THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY 11 



ing. This was the first physiological laboratory for students in the 

 United States. 



For the reasons just described physiological chemistry was slow in 

 developing. It was a borderline science, claimed by chemistry on the 

 one hand and by physiology on the other. Even today departments of 

 physiological chemistry may be found which are administered by other 

 divisions, such as medicine, biology, and physiology. 



The period 1870 to 1880 was marked by the brilliant researches of 

 French and German physiologists. Claude Bernard of Paris showed 

 great versatility in his research; his contributions included the dis- 

 covery of liver glycogen and its relation to blood sugar in health and 

 disease, the digestive properties of pancreatic juice, and studies in 

 muscle and nerve physiology. He was even more outstanding as a 

 teacher and creator of research techniques. During this period Ger- 

 many was a mecca for foreign students seeking advanced training in 

 physiological and chemical sciences. Some of the most important men 

 of this productive era included DuBois-Reymond (Berlin), Baumann 

 (Berlin), Heidenhain and Rohmann (Breslau), Pfliiger (Bonn), Pet- 

 tenkofer and Voit (Munich), Hoppe-Seyler (Strassburg), Hiifner 

 (Tubingen), and Kiihne (Heidelberg). From these laboratories came a 

 host of young workers who were to carry on the future development of 

 physiology and physiological chemistry. 



Up to this point we have emphasized the factors affecting the devel- 

 opment of physiological chemistry in Europe. It was natural that 

 early American physiological chemists should look to Europe for in- 

 spiration and ideas. 



Russell H. Chittenden was trained at Yale University, where the first 

 well-organized course in physiological chemistry for medical students 

 had been established in 1874. In 1878 Chittenden went to Heidelberg, 

 where he studied with Kiihne, who had been trained in the labora- 

 tories of Virchow (Berlin), Ludwig (Leipzig), and Bernard (Paris). 

 As a result of Chittenden's training it was but natural that Yale Uni- 

 versity should become the center of physiological chemistry in Amer- 

 ica. Chittenden was an enthusiastic and inspiring teacher and research 

 worker. It was not long before students were flocking to his laboratory 

 from this and other countries. As a result, most of the biochemical 

 laboratories in this country are staffed with men and women who can 

 trace their biochemical lineage to Chittenden. 



At first, research papers on biological and physiological chemistry 

 were published wherever editors would accept them. The American 

 Chemical Journal, which was the forerunner of the Journal of the 



