Consciously organic agriculture (as opposed to traditional agricultural methods from before the inorganic options existed, which always employed only organic means) began more or less simultaneously in Central Europe and India. The British botanist Sir Albert Howard is often referred to as the father of modern organic agriculture, because he was the first to apply modern scientific knowledge and methods to traditional agriculture. From 1905 to 1924, he and his wife Gabrielle, herself a plant physiologist, worked as agricultural advisers in Pusa, Bengal, where they documented traditional Indian farming practices and came to regard them as superior to their conventional agriculture science. Their research and further development of these methods is recorded in his writings, notably, his 1940 book, "An Agricultural Testament", which influenced many scientists and farmers of the day.