168 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



It was in connection with these efforts to aid the farmers that Prof. 

 Henslow made the memorable discovery of the agricultural value of 

 the so-called coprolites, or phosphatic nodules, found in the red crag at 

 Felixstowe, in Suffolk. They were shown to contain 56 per cent, of 

 phosphate of lime, and therefore to be capable of replacing bones in 

 fertilization. He called attention to the similar concretions abundantly 

 distributed in the upper greensand of Cambridgeshire, which were 

 even richer in phosphate, and which have since yielded immense profits 

 both to the proprietors of the pits and the farmers who used the 

 product. 



Prof. Henslow had paid much attention to entomology ; and his 

 knowledge of plants, and the parasitic insects which infest them and 

 destroy the crops, enabled him to instruct the farmers upon this sub- 

 ject. He closely investigated the diseases of wheat, potatoes, and 

 clover, and diffused the results of his inquiries in lectures, tracts, and 

 newspaper correspondence. 



As he lived in an agricultural community, in which all were inter- 

 ested in farm products and processes, Prof. Henslow resorted to ether 

 means of quickening the general interest in these matters, and of en- 

 listing the sympathy of laborers as well as farmers. For this purpose 

 he instituted horticultural shows, at which there was a distribution of 

 prizes for such products as wheat, fruit, flowers, vegetables, and honey, 

 and sometimes for works of mechanical ingenuity calculated to en- 

 courage the laborers to spend their long winter evenings profitably. 

 There were two of these shows in each season, in July and September. 

 They began in 1850, and were kept up until the time of his death. 

 Tents were pitched for receiving the productions of the cottagers' 

 gardens, and the allotment-tenants received premiums for the best 

 management of their pieces of ground. Besides the tents for the 

 more special purposes of the show, there was always one assigned to 

 a miscellaneous collection of specimens in natural history animals, 

 birds, reptiles, insects' nests, etc., with various specimens from the do- 

 mestic arts and antiquities. This the professor called his " Marquee 

 Museum." On one occasion the dimensions of the trunk of the great 

 mammoth tree ( Wellingtonia) were traced out on the lawn with a dia- 

 gram, showing its size in comparison with other trees. There was 

 much to gratify the eye ; but sight-seeing is always wearisome, and 

 Prof. Henslow alleviated the routine of the day, and gave an intellect- 

 ual turn to the proceedings, by summoning as many of the company 

 as chose to come to the museum, and delivering to them little lectures, 

 or " lecturets," as he termed them. He would talk to the women 

 about textile fabrics or domestic operations, and to the different 

 groups on processes of manufacture, or local specimens of natural his- 

 tory, or the diseases of vegetation. Nor were amusements neglected ; 

 swings and poles were set up for gymnastic exercises, and foot-ball 

 and other games were encouraged on the grounds. The scene was 



