t 808 ] 



In fact, the agricultural chemist is not expected to do even so 

 much. There are specialists employed for the analysis of in- 

 digo, tea, sugar, dyes &c., and all that an agricultural chemist 

 is ordinarily expected to do is to analyse with great accuracy 

 soils, manures and food-stuffs. A chemist who cannot do this 

 much but who has a great deal of general acquaintance of the 

 different branches of chemistry, is of no use as an agricultural 

 chemist Chemistry is a vast subject, and it is necessary to spe- 

 cialise one's work if one is to produce sound and reliable results. 

 In analysing a soil in duplicate, for instance, if a student obtains 

 5% of P2O 5 by one analysis, and '8% of P2O 5 by the duplicate 

 analysis, and if the soil actually contains only -06% of P2O 5 , 

 the work of the student is to be considered worse than useless. 

 The duplicate results must agree up to the third place of deci- 

 mal. Accuracy of manipulation, purity of the chemicals used, 

 and a systematised arrangement helpful for getting over a 

 large quantity of work, are the essential conditions of success 

 in analytical work. The student of Agricultural Chemistry if 

 he has already graduated in science in the University, should 

 begin quantitative work at once. This disciplines him to me- 

 thods of accuracy. One year of preparatory work in quanti- 

 tative analysis will enable the student to produce accurate re- 

 sult in the second year. He should aim from the very first to 

 do the work in the manner required fora commercial analysis. 

 In analysing soils, for instance, he should aim only at getting 

 the proportions of Soluble matter, Sand and other insoluble 

 matters, Nitrogen, Phosphoric acid, Potash and Lime. In ana- 

 lysing a sample of Nitrate of Potash, however, the proportions 

 of Sand, Sodium Sulphate, Calcium Sulphate and Sodium 

 Chloride, should be ascertained, as these are impurities com- 

 monly present, and which may have been actually used by 

 way of adulteration. In fact, adulteration is so universally 

 practised in countries where manures are largely purchased, 

 that it is never considered safe to purchase manure without 

 analysis, and the time of the agricultural chemist in those 



