AGRICUI.TURAL BOTANY, CHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF PLANTS I425 



time was lost during which the natural indigo industry declined and the 

 synthetic product rapidly established itself in the markets of the world. 

 The solution of the indigo problem has recently been disclosed by a study 

 of the plant in the field. It is not too much to say that if a properly qua- 

 lified botanist with a knowledge of agriculture had attacked the indigo pro- 

 blem twenty years ago, tbe history of this industry would have been very 

 different. 



There remains for consideration the commercial aspect of investiga- 

 tions on crops and the necessity, on the part of the worker, of keeping in 

 close touch with the requirements of the trade. Particularly is this impor- 

 tant in the case of materials used in textile industries like cotton where any 

 marked alteration in the raw product might easily involve extensive changes 

 in machinery. In the case of cereals like wheat, it is necessary'- in improving 

 the variety to follow closely the needs of the manufacturer and to ensure 

 that any new types introduced into general cultivation can be milled to 

 advantage. The successful merchant often possesses information which 

 is of the greatest value to the botanist and which helps the investigator to 

 perceive the manner in which an improvement can most effectively be made. 



That a combination of science, practice, and business ability in the 

 same individual is essential in all agricultural investigations dealing with 

 the plant will be evident if the kind of problem awaiting solution is consi- 

 dered in detail. Many of these questions fall into the following three 

 classes : 



(i) Improvements in the efficiency oj the plant. — Any attempt to mcrease 

 the output of a crop can only be successful if the the physiology of the 

 plant is considered together with the economic aspects of production. Such 

 problems have to be solved within the working conditions of the plant fac- 

 tory and also within the general economic limits imposed by labour and 

 capital. In such matters, the investigator might easily go astray unless 

 he keeps the laws of plant physiology in view and unless he is fortified by 

 a knowledge of practice and an appreciation of the general working con- 

 ditions. 



(2) Tlie treatment oj disease. — The inadequacy of much of the experi- 

 ment station work on the diseases of plants, in which fungi and insects 

 are concerned, has recently been referred to by Professor Bateson in one of 

 the sectional addresses to the British Association. 



In the course of his speech, this gentleman drew attention to the fact 

 that there is at the present time hardl> any comprehensive study of the 

 morbid physiology of plants comparable with that which has been so great- 

 ly developed in application to animals. The nature of the resistance to 

 disease, characteristic of so many varieties, and the methods by which it 

 may be ensured, offer a most attractive field for research, but it is one in 

 which the advance must be made by the development of pure science, 

 and those who engage in it must be prepared for a long period of labour 

 without ostensible practical results. 



{3) The creation of improved varieties. — lu this work an understanding 

 of the needs of the crop and a knowledge of systematy and genetics must 



