The periodical "Rillya"(1910 - 1914) for scientific and educational area:content analysis

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to clarify the thematic content for the scientific and educational space on the pages of the Ukrainian-language agricultural illustrated periodical “Rillya” (1910 – 1914) at the beginning of the 20th century. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity and source studies methods, in particular the method of internal criticism of sources. There have been applied the methods of comparison of various publications related to the periodical “Rillya”, which have survived to our time and have been included in diverse publications being part of the agricultural periodical during different historical periods. Owing to the application of methodological tools, in particular, personalization, multifactoriality and interdependence of the historical and logical connection, the development of agricultural research in Ukraine has been highlighted at the beginning of the 20th century. The Scientific Novelty. The analysis of the Ukrainian-language periodical “Rillya” (1910 – 1914) as a historical source was carried out and the significance for the study of the history of agricultural science and education at the beginning of the 20th century was shown for the first time. The Conclusions. The Ukrainian-language agricultural illustrated periodical “Rillya” is an extremely valuable source for researching the scientific and educational space of Ukraine. The publications of the periodical can be divided into several thematic areas. One of the defining ones was the one that contained the author’s publications about farming, cattle breeding, grass sowing, gardening, horticulture, beekeeping and other branches of agriculture. The key issues for farming were described in detail: “Wherewith and How to Fertilize a Field in Kyiv Region and Podillya”, “Fodder Carrots in Winter”, “Replanting of Winter Crops”, “How to Clean Wheat From Slag”, “Something About Weeds and the Fight Against Them” etc. The reasons for the decrease in the yield of agricultural crops and the deterioration of soil fertility have been singled out. It has been determined that a large part of the publications on the pages of the periodical “Rillya” were addressed to landowners and farmers, primarily agronomic assistance and legislative materials. There are a number of scholars known in Ukraine and in the world among the authors of scientific and practical texts (A. Ternychenko, P. Havsevych, V. Yavorskyi, Ye. Arkhypenko, M. Lutskevych, F. Kryzhanovskyi, Ye. Chykalenko, O. Yanata, etc.), who became a kind of link between science and production. Most of the information on the pages of the periodical “Rillya” was dedicated to societies, primarily agronomic. The areas of activity, the structure and peculiarities of the functioning of societies, their contribution to the popularization of agricultural knowledge and the development of scientific affairs in Ukraine were revealed at the beginning of the 20th century. It was found that the members of such associations were well-known public figures, philanthropists, publicists, agronomists, mostly enthusiasts. They promoted professional and fiction literature in their native language, national periodicals, and supported important Ukrainian initiatives. We consider the materials and notes devoted to the cooperation issues in the countryside to be valuable. The editors’ focus was on issues of development and popularization of agricultural science and practice in foreign countries.