382 STATE BOARD OP AGRICULTURE 



farmer of a century ago. And these must be paid for by the products of 

 the soil. Aside from matters of production, other serious questions are 

 demanding the farmer's attention. The foes to agriculture in the way of 

 insects, weeds, and plant and animal diseases are constantly increasing 

 and are a serious menace to agriculture. 



The term agriculture, as used today, includes not only the process of 

 tilling the soil, but also the body of scientific truths underlying the 

 operations of cultivation. The art of agriculture or farming is as old as 

 civilization; the science is of recent origin. The science of agriculture 

 is based on several other sciences. First among these may be mentioned 

 chemistry and the closely related subject of soil physics. These sciences 

 deal with the nature of soils, the composition of plants and their relative 

 feeding value at various stages of growth, essential and non-essential 

 elements of plants, and their source, the composition of fertilizers and 

 the best form in which to apply them. The discovery of Liebig that by 

 the action of sulphuric acid insoluble bone phosphate could be rendered 

 soluble and thus immediately active has been of immense value to agri- 

 culture. No less important a science is botany, which aims to discover the 

 laws of plant growth that lie at the foundation of successful crop pro- 

 duction. By its aid plants of economic value are discovered, studied, 

 improved, and each planted in a location best suited to it. Botany has 

 produced new races of wheat and other grains, has given us our seedless 

 fruits, and has revealed the nature and effect of fungous diseases. 

 Liebig thus summed up the interdependence of botany and agricultural 

 chemistry: The scientific basis of agriculture, embraces a knowledge of 

 all the conditions of vegetable life, of the origin of the elements of plants, 

 and of the source from which they derive their nourishment." These two 

 sciences form the basis of agricultural science and have stood shoulder 

 to shoulder in its development. 



The science of bacteriology, too, though comparative!}' new, has come 

 rapidly to the front. It has revealed the cause of some of the worst 

 diseases of plants and animals^ and in many cases has been able to find 

 means of treating them. The discovery of serum, used in the treatment 

 of bacterial diseases^ is one of the triumphs of modern science. To the 

 dairyman bacteriology has given the pure culture starter, which is as 

 essential to his highest success as a good yeast cake is in bread mak- 

 ing. One of the problems of the bacteriologist today is to produce 

 bacteria which will form root tubercles for the storing of nitrogen on our 

 grain plants in the same way as they are now formed on the roots of 

 clover. And there are good grounds for hope that this may be accom- 

 plished. Veterinary science, also, has contributed no small amount to 

 agriculture. This science has done away with a great many false notions 

 in regard to diseases of animals and their treatment, and has shown the 

 utter uselessness of many of the painful operations to which the surgeon 

 formerly resorted. It has stimulated the farmer to more careful feeding 

 and greater cleanliness in the handling of his stock and thus has helped 

 in the prevention of contagious diseases. The immense amount of damage 

 done by insects makes the study of these foes an essential branch of agri- 

 cultural science. Only the entomologist is able to say how each one may 

 be best held in check. Many of our worst insects come from across the 

 ocean. Nature's check has been destroyed; for they are taken away 

 from their natural enemies, and are thus enabled to multiply rapidly. 



