Preparation.
s. d 500 for spraying on the soil
09 501 for spraying on the plants ...
0 6 502—507 to be added to compost or manure heap, or to liquid manure
5 6 508 sufficient for 1 gallon (acre) ... ..
1. New Life for Agriculture. 2. Anthroposophical Agriculture. 3. Nutrition and Agriculture. 4. The Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation.
5. Scale of Charges ---Literature. NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE. Published several times
yearly.
Single Copies 1s. Od. post free. The following are the principal articles appearing in NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE.
M. K. Schwartz July 1930.
The Garden as a Self-Con
tained Individuality. Vol. III, No. 1. G. Wachsmuth The Formative Forces in
Nature, and their import
ance for Agriculture. M. K. Schwartz Manures in Gardening. C. A. Mirbt How to begin the use of the
Biological Methods. Vol. III. No 2 L. Kolisko
The Moon and the Growth (Out of print).
of Plants. C. A. Mirbt
The Moon and the Farmer. M. Pease
Peat and Humus. Vol. III, No. 3. J. Werr
Sterility Diseases in Cattle
and Methods of Feeding. M. Pease
Honey as a Food and as a
Remedy. C. A. Mirbt The Seventh Anniversary
of the Agricultural Course
(Conference at Marienstein) Vol. III, No. 4. C. A. Mirbt Agriculture and our Daily
Bread. R. Hauschka New Aspects of the Prob
lem of Nutrition. Notes on the Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer to the Ministry of Health
for 1930. S. L. Bensusan Food Free from Taint.
M. Pease
U Nos. 5/6. P. E. Schiller Do the Etheric Formative
Forces Exist ? M. Pease
The Story of a People as
Light as Air. J. Werr
The Geographical Distribu
tion of the Grazing Animals. M. E. Bruce The Bristol Conference. Vol. III. No. 7. C. A. Mirbt
Compost. M. Pease
The Vegetable Garden. E. Vreede
The Reform of the Calendar. E. M. Wood Bread and the farmer. Vol. III. No. 8. J. Werr
Some Observations on the Parasites of our Domestic
Animals. M. Pease
The Swarming of the Bees. M. Bruce
A Visit to Holland. C. A. Mirbt Anthroposophical Science.
Issued by the Mathematical and Astronomical CALENDAR.
Section of the Goetheanum. (English Edition) Easter 1932-3. 1s. Od. net. Post 3d. Easter 1933-4. 3s. Od. net. Post 3d.
Select list of further publications issued by various Publishing Houses.
RUDOLF STEINER. AN OUTLINE OF OCCULT SCIENCE
12s.6d.net. Post 6d. KNOWLEDGE OF HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT
6s. Od. net. Post 4d. THEOSOPHY: AN INTRODUCTION TO
THE SUPERSENSIBLE KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD AND THE DESTINATION OF MAN
6s. 6d. net. Post 5d. The Story of My Life
10s. Od. net. Post 6d. Goethe's CONCEPTION OF THE WORLD
7s.6d. net. Post 4d.
RUDOLF STEINER (Continued)
THE THREEFOLD COMMONWEALTH
2s. Od.net. Post 3d. THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY
7s.6d.net. Post 5d. ANTHROPOSOPHY: AN INTRODUCTION
7s.6d. net. Post 5d
G. WACHSMUTH.
THE ETHERIC FORMATIVE FORCES IN COSMOS, EARTH AND MAN
20s. Od. net. Post 9 d
Experimental Studies from the L. KOLISKO.
Biological Institute of the Goetheanum WORKINGS OF THE STARS IN EARTHLY SUBSTANCES. No. 1.
5s. Od. net. Post 3d. WORKINGS OF THE STARS IN
EARTHLY SUBSTANCES. No. 2. (The Solar Eclipse, June 29th 1927)
5s. Od. net. Post 3d WORKINGS OF THE STARS IN
EARTHLY SUBSTANCES. No, 4. (Jupiter and Tin)
9s. 6d. net. Post 6d H. POPPELBAUM. MAN AND ANIMAL. THEIR
ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCE (Considered in Five Aspects)
7s.6d, net. Post 6d. GAIA SOPHIA.
The Year-book of the Natural (In German)
Science Section of the Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland Vol. IV. 1929. LANDWIRTSCHAFT Vol. V. 1930. Die Tierwelt
(Prices on application)
ANTHROPOSOPHY. A quarterly review of Spiritual Science, Edited by D. N. Dunlop. Subscription : 11s. yearly, post free.
