2l8 



NATURE 



[January 3, 189- 



The book is well and clearly printed, and has been 

 extremely well edited. The only printer's error noted 

 was in the title of Mr. Oldfield Thomas' paper on p. 31 8. 



E. B. P. 



TEXT- BOOK OF AGRICULTURE. 

 Advanced Agriculture. By H. J. Webb, Ph.D., B.Sc. 

 (Lond.). Svo., pp. vi. and 672. (London : Longmans, 

 Green, and Co., 1S94.) 



TEXT-BOOKS of agriculture are rapidly increasing 

 in number. The name of the author on the 

 title-page of this is that of the late Principal of 

 the Agricultural College at Aspatria, Cumberland, who, 

 most unfortunately, was unable ti conplete the work. 

 He was struck down at a comparatively early age, and 

 in the midst of hard work and a successful career. He 

 is most highly spoken of, and deservedly so, in the pre- 

 face by the editor of the book, Mr. J. Lister, of Aspatria. 

 From such hands we anticipated much and good work, 

 though the task might appear heavy. We regret to say 

 that we have been greatly disappointed. 

 We are told that— 



'•This work, though primarily intended for the advanced 

 stage of the Science and Art Uepartmenls' E.xamination 

 in Principles of Agriculture, will also cover the greater 

 part of the syllabus of the Honours stage. Care has, 

 however, been taken not to adhere too rigidly to the 

 syllabus in question, and we trust it may be found 

 equally serviceable for the examination for the diploma 

 in Agriculture of the Highland and Agricultural Society 

 in Scotland, and the senior examination of the Royal 

 Agricultural Society of England." 



Even the fact that the book has been prepared mainly 

 to assist students to pass examinations, can hardly excuse 

 some of the statements we meet with. In agricultural 

 geology we are told, among other scraps of information 

 that zeolites are " hydrated silicates of alumina or lime." 

 This IS scarcely true. " Diorite consists of plagioclase 

 and hornblende." This is tiue, but as the meaning of 

 plagioclase is nowhere explained, it does not help the 

 student much. In agricultural physics we learn that "a 

 heavy soil might contain absolutely double the amount of 

 phosphoric that a light soil did, although it would show 

 only the same percentage if it were twice as heavy." 

 We have tried to believe this, but till now we do not 

 understand it. In engineering, a definition of horse- 

 power is given without any mention or suggestion of 

 time as a possible factor. 



In chemistry, Rendonda[Rcdonda] and Alta Vela phos- 

 phates arc said to contain a large quantity of alum; 

 leather to contain 4^ to 9 per cent, of ammonia, and meat- 

 meal and meat-guano to contain much ammonia. This is 

 the more confusing, as in other manures, mentioned on the 

 same page, the percentage of nitrogen is correctly given • 

 but this confusion of ammonia with the ammonia equiva- 

 lent of the contained nitrogen is common throughout. 

 Ammonium chloride is said to contain about 18.', per cent, 

 of water and 321I, per cent, of ammonia. The formula of 

 monocalcic phosphate is correctly given as CaH,P.^Og, 

 and tricalcic phosphate as Ca^P^O,, and, yet, in one 

 analysis iS'oi per cent, of the former is said to be equal to 

 2%\ per cent, of the latter, and in another case \yi per 

 NO. I 314, VOL, 51] 



cent, of monocalcic phosphate is said to be equal to 

 3007 per cent, of tricalcic phosphate made soluble : of 

 course the so-called monocalcic phosphate in these 

 analyses is calcium nietaphosphate, formerly known as 

 " biphosphate'' : but how can tlie student know this.^ 

 Cellulose is described as a white amorphous powder. 



In agricultur.-,l botany, we are told that "protoplasm 

 generally presents itself as a granular semi-fluid sub- 

 stance with or without a cell-wall." " The corolla, when 

 present, usually consists of green leaves or sepals, some- 

 times scarcely noticeable " This later statement is, of 

 course, only a misprint : but it is also only an example of 

 several similar serious misprints. 



The root residues of crops remaining in the soil are 

 said to " consist very largely of protoplasm." The 

 section on farm crops, however, in which this occurs, is 

 written in a curious style, somewhat dilticult to follow. 



On looking up information regarding anthrax, we find 

 that "although a disease of the blood, the writer [in 

 this case Mr. H. Thompson] considers it more of a 

 dietetic nature, having seen it produced from steeped 

 brewers' grains allowed to stand till they had reached the 

 acetous stage of fermentation. It is also produced by the 

 hay bacillus, obtained from the fermentation of chopped 

 hay and from mouldy cotton-cakes, more particularly the 

 undecorticated variety. He has also seen it arise in certain 

 undrained lands. Although very fatal to other animals, 

 such as dogs, cats, and poultry, that may have eaten 

 the flesh or blood, yet he considers it neither infectious 

 nor contagious, having never known it to extend beyond 

 the buildings in which it originated. Again, the disease 

 was always traceable to some peculiarity of the feeding, 

 and the writer thinks that it is analogous to an aggravated 

 form of red water." And this stuff is set forth as advanced 

 agriculture. There are several very startling statements 

 in the chapter on veterinary science ; e.g. in retention of 

 the fa;tus," different bones belonging to the fcctus, such as 

 jaw, scapula, ribs, humerus, and several others, are passed 

 at times through the rectum." 



In the chapter on agricultural entomology, we hardly 

 suppose the author is serious when he recommends the 

 use of rape-cake, at the rate of two or three tons per 

 acre, to clear the field of wire-worms. 



In part ii. of the book the misstatements are perhaps 

 not quite so numerous or so serious, but they are not 

 absent. In the chapter on permanent pastures, after a 

 notice of the power which leguminous plants, with the 

 aid of the low organisms present in the nodules on their 

 roots, possess of appropriating free nitrogen, we are 

 told that "this fact of the nitrogen-storing power of the 

 leguminous plants explains the action of heavy dressings 

 of nitrogenous manures on permanent pastures encourag- 

 ing the growth of grasses, especially the coarser ones, at 

 the expense of the clovers." We fancy that this explana- 

 tion of the fact will not satisfy many readers. 



The work of Rothamsted is frequently referred to and 

 fully appreciated ; but why should Rolhamslcd be spelt 

 in three different ways in the book ■■ l'iob:ibly, however, 

 every would-be advanced agriculturist knows that there 

 are not three Rolhamsteds. 



But we have given enough instances of what are very 

 serious flaws in the book. Much of the matter is exceed- 

 ingly good and useful ; but does not this really add to the 



