D. R. HOAGLAND 



stitutes. Recent texts on biochemistry give but little specific attention 

 to the biochemistry of higher plants. Certain earlier treatises devoted 

 largely to this latter subject have not appeared in new editions for a 

 good many years. This general appraisal on a comparative basis 

 appears to be justified even when the noteworthy contributions of 

 individual workers or of certain groups of workers on the biochemistry 

 of higher plants are kept in view. It receives support from some of 

 the comments of Vickery, who is well known as an extensive con- 

 tributor to several phases of the biochemistry of plants. 



The situation as described may seem surprising when one recalls 

 the vast programs of research carried on by agricultural experiment 

 stations. It is true that, in these stations, a great number of studies 

 on plants have been made which are to some degree biochemical in 

 nature. But it is rare to find groups of investigators assigned the 

 definite objective of developing the knowledge of the fundamental 

 biochemistry of crop plants. Generally, biochemical studies are 

 encouraged in so far as they throw light on particular questions of 

 agricultural importance as related to plant nutrition, horticulture, 

 agronomy, or perhaps general plant physiology. In terms of crop 

 production, the success of the coordinated attacks on plant problems 

 through the application of the agricultural sciences and arts is well 

 demonstrated by the enlarged production of crops under the difficulties 

 of war conditions. This, however, does not meet the point we have 

 under discussion. Further, there is reason to assume that, even from 

 a utilitarian point of view, a more intensive development of research 

 on the biochemistry of crop plants would in due course contribute to 

 the basic knowledge essential to the control of plant production and 

 supplement and guide the interpretation of results of practical experi- 

 mentation. 



Ramifications of the biochemistry of plants into the applied 

 field are manifold. The growth of crops needs to be appraised by 

 the criteria not only of total yield but also of quality. This latter 

 aspect is currently receiving much attention through consideration 

 of plant composition in relation to the value of the plant product for 

 animal nutrition, a point illustrated by the research program of the 

 Federal Soil, Plant, and Nutrition Laboratory at Cornell. For 

 example, the general problem of the synthesis of vitamins by plants 

 might be cited, as well as the studies made to gain infoi-mation on the 



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