Jan Henri Druif was a Dutch pedologist known for his work on the mineral investigation of soils in Deli, Sumatra. Druif was born in 1893, in Rotterdam. His education included the Wageningen Agricultural College, the Technical College at Delft, Utrecht University (PhD), and Hanover Technical College (Germany).
He graduated his PhD in 1927 at Utrecht university under the supervision of Prof. L.M.R. Rutten with a dissertation titled: Over het ontstaan der Limburgsche löss in verband met haar mineralogische samenstelling. His dissertation is on the mineralogical investigation of the origin of Limburg loess in the south of Holland. He investigates the composition and origin of the deposit. The thesis showed his expertise in mineral petrography in explaining the origin of parent materials.
He got a job as an agrogeologist at the Deli research station in Medan and started work there on 15th August 1929. He was assigned to map the soils of Deli after many unsuccessful previous attempts by chemists. Extensive fieldwork was carried out along rivers, outcrops, long transects (rintisan) in the jungle with hand augers. Petrographic surveys on the rivers, the lahars and the tuff were conducted. He was able to provide the first good insight on the soil of Deli. The geological-petrographic map of Deli uncovered the diversity of parent materials and soils formed from them. Druif published De Bodem van Deli in 1932 under the bulletin of the Deli research station No. 32, outlining the geology of the area. This was followed by a publication on the mineral of the soils of Deli in 1934. This seminal work highlighted the use of the mineralogical approach for soil classification. In 1938, he published De Bodem van Deli from Bogor as a compilation of all results.
Jan married Anna Maria Hubertina Druif (born Ceulemans, 1896-1950) in 1924. They had 3 children. In Medan, the Druif was a well-known family in the East Coast of Sumatra’s social life. Druif was an avid football player and referee, a member of the Dutch East Indies Football Union consul, member of OSVB football club in Medan, he wrote three books on football and its rules, and was a referee. He was also a fire brigade volunteer. He lived at Manggalaan Straat No. 45 in Medan, near the Deli Proefstation. The 1931 global financial crisis caused a poor sale of tobacco, he was made redundant in early May 1932, but hired back a week later.
He was appointed as a pedologist at the Soil Science Institute at Buitenzorg (Bogor) in 1939. He was interned in a camp near Bogor during the Japanese occupation (1942-1945).
In 1946, he was transferred to the Makassar (SW. Celebes) branch of the General Experiment Station. He was married to Johanna Catharina van der Mull (born in 1910 in Ternate, Molukken, died 2003 in Zutphen, Gelderland). He conducted several soil surveys in the eastern part of Indonesia, including a survey in Timor, and West Papua in 1941 and 1953. He left Indonesia in 1958. Afterward, he moved to Suriname. He died in Suriname on 11th February 1970. He was teaching at the De Stichting De Vrije School at the time.
See https://www.papuaerfgoed.org/files/Klein(II)_1954_NG.pdf for Druif’s soil mapping work near Merauke in Papua.
Not much else was known about him, except that his work on the soils of Deli has been frequently referenced as one of the outstanding works in the Netherlands East Indies by van Baren, and Edelman. Mohr was critical of Druif’s work (see review), but Druif’s work was favorably mentioned in his Tropical Soils book (first edition), and subsequent editions contain an example of Druif’s mineralogical analysis based on soil parent materials.
Druif’s writing showed that he is critical and detailed. However, his cartography is not the best and not necessarily accurate. His work in Deli also contributed to the understanding of the geology of North Sumatra.
ECJ Mohr’s Review of De bodem van Deli
https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMUBL09:001052017:pdf
ECJ Mohr’s Review of De bodem van Deli II. Mineralogiscbe onderzoekingen (Bulletin No. 32 van het Deli-Proefstation)
https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMUBL09:001054021:pdf
Bibliography
Druif, J.H., 1925. Concerning some erratics of southern origin in the Dutch diluvium. PROCEEDINGS OF THE KONINKLIJKE AKADEMIE VAN WETENSCHAPPEN TE AMSTERDAM Volume: 28 Issue: 6/10 Pages: 645-646. https://knaw.versie1.online/DL/publications/PU00015204.pdf
Druif, J.H., 1927. Over het ontstaan der Limburgsche loss in verband met haar mineralogische samenstelling. PhD Dissertation, Utrecht University. http://objects.library.uu.nl/reader/index.php?obj=1874-287086
Druif, J.H., 1927. A contribution regarding the mineralogical composition of some of the soils of the Netherlands. PROCEEDINGS OF THE KONINKLIJKE AKADEMIE VAN WETENSCHAPPEN TE AMSTERDAM Volume: 30 Issue: 1/5 Pages: 365-367. https://knaw.versie1.online/DL/publications/PU00015456.pdf
Druif, J.H. 1931. 1906-1931 Deli Proefstation. Agrogeologische Afdeeling. Varekamp, Medan. Pp. 53-67. https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB21:032039000:pdf
DRUIF, J. H. 1931. Over de onderlinge ligging der vulkanische afzettingen ter Oostkust van Sumatra. Mijningenieur 12, 45-46.
