442 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. II. No. 40. 



Princeton, jST. J.; Columbia College, ISTew 

 York City; Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.; 

 Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.; 

 Lake Forest University, Lake Forest, 111.; 

 Leland Stanford, Jr., University, California; 

 Northwestern University, Evanston, 111.; 

 University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.; 

 University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.; Uni- 

 versity of Indiana, Bloomington, Ind.; 

 University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.; 

 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.; 

 University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 

 Minn.; University of Virginia, Charlottes- 

 ville, Va., University of Wisconsin, Madi- 

 son, Wis.; Vanderbilt University, Nash- 

 ville, Tenn.; Western Eeserve University, 

 Cleveland, Ohio. 



Allow me to call attention, in this con- 

 nection, to the desirability of forming a 

 complete collection of all printed disserta- 

 tions of American universities, and to sug- 

 gest that the Smithsonian Institution is the 

 proper place of deposit for such a collection. 

 The Institution already receives those is- 

 sued by the John Hopkins University and 

 is willing to give others a place. When 

 the magnificent new Library of Congress is 

 completed, a collection of American univer- 

 sity dissertations could be- well housed , and 

 would make a really valuable addition to 

 the treasury of books; eventually a cata- 

 logue of these works could be published, as 

 has recently been done in France. (Cata- 

 logue des Theses de Sciences, 1810-1890, Al- 

 bert Maire, Paris, 1892 ; Catalogue des 

 Theses de Pharmacie a 1' Ecole de Phar- 

 macie de Paris, 1815-1889, Paul Dorveaux, 

 Paris, 1891 ; Catalogue des Theses de Phar- 

 macie soutenues en Province, 1803-1894, Paul 

 Dorveaux, Pai-is, 1895). It may be proper 

 to state that I am attempting to catalogue 

 all the printed chemical dissertations of 

 American colleges for the Supplement to mj' 

 ' Select Bibliography of Chemistrj-,' and I 

 appeal to the members of the Chemical Sec- 

 tion for assistance. 



Finally, could bibliographical researches 

 be introduced into the chemical curriculum 

 of American colleges several advantages 

 would ensue beyond the mere collection of 

 indexes; such a procedure would train 

 students to accuracy in making citations; 

 it would encourage in them a disposition to 

 give credit to earlier workers in the same 

 field of research as their own; it would tend 

 to enlarge their views as to the immense 

 domain of chemical literature ; it would lay 

 foundations upon which the post-graduates 

 might build more substantially in after 

 years, and it would develop an appreciation 

 of the historical aspects of chemistry, which 

 busy workers in the laboratory too rarely 

 have opportunities of cultivating. 



■ H. Carelngton Bolton. 



AGRICOLTUBAL CHEMISTRY* 

 Agricultural chemistry is a cosmopoli- 

 tan science. It was founded by Liebig, of 

 immortal memory. Its early apostle in 

 France was Boussingault ; in England, Gil- 

 bert; in America, Johnson. It is presum- 

 ably that science most nearly allied to the 

 sustenance of human life, and thus lies 

 nearer than any other to the heart, or per- 

 haps the stomach, of humanity. Its home 

 is wherever a plant grows. Its devotees 

 are found wherever a plowshare turns the 

 soil. Its base lies in the study of the com- 

 position of the soil and the constitution of 

 plants. Its superstructure rises high enough 

 to touch the most abstruse questions of 

 mineral and vegetable lihysiology and me- 

 tabolism. Turning from philosophy to 

 facts, we find this science linked indissolu- 

 bly with the greatest industry' of the world. 

 There is scarcely a field or a forest which 

 has not felt the impress of its power. From 

 the field its domain has extended to the 

 factory and the guidance and advice of the 



* Read before Section of Chemistry of the Ameri- 

 can Association for the Advancement of Science, Sep- 

 tember 3, 1895. 



