8 NEED OF SCIENCE. 



our wheat fields, have unfortunately not been 

 properly informed as to the real nature of the 

 little pests from which they have suffered. 

 The consequence of this has been a large 

 destruction of food, and a frequent deteriora- 

 tion of that which has been saved. In the year 

 1841, the absence of this essential knowledge 

 amongst farmers was clearly demonstrated. A 

 prize was offered by the Agricultural Society 

 of England for the best essay on the blights 

 affecting the corn fields, but though many 

 were sent in, not one was deemed meritorious. 

 By a similar want of of physical science the in- 

 quiries of a large provincial association into the 

 habits of the turnip fly were rendered totally 

 useless, because they were not first directed to 

 the natural history of the insect. Such investi- 

 gations have been principally the task of learned 

 botanists and entomologists, whose statements 

 have failed to elicit the general attention they 

 deserved. Unscientific persons have been re- 

 pelled from the task of carefully perusing them, 

 by their difficulty in understanding the techni- 

 cal terms necessarily employed by the authors. 

 From such sources, however, they can alone de- 

 rive the information that will lead to satisfactory 

 ti^sults, and every agriculturist, who has the 



