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{{Short description|Canadian farmer (1805-1877)}}
{{Wikify|date=May 2008}}
'''David Alexander Fife''' (1805 – 1877) was born at Kincardine, Scotland in 1805. In 1820 his family immigrated to Otonabee, [[Upper Canada]], and took up farming. David is credited with developing the variety of wheat which later became known as [[Red Fife wheat|Red Fife]].
'''David Alexander Fife''' (1805–1877) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]]-born [[Canadians|Canadian]] farmer credited with developing the variety of wheat which later became known as [[Red Fife wheat|Red Fife]].


{{Infobox person
In the early 1840's the farmers in the Midlands area of ''Canada West'' (the new name for Upper Canada after the [[Act of Union (1840)]]) grew a winter wheat variety known as Siberian. It had been introduced to Canada in the hope that it would survive the severe Canadian winters. But the Siberian wheat variety was susceptible to [[Wheat leaf rust|rust]] and its yields were low. David Fife wrote to a friend in Glasgow asking for samples of good seed wheat. His friend obtained a sample of wheat off a ship from Danzig, Prussia, (now [[Gdansk]], Poland) and sent it to Fife. As it came to David's hand just before spring seeding time, and, not knowing whether it was a fall or spring variety, Mr. Fife concluded to sow a part of it that spring, and wait for the result. It proved to be fall wheat as most of it never ripened. Three ears, however, which grew from a single grain did reach maturity. Two possibilities exist, that the single grain from which the three heads grew was an accidental hybrid, or that the single seed kernel was a spring wheat variety mixed in with a winter wheat strain. In any case, David preserved the seeds from the stool that had matured, sowed them the following year where they grew to be entirely free of rust. Fife continued to carefully husband the seeds harvested and by 1848 had accumulated 240 bushels of the new variety which he distributed to his neighbors for seed. By 1860 Red Fife had supplanted all other varieties in use in Canada. Red Fife soon became the standard variety of "hard spring" wheat in North America and by the end of the 19th century was widely considered as the world's best spring wheat because of its resistance to rust, early maturing, high productivity and excellent milling and baking qualities.
| name = David Alexander Fife
| image = David_Fife.jpg
| caption = <div style="font-size: 90%">"David Fife, operator of the first experimental farm in Canada and developer of Red Fife Wheat</div>
| birth_date ={{birth date|mf=yes|1805|08|22}}
| birth_place =[[Kincardine-on-Forth|Kincardine]], Scotland
| death_date ={{death date and age|mf=yes|1877|01|09|1805|08|22}}
| death_place =[[Peterborough, Ontario|Otonabee, Ontario]]
| occupation = farmer, inventor, businessman
| spouse = {{marriage|Jane Beckett (1808&ndash;1888) |1825|1877}}
| children = David Alexander Jr. (1829&ndash;1901)<br />John Alexander (1829&ndash;1907)<br />Agnes (1835&ndash;??)<br />Sylvester Hutchison (1835&ndash;1911)<br />Jane (1837&ndash;1891)<br />James Alexander (1839&ndash;1920)<br /> Mary (1841&ndash;??)<br />Thomas (1839&ndash;1852)<br />Ellen (??&ndash;??)
| parents = John Fife Sr. (1773–1859)<br />Agnes Hutchison (1773–1853)
}}

== Biography ==
David Alexander Fife was born at [[Kincardine-on-Forth|Kincardine]], Scotland in 1805. In 1820, his family immigrated to Otonabee Township in [[Peterborough County]], [[Upper Canada]], and took up farming.<ref name="biographi.ca">[http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=4982&interval=25&&PHPSESSID=pav54aj406cm8ogvjf18eqs9s0] Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online</ref>

== Development of Red Fife ==
In the early 1840s, the farmers in the Midlands area of [[Canada West]]—the new name for Upper Canada after the 1840 [[Act of Union (1840)|Act of Union]]—grew a winter wheat variety known as Siberian. It had been introduced to Canada in the hope that it would survive the severe Canadian winters. But the Siberian wheat variety was susceptible to [[Wheat leaf rust|rust]] and its yields were low.<ref name="www4.agr.gc.ca">[http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1181305178350] Early History of Wheat Growing in Canada</ref>

David Fife wrote to a friend in [[Glasgow]] asking for samples of good seed wheat. His friend obtained a sample of wheat off a ship from [[Danzig]], Prussia, (now [[Gdańsk]], Poland) and sent it to Fife. As it came to Fife's hand just before spring seeding time, and, not knowing whether it was a fall or spring variety, Mr. Fife decided to sow a part of it that spring, and wait for the result. It proved to be fall wheat as most of it never ripened. Three ears, however, which grew from a single grain did reach maturity.<ref name="biographi.ca" />

Two possibilities exist: that the single grain from which the three heads grew was an accidental hybrid, or that the single seed kernel was a spring wheat variety mixed in with a winter wheat strain. In any case, Fife preserved the seeds from the ears that had matured, sowed them the following year where they grew to be entirely free of rust. Fife continued to carefully husband the seeds harvested, and by 1848 had accumulated 240 bushels of the new variety which he distributed to his neighbors for seed. By 1860, [[Red Fife]] had supplanted all other varieties in use in Canada. Red Fife soon became the standard variety of "hard spring" wheat in North America and by the end of the 19th century was widely considered as the world's best spring wheat because of its resistance to rust, early maturing, high productivity and excellent milling and baking qualities.<ref name="www4.agr.gc.ca"/>

