and that the Bplendid examples set by Bothamsted and 

 by the United States of America, under which latter 

 Government "state laboratories" liberally endowed and 

 appointed have for years yielded a rich harvest of 

 results of the greatest value, will be followed and if 

 possible emulated. Ever since the time of Sir Hum- 

 phrey Davy and Baron Liebig the importance of chemis- 

 try to agriculture has been recognised and the know- 

 ledge of how the plant in contradistinction to the 

 animal, ( which must derive nourishment ex- 

 clusively from something which has lived previously) 

 exists, grows and developes indefinitely upon lifeless 

 material only has assumed the greatest im- 

 portance. The plant obtains its food from 

 two sources ; the limitless magazine afforded 

 by the atmosphere and the moisture therein on 

 the one hand and the mineral matters, equally essential, 

 placed at its disposal by the soil. In short, plant life 

 starts upon a totally inorganic food. The surface of a 

 country may be both rooky and bare, but, sooner or 

 later, the lower organised plants— that is the more 

 simply organised, not lower in any other sense — such as 

 the mosses will settle upon the unpromising surface and 

 having the atmosphere at disposal and getting sufficient 

 mineral matter, even from a hard rock, will maintain 

 themselves and thrive. This they will do to such an 

 extent that in course of time they cover the surface and 

 dying give place to flowering plants until, eventually, 

 these are succeeded by even forest trees themselves. 

 The rapid development of vegetable life already ap- 

 parent upon the fire scathed ruins of Krakatoa, in Java, 

 so lately the scene of one oE the greatest of recorded 

 eruptions is a fine instance in point There is a certain 

 resemblance between plants and animals deserving 

 notice here. Among civilised humanity for example, 

 there are two types of man, viz., those who live so to 

 speak on sixpence a day and earn it, and those who 

 have their food found for them, cooked and served up 

 for them. The former get stronger by active labour 



