JOURNAL 
OK  THE 
ROYAL  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY 
OF  ENGLAND, 
SIR  HUMPHRY  DAVY,  BART.,  P.R.S. 
Born  December  17,  1778.  Died  May  29,  1829. 
Agkicultuke  i.s  the  oldest  of  arts,  while  chemistry  is  one  of 
the  younger  of  the  sciences.  The  essentials  of  the  former  have 
remained  for  many  centuries  practically  unaltered,  while  the 
foundations  of  the  latter  are  constantly  shifting  in  accordance 
with  the  altered  conditions  of  knowledge.  The  natural  union 
of  the  art  of  husbandry  with  the  science  of  chemistry  has 
opened  out  a new  field  of  jirogress  by  the  help  it  has  afforded 
the  agriculturi.st  in  increasing  the  jiroductive  capability  of 
the  soil. 
In  May,  1802,  the  Board  of  Agriculture  (established  in 
179d)  was  desirous  of  arranging  for  the  delivery  of  lectures  on 
“The  Connection  of  Chemistry  with  Vegetable  Physiology,”  and 
they  were  fortunate  in  being  able  to  secure  for  this  purpose 
the  services  of  a young  man  who,  although  only  three-and- 
twenty  years  of  age,  was  the  most  brilliant  lecturer  of  his 
day,  and  who  had  at  this  time  turned  his  particular  attention 
to  agricultural  chemistry,  making  it  the  subject  of  special 
experimental  research. 
This  was  Humphry  Davy,  the  newly  appointed  Professor 
of  Chemistry  at  the  Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britain. 
Through  the  good  offices  of  Sir  Josejih  Banks,  then  President 
of  the  Royal  Society,  arrangements  were  made  with  the 
VOL.  65.  B 
