found: Scotsman WWW site, Jan. 14, 2015(Dr David Purves, BSc, PhD; environmental biochemist who also concocted verse in the Scots tongue; born: 9 April, 1924, in Selkirk; died: 3 January, 2015, in Edinburgh, aged 90; PhD in biochemistry at Edinburgh University; joined the staff of the East of Scotland College of Agriculture in 1956; worked with the agricultural advisory service in dealing with problems associated with trace-element deficiencies and toxicities; retired as Supervisor of the Central Analytical Department in the Edinburgh School of Agriculture in 1987; in his later years, he also became committed to the cause of the Scots language, taking a special interest in Scots spelling; his book, A Scots Grammar, which was published by the Saltire Society in 1997, was the first Scots grammar guide to appear in print since 1921; published 200 of his renderings in Scots of ancient Chinese poems in four collections of 50 poems; two collections of his own poems in Scots have been published; three plays in Scots, The Puddok an the Princess, The Knicht o the Riddils and Whuppitie Stourie, have been professionally produced)
