Geoscience Reference
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Figure 6.1 James Hutton
(1726-1797) (from John Kay,
A Series of Original Portraits,
vol. 1 (1838), in Davies, The
Earth in Decay (1969), Plate 1).
found this occupation unsuited to his temperament, and so in 1744
matriculated at the University of Edinburgh and began his studies in
the humanities while at the same time studying medicine under the
tutelage of Dr George Young. However, like many students he was
unsure of his calling and began to show an interest in chemistry. It was
at this time that Hutton, who never married, fathered a son. Following
a period spent on the Continent - in Paris, where he studied anatomy
and chemistry, and Leiden, where he gained the degree of Doctor of
Medicine - Hutton headed back to Scotland in 1750 and decided to
throw his energies into farming, unsurprising as he had inherited from
his father some land near Slighhouses in Berwickshire 50 miles east of
Edinburgh. A progressive man, he decided that in order to make the
most of this career choice he should study the newest methods in
agriculture, and so spent some time in Norfolk, in England, where he
learnt a great deal about husbandry, in particular fromhis landlord, the
farmer JohnDybold. He also travelled in Flanders for the same reasons,
