CHAPTER X 

 Auximones 



A NEW chapter, it appears, must be added to the 

 book of manures. We have, perhaps, reached a 

 turning-point in the history of agriculture. A 

 revolution has been prepared in the secrecy of the 

 laboratory, and the revolutionary is Prof. W. B. 

 Bottomley, of King's College, London. 



In the Canary Islands one sometimes sees the 

 roofs of the houses converted into stables. In 

 London one can see them devoted to the cultivation 

 of vegetables and potatoes. In fact, in the course 

 of experiments on the elements accessory to plant 

 nutrition, Mr. Bottomley has, after long and patient 

 research, managed to isolate a product possessing 

 the most extraordinarily stimulating properties on 

 vegetation. This product he has named Auximone, 

 from the Greek word av^i/xo9, meaning "promoting 

 growth." It is an accessory food for normal plant 

 growth. The nature of auximones has not been 

 exactly determined yet. They are not, however, 

 either moulds, fimgi, or bacteria. Neither are they 

 living organisms, seeing that in a retort they can 

 resist a temperature of 134° C. maintained for half 

 an hour. 



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