28 UTILITY OF THE [LECT. I. 



known, that the black spots which appear upon 

 them is a vegetable fungus, the Lichen niger of 

 Linnaeus. The dry rot in wood, also, is a fungus. 

 It is related that Mahomet Bey, King of Tunis, 

 was dethroned by his subjects for having the repu- 

 tation of possessing the philosopher's stone. He 

 was restored by the Dey of Algiers, upon promising 

 to communicate to him the secret. Mahomet 

 sent a plough, with great pomp and ceremony, in- 

 timating that agriculture is the strength of a na- 

 tion, and that the only philosopher's stone is a 

 good crop, which may be easily converted into 

 gold. I mention this anecdote, because it conveys 

 an impressive idea of the importance of Agricul- 

 ture ; between which and Botany the connexion is 

 so natural, and the advantages to be derived by 

 the farmer from a knowledge of it so apparent, 

 that the neglect of it as an essential part of his 

 education is, indeed, wonderful. But so blind are 

 men, often, to their true interests, that agriculture 

 in this country has, till within a few years past, 

 been regarded as an employment fit only for the 

 most uninformed part of society. Following stu- 

 pidly in the footsteps of his predecessors, and 

 guided by a few rules, which had been handed 

 down to him from the rudest ages, the agriculturist 

 was ignorant that a knowledge of the theory of 

 his operations was necessary for enabling him to 

 overcome unexpected obstacles ; to guard against 