Also the following essays and articles in "Anthroposophy," warterly: ANTHROPOSOPHY AND ASTRONOMY, by E. Vreede (1928. 11): THE FACE OF THE EARTH AND THE DESTINY OF MANKIND, by G. Wachsmuth (1927, i); MACHINE, ANIMAL AND MAN, by H. Poppelbaum, Ph.D. (1929, ill); INFLUENCE OF TECHNICAL CONTRIVANCES ON HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS, by H. Poppelbaum, Ph.D. (1931, iv) ; LINKS IN THE CHAIN OF LIFE, by G. Kaufmann (1926. i); SCIENCE AT THE CROSSROADS, by G. Kaufmann (1927, ii); PHYSICS AND THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, by G. Kaufmann (1930. ii); NATURAL HISTORY AT THE WALDORF SCHOOL, by E. Kolisko (1932, i); THE NATURE OF THE PLANT, by A. Usteri (1930, i); The ZODIAC AND THE MINERAL WORLD, by O. Eckstein (1931, ii); THE PROCESS OF NUTRITION, by R. Hauschka (1929, iv); FUNCTIONS OF THE VITAMINES IN HUMAN NUTRITION, by G. Suchantke (1929, iv); COSMIC FORCES IN AGRICULTURE, by G. Wachsmuth (1929, iv).
THE ANTHROPOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT. A HANDBOOK OF INFORMATION FOR ENQUIRIERS. Part I. Anthroposophy and the history of Rudolf
Steiner's Lifework. Part II. The Practical Work of the Anthroposophi
cal Movement. Part III. Bibliography.
1s. net. Post 3d.
The above and all the published works of Rudolf Steiner and other anthroposophical writers, both in the original German and English translations, may be obtained from :
The Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation, Demeter House,
73 Albert Road, Stechford, Birmingham 9.
and
The Rudolf Steiner Book Shop, Rudolf Steiner House,
35 Park Road, London, N.W.1.
ANTHROPOSOPHICAL AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATI
The Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation
THE BIOLOGICAL-DYNAMIC METHOD AS INAUGURATED BY RUDOLF STEINER.
LEAFLET No. 6.
1934
BROOME FARM, CLENT, NR. STOURBRIDGE, WORCESTERSHIRE.
AND
RUDOLF STEINER HOUSE, 35 PARK ROAD, LONDON, N.W.1
RUDOLF STEINER gave to Spiritual Science a modern form and a modern name. This name of Anthroposophy, the Knowledge of Man, indicates that every human being is concerned with Spiritual Science as presented to the modern world.
The teaching of Rudolf Steiner is laid down in two fundamental books, his “Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and how to attain it," and his “Outline of Occult Science.” A very useful guide for enquirers is “The Anthroposophical Movement," compiled and edited by George Adams Kaufmann, M.A., and issued under the authority of the Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain.
If Anthroposophy is what it claims to be, namely, a modern way of initiation, it must be applicable to every sphere of human activity, for a changed picture of man necessarily implies great changes in our outlook upon Nature, and hence inevitably in the practical measures which this involves.
Rudolf Steiner, as an Initiate, gave only indications for the practical activities of life, as it was imperative for him to respect the freedom of the individual. Any list of his fundamental writings would therefore be incomplete without mentioning the Philosophy of Spiritual Activity." It is for each individual himself to use or not to use the advice offered by Rudolf Steiner, and it is for this reason difficult to write a practical results of Anthroposophy, as, for example, in agriculture decide for hout in a few sentences. brought into use under the title of biologic
*This leaflet was first published in Vol. IV, No. 1, February, 1934. Sphere of agriculture. Rudolf Steiner's indications are, to use under the title of biological dynamic-methods first published in “ Notes and Correspondence,
The title may sound cumbersome, and yet if one is willing to take the initial trouble of realising what these three words signify when they are taken quite literally, one finds that everything these methods include is covered by these words.
The methods are called biological because they are concerned with the living qualities in Nature, with the living soil, the living plant, the living animal, and last but not least, with the living human being.
