Ulysses Prentiss Hedrick (1870–1951) was an American

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

. His main interest was cultivated

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s and he published a number of volumes dealing with such fruits as

cherries A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The name ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

s, and

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

es.

Biography

Hedrick was born in 1870 in

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. He grew up in Northern Michigan near Harbor Springs, an experience recalled in his memoir ''The Land of the Crooked Tree'', and was the brother of Wilbur Olin Hedrick. He attended Michigan State Agricultural College (MSAC), now Michigan State University, receiving a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in 1893 and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in 1895. He worked as Assistant Horticulturist at MSAC from 1893 to 1895, while studying for his M.S. From 1895 to 1905, Hedrick taught

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

Oregon Agricultural College Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

(1895–1897),

Utah Agricultural College Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

(1897–1899), and Michigan State Agricultural College (1899–1905). He became a horticulturist at the

New York State Agricultural Experiment Station The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) at Geneva, Ontario County, New York State, is an agricultural experiment station operated by the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. In August 2 ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1905. While in Geneva, Hedrick was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree at Hobart College in 1913. He continued to work at the Station, which he directed from 1928 onwards, until 1937, when he retired. Hedrick was made a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1911, and of the

New York State Historical Association The Fenimore Art Museum (formerly known as New York State Historical Association) is a museum located in Cooperstown, New York on the west side of Otsego Lake. Collection strengths include the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indi ...

and a member of the

American Society for Horticultural Science The American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) is a professional society for horticultural science based in Alexandria, Virginia. Founded in 1903, the mission of ASHS is to promote and encourage national and international interest in scienti ...

(president 1913) and

American Pomological Society The American Pomological Society was founded by Marshall Pinckney Wilder in 1848, to foster the growing of fruit and the development of new varieties, and is the oldest fruit organization in North America. Publications The organization's primar ...

. During his lifetime, he authored or co-authored more than a dozen publications, which are "still frequently consulted", on the subjects of

pomology Pomology (from Latin , "fruit", + , "study") is a branch of botany that studies fruits and their cultivation. Someone who researches and practices the science of pomology is called a pomologist. The term fruticulture (from Latin , "fruit", + , "c ...

and horticulture. His

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

s on fruits, including publications such as ''The Pears of New York'' (1922), "have become classic references on the fruit cultivars of the period". Hedrick died in 1951.

Publications

* ''Grapes of New York'' (1908) * ''Plums of New York'' (1911) * ''Cherries of New York'' (1915) * ''Peaches of New York'' (1917) * ''Manual of American Grape Growing'' (1919) * ''Sturtevant's Notes on Edible Plants'' (1919) * ''Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits'' (1921) * ''The Pears of New York'' (1921) * ''Systematic Pomology'' (1925) * ''Small Fruit of New York'' (1925) * ''The Vegetables of New York'' (1929) * ''History of Agriculture in the State of New York'' (1933) * ''Fruits for the Home Garden'' (1944) * ''The Land of the Crooked Tree'' (1948) * ''Grapes and Wines from Home Vineyards'' (1945) * ''A History of Horticulture in America'' (1950)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedrick, Ulysses Prentiss Botanists with author abbreviations 1870 births 1951 deaths American botanists Botanists active in North America Hobart and William Smith Colleges alumni Michigan State University alumni Michigan State University faculty Oregon State University faculty Pomologists Utah State University faculty American horticulturists People from Independence, Iowa