PLANT ANALYSIS AS AN APPLIED SCIENCE 1 



ScHLEiDEN, 2 in his "Principles of Botany," states: "Botany 

 is an indispensable branch of knowledge for the chemist and 

 physiologist." I think he might have said, with equal truth, 

 chemistry and physiology are indispensable branches of know- 

 ledge to the botanist. An acquaintance with these three 

 branches of knowledge is indispensable to the plant chem- 

 ist. If we consider that our food, fabrics, dyestuffs, perfumes, 

 drugs, and beverages are all derived from plants, we can 

 scarcely fail to inquire into the functions and intimate struc- 

 ture of vegetable life. The application of chemical knowledge 

 to the study of plant life under all conditions is the first step 

 toward a practical solution of the problems of agriculture, 

 materia medica, and the industries derived from plant sources. 



As long ago as 1795, 3 a learned Scotch nobleman said, "In- 

 deed there is no operation or process in agriculture, not merely 

 mechanical, that does not depend on chemistry." Fifteen years 

 later than Earl Dundonald's treatise, the first vegetable sub- 

 stance was accurately analyzed. Another period passed before 

 the analyses of Liebig. Since that day investigators have been 

 busily engaged in plant analysis. 



Plant analysis to-day rests on a sure foundation as a dis- 

 tinct subdivision of general chemistry. Chemistry teaches us 

 what vegetation needs for its growth, and points out the sources 

 whence the materials for crops can be derived. Intense cul- 

 tivation of the plant is the agricultural motto. The contrary 

 is true for pharmacy. Plants which are to be used for medicinal 



1 Delivered before the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, January 17, 1887. 

 Printed in the Journal of the Franklin Institute; also in pamphlet form, 

 1887. 



2 Principles of Scientific Botany, by Dr. J. M. Schleiden. London, 1849. 

 8 How Crops Grow, by S. W. Johnson. London, 1869, p. 4. 