The earth is living not only in the sense that it harbours life in innumerable forms and varieties, but we have to comprehend the whole of the earth as a living organism. As long as we bear this in mind, we shall perforce be much more careful in our methods of manuring, as we have to deal not only with the mineral, physical substances of the Earth, but must ever be endeavouring to maintain and even to increase its life, namely, its fertility. A chemical quantitative analysis of the soil and measures resulting from such a procedure, deals only with a part of this organism and further with one which is not even of the greatest importance for the farmer and the gardener. The humus content of the soil becomes of paramount importance.
The humus content we cannot influence without the help of the plant kingdom, and we have to recognise the fact that the plant is very much more than an accumulation of mineral substances and certain organic compounds. Formative forces are at work in the building up of the plant and in the maintenance of its form. These forces are not physical and cannot be perceived by means of the sense organs of the physical body. We can however, try to recognise these forces with the aid of that part of our being which is of the same nature as these forces, namely, our thinking. If our thinking becomes more and more active through such exercises as are given by Rudolf Steiner in "Knowledge of the Higher Worlds, etc.," or in the pamphlet on "The Practical Training of Thought," then we can become conscious of the world of these etheric formative forces and can perceive them at work within the whole household of Nature. A world picture based upon such thinking has been described by Dr. G. Wachsmuth in his book "The Etheric Formative Forces in Cosmos, Earth and Man." It should, however, be made clear that in order to under stand the statements concerning this etheric world it is not necessary to have raised one's thinking to this higher state of activity, for all that is here required is that one should follow without prejudice the descriptions of one able to investigate these worlds, to describe them in an entirely logical way.
We can make use of the plants for the purpose of increasing the fertility of our soil not only in the form of a wise rotation of th of which measures on with the biologicalant that is the most amely, as compost.
methods, humus in thor who m
crops, or a right association of plants, both of which ma certainly have great importance in connection with the hin dynamic methods, but it is the dying plant that is the valuable source of humus in the purest form, namely, as combi
To the farmer and gardener who may wish to work bio ally, to work, that is, in harmony with the laws of life, the world is just as indispensible as the plant world and the Here we must not think only of the larger animals which sunn us with milk, fat, etc., or with manure, but we have to take animal kingdom as a whole, and to recognise the importance the birds, the world of the insects, the tasks of the earth worm and even lower forms of animal life. Truly biological methods in connection with the animals are too often entirely incompatable with modern methods of forcing early maturity, of high milk yields and the like. Truly biological measures will always have to take into account the possible ill effects that may result if one species, or even one member of this large "Being," the animal kingdom, is disorganised. The agricultural industry of the last hundred years had frequently had to pay dearly for its disregard of the self-help of Nature when the biological balance in the animal kingdom has been destroyed.
Dr. H. Popplebaum has brought forward a new Zoology in his book " Man and Animal."
Life is the manifestation of forces, and if we would influence life we must work dynamically. (Dynamis-force). As has been said, the sphere of forces, or in other words the sphere of activity is beyond the world of substances, and much more comprehensive. Thus it can manifest itself irrespective of substance, or to put it rather differently, forces have their own laws which do not only respects even contradict them. not necessarily correspond with the laws of matter, but in many
The highly important research work of Frau Kolisko on the working of smallest entities gives wonderful pictures of the way in which these forces can work. Other pictures are revealed by the methods of capillary analysis brought to perfection by the same scientist, or again by the new methods of crystallisation developed by Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. Both these methods introduce us to realms unfathomable by a science which restricts itself to the investigation of matter only.
Rudolf Steiner indicated certain "preparations," as it is now customary to call them, which must be understood as bearers or concentrated forces. With the one exception of quartz (in itse a remarkable substance) the starting material for these preparations consists only of living substances taken from plants animals. These preparations must not be understood as ma in the ordinary sense, so that one could say we replace with
the mineral fertilisers as these are made use of today. We have rather to look upon them as enhancing the life-processes already existing in soil and plant. Their working can therefore only be already indicated. understood on the basis of a picture of Nature such as has been
"Preparation 500” is sprayed in high dilution upon the soil with the object of enlivening it, of stimulating the life-processes in the soil and thereby increasing its humus content. One of the rapid results of the use of this preparation is the greatly increased root action of the plant, with its highly beneficial influence upon its whole life and growth.
