Climate change and the failure of crops are significant but overlooked events in the history of heredity. Bad weather and dangerously low harvests provided momentum and urgency for answers to questions about how best to improve and acclimatize staple varieties. In the 1790s, a series of crop failures in Britain led to the popularization of and widespread debate over Thomas Andrew Knight’s suggestion that poor weather was in fact largely unconnected to the bad harvests. Rather, Knight argued, Britain’s older varieties—particularly its fruit trees—were coming to the natural end of their lifespans. At a period when Britain was trying to maximize its agricultural land usage, Knight campaigned that his fellow farmers ought to set aside land and resources in order to cultivate new varieties—an expensive and time-consuming procedure—in order to avoid disaster. In this paper, I argue that Knight’s lifelong commitment to his position demonstrates the role played by changes in climate and weather on popular understandings of plant heredity. Further, drawing upon the historiography of Britain’s climate and agriculture, I show that despite reliable weather and good harvests, Knight’s campaign survived for several decades before the continued health of Britain’s trees was finally treated as sufficient evidence to dispense with Knight’s warnings. This case provides a means of thinking about the history of heredity as it is shaped and impacted by changes in climate and local conditions.

中文翻译：

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不可避免的衰退：19 世纪英国关于气候、粮食安全和植物遗传的争论

气候变化和作物歉收是遗传史上重要但被忽视的事件。恶劣的天气和危险的低收成为回答有关如何最好地改进和适应主食品种的问题提供了动力和紧迫性。在 1790 年代，英国的一系列作物歉收导致托马斯·安德鲁·奈特 (Thomas Andrew Knight) 提出的恶劣天气实际上与歉收基本上无关的观点得到普及和广泛辩论。相反，奈特认为，英国的老品种——尤其是果树——即将自然寿命结束。在英国试图最大限度地利用农业用地的时期，奈特主张他的农民同胞应该留出土地和资源来培育新品种——这是一个昂贵且耗时的过程——以避免灾难。在本文中，我认为奈特对其职位的终生承诺证明了气候和天气的变化对植物遗传的流行理解所起的作用。此外，利用英国气候和农业的历史编纂，我表明，尽管天气可靠且收成良好，奈特的战役仍存活了几十年，直到英国树木的持续健康最终被视为无需奈特警告的充分证据。这个案例提供了一种思考遗传历史的方法，因为它受气候和当地条件变化的影响和影响。我认为奈特对其职位的终生承诺证明了气候和天气的变化对植物遗传的流行理解所起的作用。此外，利用英国气候和农业的历史编纂，我表明，尽管天气可靠且收成良好，奈特的战役仍存活了几十年，直到英国树木的持续健康最终被视为无需奈特警告的充分证据。这个案例提供了一种思考遗传历史的方法，因为它受气候和当地条件变化的影响和影响。我认为奈特对其职位的终生承诺证明了气候和天气的变化对植物遗传的流行理解所起的作用。此外，利用英国气候和农业的历史编纂，我表明，尽管天气可靠且收成良好，奈特的战役仍存活了几十年，直到英国树木的持续健康最终被视为无需奈特警告的充分证据。这个案例提供了一种思考遗传历史的方法，因为它受气候和当地条件变化的影响和影响。我表明，尽管天气可靠且收成良好，奈特的竞选活动仍然存活了几十年，直到英国树木的持续健康最终被视为无需奈特警告的充分证据。这个案例提供了一种思考遗传历史的方法，因为它受气候和当地条件变化的影响和影响。我表明，尽管天气可靠且收成良好，奈特的竞选活动仍然存活了几十年，直到英国树木的持续健康最终被视为无需奈特警告的充分证据。这个案例提供了一种思考遗传历史的方法，因为它受气候和当地条件变化的影响和影响。