== Legacy ==
A stone cairn honouring David Fife was erected in 1964 of out of ordinary field stone, with a brass plate inscribed with a brief history of Red Fife, on Ontario Highway #7, eight miles to the east of [[Peterborough, Ontario|Peterborough]]. The official unveiling was carried out by Donald Fife, a descendant. This plaque was later moved to [[Lang Pioneer Village Museum]] at [[Keene, Ontario]].<ref>[http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1181318115137] From a single seed Tracing the Marquis wheat success story in Canada to its roots in the Ukraine</ref>

Red Fife wheat would later be used as the male parent by Dominion Agriculturalist [[Charles E. Saunders|Charles Saunders]] in development of [[Marquis wheat]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Symko |first=Stephan |url=http://www5.agr.gc.ca/resources/prod/doc/publications/marquis/wheat-ble_e.pdf |title=From a Single Seed |publisher=Research Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada |year=1999 |isbn=0-662-28145-4 |pages=31}}</ref> a [[cultivar]] that for a time in the early 20th century was grown on 90% of prairie farms.


== References ==
== References ==
<references />
* The Canadian Encyclopedia [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1SEC892927]

* Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada [http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1181305178350]
== External links ==
* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=4982 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'']
* McNicholl, Martin K. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110608074715/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1SEC892927 Fife, David] The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
* [http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1181305178350 Early History of Wheat Growing in Canada]. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160305033058/http://www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaques_PQR/Plaque_Peterborough19.html Red Fife Wheat Historical Plaque] Ontario's Historical Plaques. Retrieved on 2013-06-25.

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Fife, David}}
{{Uncategorized|date=May 2008}}
[[Category:1805 births]]
[[Category:1877 deaths]]
[[Category:Canadian farmers]]
[[Category:Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario]]
[[Category:Immigrants to Upper Canada]]
[[Category:People from Kincardine, Fife]]

Latest revision as of 13:34, 10 June 2023

David Alexander Fife (1805–1877) was a Scottish-born Canadian farmer credited with developing the variety of wheat which later became known as Red Fife.

David Alexander Fife
"David Fife, operator of the first experimental farm in Canada and developer of Red Fife Wheat
Born(1805-08-22)August 22, 1805
Kincardine, Scotland
DiedJanuary 9, 1877(1877-01-09) (aged 71)
Occupation(s)farmer, inventor, businessman
Spouse
Jane Beckett (1808–1888)
(m. 1825⁠–⁠1877)
ChildrenDavid Alexander Jr. (1829–1901)
John Alexander (1829–1907)
Agnes (1835–??)
Sylvester Hutchison (1835–1911)
Jane (1837–1891)
James Alexander (1839–1920)
Mary (1841–??)
Thomas (1839–1852)
Ellen (??–??)
Parent(s)John Fife Sr. (1773–1859)
Agnes Hutchison (1773–1853)

Biography

[edit]

David Alexander Fife was born at Kincardine, Scotland in 1805. In 1820, his family immigrated to Otonabee Township in Peterborough County, Upper Canada, and took up farming.[1]

Development of Red Fife

[edit]

In the early 1840s, the farmers in the Midlands area of Canada West—the new name for Upper Canada after the 1840 Act of Union—grew a winter wheat variety known as Siberian. It had been introduced to Canada in the hope that it would survive the severe Canadian winters. But the Siberian wheat variety was susceptible to rust and its yields were low.[2]

David Fife wrote to a friend in Glasgow asking for samples of good seed wheat. His friend obtained a sample of wheat off a ship from Danzig, Prussia, (now Gdańsk, Poland) and sent it to Fife. As it came to Fife's hand just before spring seeding time, and, not knowing whether it was a fall or spring variety, Mr. Fife decided to sow a part of it that spring, and wait for the result. It proved to be fall wheat as most of it never ripened. Three ears, however, which grew from a single grain did reach maturity.[1]

Two possibilities exist: that the single grain from which the three heads grew was an accidental hybrid, or that the single seed kernel was a spring wheat variety mixed in with a winter wheat strain. In any case, Fife preserved the seeds from the ears that had matured, sowed them the following year where they grew to be entirely free of rust. Fife continued to carefully husband the seeds harvested, and by 1848 had accumulated 240 bushels of the new variety which he distributed to his neighbors for seed. By 1860, Red Fife had supplanted all other varieties in use in Canada. Red Fife soon became the standard variety of "hard spring" wheat in North America and by the end of the 19th century was widely considered as the world's best spring wheat because of its resistance to rust, early maturing, high productivity and excellent milling and baking qualities.[2]

Legacy

[edit]

A stone cairn honouring David Fife was erected in 1964 of out of ordinary field stone, with a brass plate inscribed with a brief history of Red Fife, on Ontario Highway #7, eight miles to the east of Peterborough. The official unveiling was carried out by Donald Fife, a descendant. This plaque was later moved to Lang Pioneer Village Museum at Keene, Ontario.[3]

Red Fife wheat would later be used as the male parent by Dominion Agriculturalist Charles Saunders in development of Marquis wheat,[4] a cultivar that for a time in the early 20th century was grown on 90% of prairie farms.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b [1] Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
  2. ^ a b [2] Early History of Wheat Growing in Canada
  3. ^ [3] From a single seed Tracing the Marquis wheat success story in Canada to its roots in the Ukraine
  4. ^ Symko, Stephan (1999). From a Single Seed (PDF). Research Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. p. 31. ISBN 0-662-28145-4.
[edit]