Agriculture and Chemistry. 293 
and by the rules of chemistry, became, in short, a fancy every- 
where cherished, and not yet altogether sobered down by ex- 
perience. There is something taking, indeed, in the idea of 
being a man of science; but when some of us have heard 
honest country friends of our own talking of their science, 
and of the great benefits it was to confer on their home-farms 
and tenants, we may have been charitable enough to wish 
that their occupations would allow them to go back to school, 
and learn a little of science itself. I have rarely been able 
to get from our scientific country gentlemen any very satisfac- 
tory definition of this somewhat comprehensive term, science ; 
much less to get a sight of that uncomfortable sort of moni- 
tor, called the balance-sheet, to learn how their science had 
worked with them in the humble matter of pounds, shil- 
lings, and pence. They seem to have had a sort of notion that 
all science was agricultural chemistry, and that itwas a mighty 
good thing for raising rents and great crops of potatoes ; 
and that, if they could but get their tenants to analyse their 
soils, these tenants would be able to cultivate them a great, 
deal better. The farmers, too, were generally little behind 
their Jandlords in the matter of science, however little relish- 
ing the practical application of it to the tender matter of 
rents. Some of them seemed to think that guano was science; 
and a very good science I can tell them it is; and better by 
far than one half of what they heard on the subject. Why, 
we are all men of science in a certain way. Our dairymaids 
are persons eminent in science. They can make cheese ; and 
the making of cheese is a tolerably complicated chemical 
process. It has puzzled all the chemists till our own day 
to explain it. They think they have nearly settled the ques- 
tion now ; but we may back the dairymaids still against them 
all, in the really useful part of the matter,—the making of the 
cheese itself. Our cooks are eminent chemists ; and there is 
not a sirloin, cooked, or a pudding manufactured, that does 
not involve a vast variety of chemical changes. One of the 
most learned chemists of the day, before mentioned, Baron 
Liebig, has written profoundly on this savoury subject. He 
has found out that if we boil the beef, and throw away the 
broth, there will be a waste of nutritive matter ; and that it is 
avery good thing in roasting to preserve as much of the 
