Controlling Nature in the Lab and Beyond: Methodological Predicaments in Nineteenth-Century Botany

Botany changed dramatically in the nineteenth century, particularly in German-speaking countries, and an important part of this change was the development of new methodological principles. Many botanists were deeply concerned with making observations accurate, experimental design meaningful, and inferences safe—in other words, they struggled to define “control strategies” and implement “control practices.” This essay specifically examines the work of Julius Wiesner (1838–1916), acclaimed plant physiologist in Vienna and protagonist of the new scientific botany. When Wiesner studied the influence of light on plants in his laboratory, he took care that all experimental circumstances were controlled meticulously; but the essay shows that when Wiesner moved his studies into the field, he had to adapt to entirely new conditions. The questions emerging from these studies ultimately demanded a different set of methodological principles and control strategies—so different the essay argues, that Wiesner helped to found a new sub-discipline: the “Biology of Plants”.