Miscellaneous 



240 



[March, 1910. 



the drains from being choked by leaves 

 and sticks. These pits should be pe- 

 riodically cleaned out, and the soil ap- 

 plied as a top-dressing to the Tea near 

 them. Where stones are handy terrac- 

 ing should be done to prevent the loose 

 soil from being washed away again. 

 Various objections have been raised to 

 these pits. One critic says, "What is 

 the good of making them, they get full 

 of soil at once ? " Does that not show 

 the necessity for them '? Another critic 

 says, " The stuff they accumulate is 

 mostly sand of no manurial value." 

 Sand is of value to the good mechanical 

 condition of the soil, and if you lose 

 the sand you lose a necessary consti- 

 tuent. Sand is of special value in wet 

 districts, and where there is much clay 

 in the soil. The vigorous way in which 

 Tea grows in ravines where there is 

 an accumulation of silt washed down 

 from the hill sides, is proof of what 

 this despised sandy salt is capable of. 

 Try vegetables, grass, flowers, or any- 

 thing you like in it, you will find they 

 grow luxuriantly. The silt-pits have 

 stood the test of time, and that is the 

 best test. The only real drawback they 

 have is that they are rather apt to 

 breed mosquitoes, but mosquitoes have 

 their seasons, and seem to come and 

 go in spite of anything one can do to- 

 get rid of them. They always find lots 

 of places in which to breed, and I have 

 not noticed that estates where there 

 are silt-pits in the drains are any worse 

 in that respect than other estates. 



I have given the reader some methods 

 by the adoption of which he can com- 

 bat the loss to the estate by wash. 

 On a well cultivated estate, wheie pro- 

 per precautions are taken against the 

 loss of soil, the hurnus must slowly but 

 steadily accumulate, and therefore the 

 fertility of the soil and value of the 

 estate must increase. On the other hand, 

 where no particular attention is paid 

 to this important matter (i.e., the loss 

 of soil through wash), the humus dis- 

 appears, the fertility of the soil dimin- 

 ishes, and it is found that the land 

 requires more and more manure to enable 

 it to keep up its crops. 



The following humorous lines appeared 

 in a local paper during a time of very 

 heavy rains and floods ; — 



"I stood on the bridge at daylight when the 



clock was striking the hour, 

 "And watched my Bamber's mixture agoing 



to Baur. : ' 



Most planters would enter into the 

 feelings of the author, 



THE RELATION OF SCIENCE TO 

 HUMAN LIFE. 



(Continued.) 



The great Frenchman Pasteur, in 

 making a thorough examination of the 

 process by which alcohol was obtained 

 from sugar, discovered the part played 

 by the organism known as yeast, and 

 established the idea of organised ferment 

 bodies. He extended his observation to 

 other micro-organisms, and, in conjunc- 

 tion with his co- workers, among whom 

 must be included those who were looking 

 into the question of the spontaneous 

 generation of living matter, definitely 

 gave us the idea that putrefaction was 

 caused by micro-organisms acting upon 

 organic matter, that these micro- 

 organisms are capable of resisting 

 drought, and when dried float freely in 

 the air and are distributed everywhere. 

 When they fall upon a suitable material 

 their vital activity is resumed, and they 

 increase with incredible rapidity and 

 set up putrefaction. It was reserved 

 for our distinguished countryman Lister, 

 then a surgeon in Edinburgh, to re- 

 cognise the importance of these dis- 

 coveries for surgery. Knowing of the 

 researches of Pasteur and his fellow- 

 workers, he conceived the idea that 

 suppuration was due to putrefaction in 

 the organic matter of the wounds caused 

 by micro-organisms. Acting on this, he 

 introduced his method of antiseptic 

 surgery, by which his name has been 

 rendered immortal. I think we may say 

 that no single application of the results 

 of pure research has done more to 

 preserve human life and to diminish 

 human suffering than this linking up by 

 Lister of the putrefaction of suppuration 

 with the work of his predecessors on the 

 effects of the actions of micro-organisms 

 upon organic matter. It is well to 

 notice, in passing, that this discovery of 

 Lord Lister's is a good illustration of the 

 difficulty which the human mind has of 

 conceiving even the simplest new idea. 

 To us, now, how simple seems the step 

 which Lister made ; yet there were 

 thousands of surgeons in the world who 

 failed to make it, though they were 

 continually dealing with suppurating 

 wounds and wondering why they sup- 

 purated, and when it was made it was 

 stoutly discredited by many quite able 

 men. 



I must now turn to another subject 

 which is closely connected with the pre- 

 ceding, and well illustrates my thesis 

 that pure scientific research, without 

 reference to practical utility, is of the 

 highest importance to mankind. 