Druif, J.H. 1932. De Bodem van Deli: 1. Inleiding tot de geologie van Deli. Mededeelingen van het Deli Proefstation te Medan -Sumatra, Tweede serie, Ser. 2. no. 75, Medan. http://hdl.handle.net/1887.1/item:2213336 The soils of Deli. I. Introduction to the geology of Deli)
Druif, J.H. 1932. Een en ander over de geologie en den bodem van het land van Deli. Mededeelingen van het Deli Proefstation te Medan -Sumatra, Tweede serie, Ser. 2. no. 77. http://hdl.handle.net/1887.1/item:2213294
Druif, J.H. 1934. De bodemkaarteering ter oostkust Van Sumatra en hun beteekenis voor de Europeesche cultures. De Indische Mercuur, 57e, p. 719-721. https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMUBL09:001053047:mpeg21:pdf
Druif, J.H. 1934. De Bodem van Deli: II. Mineralogische onderzoekingen van de bodem van Deli. Bulletin van het Deli Proefstation Medan – Sumatra, No. 32. (The soils of Deli II. Mineralogical investigation of the soils of Deli) https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB24:063567000:pdf
Druif, J.H. 1935. Over gesteenten van Poeloe Berhala (Straat van Malakka, Sumatra Oostkust). Proc. Kon. Akademie Wetenschappen, Amsterdam 38, 6, p. 639-650. https://knaw.versie1.online/DL/publications/PU00016745.pdf
Druif, J.H. 1935. Some remarks about soil mapping in Deli by aid of microscopic-mineralogical investigation. Handelingen van het 7 e . Nederlandsch-Indische Natuurwetenschappelijk Congres, Batavia. pp. 666-679.
Druif, J.H., 1936. Enkele opmerkingen over fossiel hout. De Tropische Natuur, 25(11/12), pp.196-200. http://natuurtijdschriften.nl/download?type=document;docid=511283
Druif, J.H., 1937. Aantasting van mineralen in de bodem van Deli. Bulletin Deli Proefstation No. 38, pp.1-32.
Druif, J. H., 1937. Over het voorkomen van z. g. sporen-elementeri in den bodem van Deli en in de asch van daarop gekweekte tabak. Algemeen Landbouwweekblad, 22, 161—164. (On the occurrence of trace elements in the soils of Deli and in the ash of Deli-tobacco.)
Druif, J.H. 1938. De bodem van Deli (Slot). De Deli gronden en hun eigenschappen. Buitenzorgsche Drukkerij, p. 1-140. https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMKB21:035700000:pdf
Druif, J.H. 1938. Deli zoals de geoloog het ziet. (The geology of Deli)
Druif, J. H., 1938. Agrogeologische overzichtskaart van een gedeelte van de Oostkust van Sumatra 1: 100.000. Deli Proefstation, Medan. (Soil map of a part of the Government East Coast of Sumatra, 1: 100.000.) http://hdl.handle.net/1887.1/item:2012323
Druif, J. H., 1938. De bodemkaarteering in Deli (S.O.K.), hun wije van uitvoering en hun resultaten. Landbouw XV (1939) No. 8. https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMUBWA02:001895001:pdf
Druif, J. H. 1939. De bodem van Deli: 3, Toelichting bij de agrogeologische kaarten en beschrijving der grondsoorten van Deli. Mededeelingen van het Deli Proefstation te Medan -Sumatra, Derde serie No. 4. http://hdl.handle.net/1887.1/item:2212131 (The soils of Deli: III. Weathering of the minerals in the soils of Deli.)
Druif, J. H., 1939. Tournee verslag van een bodemkundige verkenning van de Residentie Palembang, 17 April – 13 Mei 1939 (Palembang kaartering) [Monograph]. A tour report of a soil survey of the residency Palembang (Palembang Survey)
Druif, J.H. 1941. Voorlopige beoordeling van de bodemkundige kaartering van de kustvlakte van Merauke. Rapport Bodemkundig Instituut Buitenzorg, 1941. (Interim evaluation of the soil survey on the coastal area of Merauke)
Druif, J. H. 1943. On the occurrence of diaspore and zunyite detrital sediments of Palembang. Chuo Noozi Sikenzyoo (Bogor) Contrib. No. 10. 5 p. Also in Mededelingen van het Algemeen Proefstation voor den Landbouw Volume: 67 Pages: 5 pp. Published: 1948
Druif, J. H. 1943. On the occurrence of the mineral orthite on Sumatra. Chuo Noozi Sikenzyoo (Bogor) Contrib. No. 10. Ps 6–11. Also in Algemeen Proefstation Landbouw (Bogor) Meded. No. 68. L948.
Druif, J.H. and de Roo, H.C., 1946. Rapport van een orienterende dienstreis tav bodemkundige onderzoekingen in de omgeving van Hollandia en Noord Molukken, 20 october-5 november 1946, Makassar.
Druif, J. H. 1947. Verslag van een onderzoek naar de grondgesteldheid van de Sekon- , Aroki- en Talaoe-vlakten op Timor. DL (Buitenzorg , 1947) . Unpublished.
Druif, J. H. 1948. On the occurrence of a new mineral species in the deposits of the river Pekoeringan, district Masamba, Celebes. Archipel Drukkerij, Buitenzorg.
Druif, J.H. 1954. Voorlopig rapport inzake de resultaten der geologischmijnbouwkundige expeditie der Technische Hogeschool naar Noord-Nieuw-Guinea in 1953 : (2e T.H.-expeditie). Geologisch Laboratorium, Technische Hogeschool (TH), Delft. (‘Preliminary report on the results of the geological-mining expedition of Delft Technical University in 1953’)
Druif, J.H. 1957-59. Handleiding bij het determineren van mineraaldeeltjes van microscopische afmetingen (z.g. “sedimentmineralen”). Delft
Druif, J.H. 1959. Tabellen ten gebruike bij het determineren van mineralen in dunne doorsneden bij het onderzoeken m.b.v. de microscoop van gesteenten
Druif, J. H. 1965. Where “soil science” and “earth science” Meet : Some remarks about the interpretations of pedology and geology. In Proceedings (of) agricultural research in the Guianas, Paramaribo, 1963. p. 89-105. Landbouwproefstation Suriname (Paramaribo) No. 82. 420 p
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