Later preparation 501" is sprayed upon the growing plant, in still higher dilution than preparation 500. The substances from which the former is prepared is pure rock crystal, which already indicates the connection between this preparation and the light. When it is applied the light and warmth metabolism of the plant is strengthened and this in turn results in an intensification of the carbon metabolism of the plant. Preparation 501 thus supplements the effect of preparation 500 which has a special affinity with the mineral composition of the plant through intensification of root-action.
We now come to the third word in the title of our methods and must realise that Rudolf Steiner did not merely indicate certain biological measures of a dynamic nature, but gave a new method of agriculture and horticulture. If we take this word " method" in its original meaning in the Greek language, it means the following up of a certain procedure according to a plan, in order to reach a definite aim or goal. Rudolf Steiner gave a new science of life to enable us to work biologically and a new science of the etheric formative forces so that we might work dynamically, He gave us a picture of the farm or garden as an individual living organism, as the essential guiding line for applying the method as a whole. The farmer must call upon all his inner individual activity if he is to understand the farm as an organism of which soil, plants and animals are interdependent members, maintaining between each other a right and healthy balance. There is no limit to the efforts of the farmer in his search for possible or probable influences of one member of the farm upon another, or of influences working from outside. He will come to realise how the whole universe works into his farm, or into his garden; he will learn to observe the course of the year, and the courses of the stars, and their influences upon the life of all plants and animals,
This picture of the farm as a self-contained and self-supporting organism, which should rightly depend upon manures and food-stuffs from outside sources as little as possible, carries in itself the key to the solution of the economic problems of agri culture today
The biological dynamic methods enable both farmer and gardener to do justice not alone to the lower kingdoms of Nature entrusted to him, but also to fulfil his obligations towards his fellow human beings in the right way, for he will be able to provide food which is worthy of man.
The biological-dynamic method is a scientific method in the sense that it requires serious study and detailed instruction. But just as there is no obstacle in the nature of any social or financial situation, or in any standard of education which could bar the way for any man desiring to study Anthroposophy, so everyone can learn if he will, how to apply biological-dynamic methods.
To understand the reasons of all the measures to be undertaken in connection with these methods and the ability to work quite independently with them, of necessity implies a study of the Anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner, out of which these methods have arisen. For those who either do not wish to take this path or stand only at its beginning, the Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation provides the necessary information and practical help.
C. A. MIRBT.
ANTHROPOSOPHICAL AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION FROM THE STATUTES : OBJECTS
The objects of the Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation shall be to promote the Biological dynamic Methods of Agriculture given by Rudolf Steiner and their furtherance in the English-speaking world. MEMBERSHIP
Membership of the Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation shall be open :
1. To members of the Experimental Circle. 2. To anyone having facilities for applying the methods
of Anthroposophical Agriculture to farm or garden. 3. To all who are convinced that the methods of food
production and preservation today, call urgently for the serious consideration of consumers, and are therefore willing to support and further the work of the Foundation.
The financial year of the Foundation runs from October 1st
Membership subscription (£1 yearly) falls due in October Those joining after April 1st, pay 10/- for the half year. as published.
Members receive NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE free of charge
Members receive a discount of 10 per cent on all charges and prices (except travelling expenses). (See Leaflet No. 5).
Some articles published in NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE
(for fuller list see Leaflet No. 5) Vol. III, No. 1 G. Wachsmuth The Formative Forces in Nature, and (Out of Print)
their Importance for Agriculture. C. A. Mirbt How to begin the Use of the Biologi
cal Methods. Vol. III, No. 2 L. Kolisko
The Moon and the Growth of Plants (Out of Print)
Vol. III, No. 3
J. Werr
Vol. III, No. 4
M. Pease C. A. Mirbt S. L. Bensusan M. Pease J. Werr
Vol. III, No.5/6
Sterility Diseases in Cattle and Methods of Feeding. Honey as a Food and as a Remedy Agriculture and our Daily Bread. Food Free from Taint. The Story of a People as Light as Air. The Geographical Distribution of the Grazing Animals. Compost. The Vegetable Garden. The Reform of the Calendar.
Vol. III, No. 7
C. A. Mirbt M. Pease E. Vreede J. Werr
Vol. III. No. 8
M. Pease M. Pease
Some Observations on the Parasites of Our Domestic Animals. The Swarming of the Bees. A Lecture on "Organic Wisdom in the Insect World." The Biological Dynamic Methods.
Vol. IV, No. 1
C. A. Mirbt