Harvey Washington Wiley
Published: 1904
Language: eng
Subjects: Nitrates; Crops; Effect of minerals on; Manuscripts; Crops and soils; Soil fertility
Other titles: Comparative fertility and nitrifying power of soils
Description: The Harvey Washington Wiley manuscript is titled "Comparative fertility and nitrifying power of soils."
Notes: The Harvey Washington Wiley manuscript, collection #199, Special Collections, National Agricultural Library.

Harvey Washington Wiley (1844-1930) was chief chemist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 1883-1912. During his time with the USDA, he fought for the enactment of pure food and drug law in the United States. In 1902 he organized a dozen young men in his department to eat food treated with preservatives that manufacturers said were harmless. This group, called the "poison squad" participated in the study for five years. Wiley published a 2,000-page pamphlet with the results. Soon after the study was released, President  Theodore Roosevelt passed the pure-foodlaw in 1906. A Prolific author, Wiley wrote books, government bulletins, and scientific papers on agricultural chemistry.