idris v. hunt an appreciation
TRANSCRIPT
Grass and Forage Science (I98R) Volume 4!1. 213-214
IDRIS V. HUNTAN APPRECIATION
Idris V. Hunt, former Head of Grassland Husbandry Department, The West of Scotland AgriculturalCollege, died on t6 December t986. He was President of ihe British Grassland Society during 1967-68.
Bom at Llandudno in Wales in t9t 1, I.V., as he became popularly known, completed his secondaryeducation at Llandudno County School. He entered the University College ofNorth Wales, Bangor, inOctober 1930 and obtained the B.Sc. degree al the University ofWales in t933, achieving the notabledistinction of First Class Honours in the joint subjects of Botany and Agricultural Botany. During 1933-35 he was a demonstrator/lecturer in the University Department of Agricultural Botany butsimultaneously completed a thesis on The EtTect of Grazing on Certain Grass Species', which gainedhim the degree of M.Sc in 1935.
Between 1935 and 1940 he was on the staff of Wye College, Ashford, as Assistant Lecturer inAgricultural Botany, remaining there until September 1940 when the teaching department closed owingto the onset of World War II. He was seconded to the West Sussex War Agricultural ExecutiveCommittee, serving it until 1943. He then joined the Chester-based seed firm of Miln and Co. with whichhe was a research and advisory officer until 1950, when he was appointed specialist grassland husbandryadviser at The West of Scotland Agricultural College, Auchincruive, Ayr. He had the additional remit ofresearch and development work and this was his real metier to which he devoted considerable energy andresourcefulness in order to give a sound basis for his specialist advice to farmers. He had previouslydisplayed an aptitude for research at Bangor with grazing studies, at Wye with chlorate weedkillers, atAmberley Brooks in Sussex when reseeding marshland and at Chester by use of a light aircraft toimprove upland Derbyshire swards by innovative aerial seeding.
His dedication to research and development flourished in ihe years 1950-1976 at the West College andhis talent for writing ensured that the results of his research did not languish in filing cabinets. He was aproponent ofthe 'task force' approach towards investigations and was generous in sharing publicationwith his colleagues, as witness his many multi-author papers; he was a prolific contributor of articles tothe Journal of the British Grassland Society, his favourite Society. Nevertheless, he was also alongstanding Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and the Institute of Biology. His grasslandresearch contributions covered a wide range of subjects, but notably grass species and variety evaluation,the effects of fertilizers, especially nitrogen, on grassland production and improvement methods for hilland upland swards. The keynote of his research was versatility and he was a source of inspiration andideas for his younger colleagues.
I.V. liaised keenly with overseas scientists and institutes and supported European and InternationalGrassland Conferences with enthusiasm, research contributions and attendance of himself or his staff.He was a guiding force on the committee which organized the 1968 meeting ofthe European GrasslandFederation in Scotland on the theme of hill-land productivity. It was in large measure due to his effortsthat the West College became recognized abroad as a leading centre for grassland studies. Secondedtwice to the Food and Agriculture Organization for grassland consultancy at research institutes in theRepublic of Argentina, including a I-year stint in 1967, his sympathetic understanding of problems andingenious solutions endeared him to the Argentinian staff.
He was a very effective specialist grassland adviser in the west of Scotland and had a bonhomie andWelsh eloquence which gave him instant rapport with farmers, especially at meetings. He was also afrequent contributor of popular articles to the farming press. He was closely involved with the setting upofthe two local Grassland Societies in the area, 'South-West Scotland' in 1962 and 'Central Scotland' in
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214 Idris V. Hunt: an appreciation
1963, being Secretary of the former for 13 years and being made Honorary Vice-President and Lifemember in 1984. He also initiated and nurtured the Scots Timothy Seed Growers' Association from itsinception in 1961.
Idris V. Hunt will be remembered for his many and varied contributions to grassland husbandry, aninnate modesty, his guidance and inspiration to colleagues and an ability to look 'furth' of his adoptedScotland.
J. FRAME
Idris V. Hunt: an appreciation
IDRIS V. HUNT