10 



of Prof. Thomas Thomson. Materia-Medica was studied under Dr. J. 

 Couper, and botany under Sir W. J. Hooker. He came to London 

 in the autumn of 1839, and continued his studies at University 

 College, where he attended the -chemical lectures and practical classes 

 of Prof. T. Graham, and worked for a shoit time in the laboratory 

 of Prof. Anthony Todd Thomson. He also studied natural philosophy 

 under J. Sylvester, anatomy under Dr. Grant, and botany under 

 Lindley at Chiswick, and made some progress in the German 

 language. In 1840 he went to Germany, and spent a summer session 

 at Giessen, in the laboratory of Prof. Liebig. Here he took the 

 degree of Ph.D.; two other English students, J. Stenhouse and 

 L. Playfair, afterwards to become celebrated as chemists, took their 

 degrees at the same time. On returning to England, Dr. Gilbert 

 renewed his studies at University College, and became class and 

 laboratory assistant to Prof. A. T. Thomson during the winter and 

 summer sessions of 1840-41. In 1842 he left London and became 

 consulting chemist to Mr. Burd, a calico-printer in the neighbourhood 

 of Manchester. The turning point of his life soon arrived. Mr. Lawes 

 had already made his acquaintance in the laboratory of Prof. A. T. 

 Thomson, and being in want of a trained chemist to assist in the 

 agricultural investigations he had commenced at Rothamsted, he, on 

 the recommendation of Prof. Thomson, engaged the services of Dr. 

 Gilbert. On June 1, 1843, Dr. Gilbert entered on his work at Roth- 

 amsted. The connection between Lawes and Gilbert thus commenced 

 continued till the death of Sh John Lawes in 1900, a period of 57 

 years. 



The rapid development of the agricultural investigations at 

 Rothamsted after the year 1843 has been already noticed in the 

 preceding account of the life of Sir John Lawes. The value of the 

 work done was largely due to [the unremitted labours of Dr. Gilbert. 

 At the opening of the new laboratory in 1855, Mr. Lawes said, "I 

 should be most ungrateful were I to omit this opportunity of stating 

 how greatly I am indebted to those gentlemen whose lives are devoted 

 to the conduct and management of my experiments. To Dr. Gilbert 

 more especially, I consider a debt of gratitude is due from myself and 

 from every agriculturist in Great Britain. It is not every gentleman 

 of his attainments who would subject himself to the caprice of an 

 individual, or risk his reputation by following the pursuits of a science 

 which has hardly a recognised existence. For twelve years our 

 acquaintance has existed, and I hope twelve years more will find it 

 continuing." The testimony borne by Sir John Lawes to his colleague 

 at the end of fifty years of their joint work has been already quoted 

 in the preceding account of Sir John Lawes. 



We must now attempt to give some idea of the special part taken 



