AMERICAN 



QUARTERLT JOURIAL 



OF 



AGEICULTURE AND SCIENCE. 



FOOD OF PLANTS 



BT THOMAS HTTN, M. D. 



If we put a seed into the earth, it will, under suitable condi- 

 tions of moisture, heat, and light, germinate, grow and become a 

 plant weighing many thousand times more than the original seed 

 Whence does it derive the materials out of which its substance is 

 formed ? In what shape do these materials exist before entering 

 mto Its composition ? In other words, what is the source of the 

 tood of plants, and what is the nature of this food '? 



As to the source of the food of plants, it is plain that it must 

 be in the soil, or in the atmosphere, or in both, for with these 

 alone is the plant placed in communication. The question re- 

 mains, m what proportion does each of these contribute to the 

 formation of the plant, and what particular constituents does each 

 lurnish ? 



The question of the food of plants is of great practical impor- 

 tance, for all agricultural processes have for their object to place 

 plants in the conditions most favorable to their growth and deve- 

 lopment ; and as a due supply of food is one of the most essen 

 tial of these conditions, it follows that these processes must be 



VOL. I. NO. 1, Ti 



