THE FERTILITY OF THE SOIL 



WHEN I first received the invitation to deliver the 

 lecture I found it very difficult to select a subject. The 

 1 BOYLE' lecturer is expected to talk about his own 

 subject ; but I live so far away from the broad highways 

 of science that I could expect very few of my audience 

 to possess any knowledge of the country around me. 



I do not admit that any branch of science can be dull 

 if only it finds its competent expositor; yet I cannot 

 hope to excite in others such interest as I have in the 

 drama of the soil, a drama which tells of the strife 

 between plants and their innumerable microscopic 

 antagonists. 



Remembering, however, that Oxford is the home of 

 many movements, I shall endeavour to secure your 

 attention by tracing the history of a science, and telling 

 you of the successive stages of our knowledge, instead 

 of giving an account of some rather technical piece of 

 work. I have therefore chosen as my subject THE 

 FERTILITY OF THE SOIL a title vague enough to allow 

 a little liberty of digression. But when I say I shall 

 talk of the fertility of the soil, I do mean, however, to 

 discuss the reasons why one piece of land, say, should 

 yield large crops, whilst another piece near by only 

 small crops, the differences being so real that a farmer 

 will pay three or even four pounds an acre rent for 

 some land, whereas he will regard other as dear at ten 

 shillings an acre. The title of this lecture suggests 



229833 



