12 THE SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES 



a Work entitled, 'Grundsatze der Agricultur-Chemie/ 

 a second and revised edition of which was brought 

 out in 1838, by Professor Krutzsch, of Tharand. In 

 this Work the physical and chemical properties of 

 soils are discussed in much detail ; and the results of 

 numerous investigations on the subject by the author 

 himself are given. 



Boussingault, who had previously published nu- 

 merous papers, chiefly on chemical subjects, about 

 1834 became, by marriage, joint proprietor with his 

 brother-in-law of the estate of Bechelbronn, in Alsace. 

 His brother-in-law, M. Lebel, was both a chemical 

 manufacturer and an intelligent practical farmer, 

 accustomed to use the balance for the weighing of 

 manure, crops, and cattle. Boussingault at once 

 applied himself to Chemico- Agricultural research ; 

 and it was under these conditions of the association 

 of f Practice with Science ' that the first laboratory 

 on a farm was established. 



From this time forward, Boussingault generally 

 spent about half the year in Paris, and the other 

 half in Alsace; and he has continued his scientific 

 labours, sometimes in the city and sometimes in the 

 country, up to the present time. I may here men- 

 tion that I had the pleasure of seeing him well, 

 and still actively interested in problems of agricul- 

 tural science, at his Chateau in Alsace in the autumn 

 of last year. 



Boussingault's first important contribution to agri- 

 cultural chemistry was made in 1836, when he 

 published a paper on the amount of nitrogen in 

 different foods, and on the equivalence of the foods, 

 founded on the amounts of nitrogen they contained ; 

 and he compared the results so arrived at with the 

 estimates of others founded on actual experience. 



