Botanikos mokslo raida Lietuvoje 1919-1943 m
LTBotanikos mokslui Lietuvoje daugiau nei du šimtai metų ir jis turi savitą plėtotės kelią, kurį lėmė ne tik vidinės šio mokslo permainos, bet ir istorinės sąlygos. Atsižvelgiant į tai, botanikos raida Lietuvoje gali būti skirstoma į tokius tarpsnius: 1781-1842 m. - botanikos mokslas Vilniaus universitete bei Medicinos-chirurgijos akademijoje; 1842-1919 m. - botanikos tyrinėjimai nesant mokslo įstaigų; 1919-1943 m. - botanikos mokslo atgimimas ir raida aukštosiose mokyklose nepriklausomos Lietuvos Respublikos periodu ir Antrojo pasaulinio karo metu; 1944-1990 m. - botanikos raida sovietmečiu veikusiose mokslo įstaigose bei nuo 1990 m. iki šiol - botanikos mokslas po Lietuvos nepriklausomybės atkūrimo. Šiame darbe nagrinėjamas vienas iš tarpsnių - nuo 1919 iki 1943 m. Jis eina po laikotarpio, kai Lietuvoje ilgą laiką nebuvo jokių mokslo įstaigų, nes caro valdžia 1832 m. uždarė Vilniaus universitetą, o 1842 m. - Medicinos-chirurgijos akademiją. Tai sutrikdė visų mokslų, tarp jų ir botanikos, vystymąsi. Apie devyniasdešimt metų Lietuva buvo nuošalyje nuo pasaulinių botanikos ir kitų biologijos mokslų plėtotės tendencijų. [...] [Iš Įvado, p. 3].
ENIntroduction. The analysis of the development of botany science in Lithuania in the period of 1919-1943 is presented. Up to then, after the Vilnius University had been closed in 1832, there were no scientific institutions in the country. Therefore, the botanical science that had been started to develop in the Vilnius University at the end of the 18th century had ceased its further formation. In 1918, when Lithuania became independent, botany recovered as the process of science institutionalisation was started. All research work was concentrated in the newly formed schools of higher education. The traditional subjects revived, and new botanical subjects appeared, which served as the basis for further development of this science in Lithuania. Therefore, it is important to analyse and evaluate the scientific heritage of this period. Most attention in the book is paid to the analysis of theoretical botany. Therefore, activities of the institutions engaged in the research of theoretical botany are covered more extensively. Applied botanical researches and institutions engaged in them are de scribed very briefly. Scientific inheritance of botanists was analysed applying the methods of historical investigation. Archival documents and publications were studied and interpreted. Considering the scientific publications as the initial sources of information about the work of botanists, their quantitative and qualitative analysis is presented. Basing on the results of this analysis as well as archival data and other sources, the topics and subjects of the scientific research work are revealed. The evaluation of scientific inheritance is a very complicated and many-sided problem. Therefore, such questions as academic teaching (teaching, programmes, handbooks, training of specialists), contacts with foreign scientific institutions, coinage of Lithuanian botanical terminology, popularisation of the botany science, etc. are not analysed or treated fragmentarily.Discussing the historical conditions of science resurgence in Lithuania in the first half of the 20th century, the influence of social and political events on the development of science in general and botany in particular is presented. At the end of the second and beginning of the third decade of the 20th century the international situation was tense and political circumstances in young independent state of Lithuania were complicated. During the investigated period the higher schools began functioning and became the main scientific institutions in which the centres of botany science had been formed. The centers of botany science. The resurgence of botanical science began in 1919, when in Kaunas (the temporary capital of Lithuania) the Station of Natural Studies was established, and in 1920-1922 the Higher Courses were functioning. L. Vailionis, who worked there, emphasised the importance to study Lithuanian flora and initiated the academical teaching of botany. Fundamentals of botanical research and teaching, that had been already developed, were further promoted in Lithuanian University opened in 1922 (since 1930 - Vytautas Magnus University). The Department of Botany (headed by Prof. C. Regel) included two sectors: Plant Anatomy and Physiology (headed by Ass. Prof. L. Vailionis) and Plant Systematics (headed by Prof. C. Regel) (Fig. 1). In 1923 the Botanical Garden of Vytautas Magnus University (Fig. 2) was established. It served the needs of botanical studies and research. The bases for academic teaching of botany were laid (Table 1), first botany handbooks in Lithuanian were published, teaching programmes of the main subjects compiled, Lithuanian botanical terms were being coined at the University. Thus, the training for teachers of biology with wide specialisation and specialists in botany for scientific research work started. Contacts with foreign scientific institutions also positively influenced the process.Four botanists (two of them abroad) defended their doctoral theses and two prepared the works of associate professorship (Table 2). Scientific research was carried out in the fields of theoretical (floristics and phytogeography, phytosociology, plant systematics, plant physiology, plant anatomy) and applied (phytopathology, plant introduction, cultivation of medicinal herbs and other valuable plants) botany. Academy of Agriculture established in 1924 in Dotnuva became the other centre of botanical science. It included the Department of Applied Botany headed by Prof. V. Vilkaitis (Fig. 3), Plant Selection Station (headed by Prof. D. Rudzinskas), and Plant Protection Station (headed by Prof. V. Vilkaitis). Botanists were not prepared in the Academy; never the less, the botanical subjects were lectured to the students (Table 3, 4). Thus, the botanists of the Academy of Agriculture contributed to the improvement of academic teaching of botany, preparation of handbooks and other botanical publications, coinage of Lithuanian botanical terms. In the field of scientific research, along with the above-mentioned trends, some aspects of theoretical botany were treated; floristic and phytosociological investigations were performed. At the Stephen Batory University botanical scientific centre was formed of the Department of General Botany (Fig. 4), Department of Plant Systematics and Geography (Fig. 5), Botanical Garden at Vingis (Fig. 6), Garden of Medicinal Plants (head Prof. J. Muszynski), Plant Protection Station (head Prof. J. Trzebinski). The subjects of botany lectured at Stephen Batory University are presented in Table 5 and 7. Several theses on botany were defended at the University (Table 6; p. 60). The Stephen Batory University that was functioning in Vilnius in 1919-1939 has an exceptional status in the history o f Lithuanian science, being itself an object of study. [...].
