The Scientific Tales of Beatrix Potter

Jemima Puddle-Duck, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, and Peter Rabbit are three of the numerous characters brought to life through the charming illustrations of children’s author, Helen Beatrix Potter (1866-1943). These characters were based on woodland creatures she observed during family vacations in Scotland and the Lake District, a rural area in Northwest England that inspired poets like William Wordsworth. In a movie based on her life (Miss Potter), Renee Zellweger portrays familiar milestones: her spirited defiance of Victorian conventions, the origins of her stories, successful publication of her books with the help of the Warne family, and her engagement to Norman Warne, as portrayed by Ewan McGregor. What is less well known was her passion for science.

Potter’s keen observations extended beyond woodland creatures to meticulous illustrations of fungi (Armitt Collection, Cumbria, England). Conventional wisdom at the time scoffed at a hypothesis (proposed by Schwendener) that lichens represented a symbiosis of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner, i.e. algae.1 Potter actually did the experiment. She cultivated algal cells and fungal spores in her kitchen and observed how the two organisms became one, placing herself with the minority of scientists who believed the lichen symbiotic hypothesis.2 Today it is widely accepted that lichens are a multicellular union of fungi, algae and in some cases, cyanobacteria. The latter two organisms convert water and carbon dioxide into fuel for their dominant partner, the fungus. The protection offered by the fungus enables lichens to survive extreme conditions, even exposure to cosmic radiation and the vacuum of space.3 Besides their medicinal, chemical and decorative properties, the ability of lichens to concentrate pollutants in concentrations that mirror pollutant levels in the surrounding air, have led to an interest in their use as biomonitors of air quality.4,5

Linda Lear, a Potter biographer, points out that Potter had also observed and understood the anti-bacterial properties of penicillin.6 With hindsight, we can appreciate Potter’s contributions to the field of mycology. Because women were not allowed at Linnaen Society meetings, Potter’s first scientific paper, “On the germination of the spores of Agaricineae”, was offered to the Society by the Scottish mycologist, George Massee. The subsequent history of the manuscript is not clear, although Potter commented in her journal about the dismissive attitudes of Linnaen Society members.1,7 The Society finally corrected their oversight by holding a meeting in her honor a century after the submission of her paper.2

Some have speculated that Potter’s scientific experiences were reflected in the adventures of her characters.1 Whatever the case may be, Potter rebounded from her frustrations with the scientific establishment to gain recognition as a children’s author and in later years also became a prize-winning sheep farmer in the Lake District.

References

1 Schmid R. Bamboozled by Botany, Beatrix Bypasses Bigoted Biology, Begins Babying Bountiful Bunnies or Beatrix Potter [1866-1943] as a Mycologist:The Period before Peter Rabbit and Friends. Taxon 1999;48(2):438-443.

2 Wagh M. Beatrix Potter, Scientist. The Scientist 2007 April.

3 European Space Agency.  http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMUJM638FE_index_0.html. 2005.

4 Dixon B. Liking lichens. Lancet Infect Dis 2005;5(9):534.

5 Ng OH, Tan BC, Obbard JP. Lichens as bioindicators of atmospheric heavy metal pollution in Singapore. Environ Monit Assess 2006;123(1-3):63-74.

6 Lear L. Beatrix Potter - A life in Nature. New York: St. Martin’s Press; 2007. 
   (Q and A with Linda Lear:

http://www.bpotter.com/v1=LindaLear&v2=Questions).

7 Potter B. The journal of Beatrix Potter from 1881-1897. London, New York,: F. Warne; 1966. xxix, 448 p.