118 [Assembly 



besides the potato have been affected with strange symptoms— not 

 unlike cholera among man. It is proposed to analyze the clover 

 and the soils in search of causes and remedies. 



■ The turnip disease is under anxious examination. This dis- 

 ease — of forty years standing — amongst our valuable turnips 

 evades all our talent at investigation. The labors of the High- 

 land and Agricultural Society of Scotland are amongst the melan- 

 choly instances of the worthlessness of some of the ill-considered 

 investigations often made with the sanction of high apparent au- 

 thority. Some said lime is the cure ; others found no effect from 

 it. The remark, as poetical as erudite, is this : that animal and. 

 vegetable organism was a struggle between vitality and chemis- 

 try, and that death was the victory of chemistry. Vitality, in its 

 laws, its manifestations, and its modifications of chemical action, 

 render the different steps in the struggle difficult to determine 

 with any great degree of precision. The laboratory does not al- 

 ways reveal the secrets of chemico-vitalism. Analysis will some- 

 times no more determine a question in an organized structure than 

 synthesis will form an animal and a plant. The chemist can de- 

 compose—can separate — can determine — the various elements ; 

 but he can often no more derive any practicaFlesson from this 

 fact than he can add all together and make again the vitalized 

 machine he separated. 



The soils of the sound and unsound turnips have been analyzed. 

 That made by Mr. Robertson, of Lady Rig, is as follows : 



Soil of the sound turnip. Unsound. 



Insoluble silicates, 87.89 87.88 



Soluble silica, 00.07 00.05 



Peroxide of iron, 2.94 2.75 



Alumina, 1.59 1.28 



Lime, 0.38 0.32 



Magnesia, 0.13 0.55 



Potash, 0.14 0.20 



Chloride of sodium, 0.10 0.06 



Sulphuric acid, 0.05 0.03 



Phosphoric acid,... 0.04 0.16 



Organic matter, 4.16 4.55 



Water, 1.75 2.09 



Total,..., 99.75. 99.93 



