Mecent Ariricultural Piihlications. 
843 
Oimerod found time to write her well-known Manual of Injurious 
Insects, now in its second edition, and a volume on Injurious 
Insects of South Africa, besides the instructive ofiBcial reports 
which have appeared in the pages of this Journal. Some years ago 
she officiated as Lecturer on Economic Entomology at the Royal 
Agricultural College, Cirencester. She has also acted as Examiner 
in Agricultural Entomology since that subject was first embraced in 
the scheme of the Royal Agricultural Society’s Senior Examinations 
in 1889. 
The earlier volumes of the Journal record the admirable ento- 
mological work which John Curtis did for a former generation. In 
the same way its pages for the last eight or nine years have borne 
witness to the revival with which Miss Ormerod’s name must ever be 
honourably associated, and which it is fervently to be hoped will be 
permanent in its effects. 
It would not be right to conclude without a reference to Miss 
Georgiana E. Ormerod, her sister’s accomplished and sympathetic 
associate in her work, and her affectionate and unwearying com- 
panion in her illness — an illness that unhappily compelled Miss 
Eleanor Ormerod to relinquish, in July last, the office she proved 
herself so well qualified to adorn of Consulting Entomologist to the 
Royal Agricultural Society. 
\V. Fream. 
THE MICRO-ORGANISMS OF THE SOIL.' 
Fermentation, tliough observed since pre-historic times, is perhaps 
less understood than any other process chemistry has to deal with. 
The exciters of fermentation are rendered exceedingly difficult of 
investigation, because they, like all living things, are subject to 
physiological — or more specially pathological — functions of life. 
They are so sensitive that anyabnormal influence either changes their 
whole mode of existence, or destroys it altogether. A medium suitable 
to the life of one special kind is changed by it into a product which 
ceases to sustain it, but can nourish a lower class of organisms 
whereby concomitant fermentations arise, whose united effects are 
frequently such as to completely modify those produced by each 
separately ; for this reason the specific actions of some ferments 
have either totally escaped observation or have been misconstrued. 
Every succeeding year brings additional proof of the important role 
played by these minute organisms, and to such an extent, especially, 
has this been the case in connection with the acquisition of available 
nitrogen, that there are good reasons to believe that a clearer com- 
prehension of the action of soil ferments will dissipate all the 
' Extracts from the address delivered by Professor Alfred Springer, M.A., 
Pli.D., as Vice-President of the Chemical Section at the Meeting of the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1892. Revised by the 
Author. 
