William Laing Hutt 1867-1948

William Laing Hutt 1867-1948. . , Head, Horticulture Department, 1893-1908 , Head, Department of Landscape Gardening, 1908-1914, The oldest of seven children, Howard Laing Hutt was born on a farm in Stamford Township in Welland County on the Niagara Peninsula. After studying at Cornell University, Hutt graduated from OAC in 1891. He farmed two years with his father then was named lecturer and Head of the Horticulture Department at OAC in 1893., Hutt combined OAC's practical and academic programs. In 1894, he promoted development of fruit experimental stations, which served as the beginning of co-operative testing of fruits. The first BSA degrees in horticulture were awarded in 1907 under his leadership. In 1908, Hutt organized plans for a separate landscape gardening program and was Head of the Department of Landscape Gardening until 1914., He retired in 1914 and purchased a farm near Georgetown, Ontario, where he operated a commercial horticultural business, consulted with Canadian Pacific Railway and shared his legendary wit with a regular humour column in local newspapers., The horticulture building opened in 1931 and was praised as one of the most modern on the continent. It had unique features, such as six basement rooms supplied with a complete refrigeration plant that enabled experimentation in the storage of fruit and vegetables. There were three specially equipped rooms for testing the use of gas to prevent decay in fruit and vegetables. A massive external door opened to a room used for testing large farm equipment, reflecting the school's close ties to the agriculture industry. The president parked his car in this space along with the farm equipment., During the Second World War, many campus buildings were taken over by the Royal Canadian Air Force, thus the offices of bursar and president were relocated to the Horticulture Building until 1945., H.L. Hutt Building 1930 , Generously donated by: M.H. Bosch BSc. 69, MSc. ‘71, Ph.D. 2004