It can be argued that Jean Senebier (1742-1809) did some of the most significant plant physiology experiments ever conducted. Senebier had the good fortune to be both wealthy and curious and to live in and near a city (Geneva) with a thriving scientific community. While engaged as a city librarian he conducted and published experiments showing that plants fix carbon dioxide. The experiments, published in the 1780s-1790s and summarized in 'Physiologie végétale (1800), largely explain how plants modify the atmosphere we and other organisms live in.
Between them, Senebier, Hales and many other scientist represented in our collection, explained to us how plants control the gas composition of our atmosphere and how they contribute to the water cycle on earth. Their works make good reading even today. The importance of the foundations laid by these physiologists is likely to become even more clear as our climate changes and our population grows. Senebier and Hales remind us of how important curiosity and a good working environment are for scientific enquiry.
Curation: E.E. Farmer and R. Hofer.