Abstract
THE chapters of this little handbook appeared originally in detached portions in the Agricultural Gazette. They have been revised, and are now issued in a convenient and compact form. A well-ordered manual of agricultural chemistry, clearly written and perfectly abreast of recent advances in the sciences underlying the farming art, has long been wanted. So far as the limits of its size and scope allow, Mr. Warington's volume fulfils our expectations. It is a satisfaction which is seldom afforded us to read a book on agricultural chemistry written by a true chemist trained in laboratory work and versed in the progress made through English and foreign researches. The applications of chemistry to agriculture are manifold, and cannot be grasped by chemists who do not combine with their chemistry a competent knowledge of vegetable and animal physiology and of mineralogy. Yet to learn or to teach the Chemistry of the Farm without a knowledge even of the foundations of chemical science is commonly attempted, though it can never succeed in any true sense. And we quite agree with Mr. Warington that a wider range of scientific knowledge than this is needed even for the student of agricultural chemistry—much more then for the teacher. To talk about this applied science to persons without previous scientific knowledge, and to look for satisfactory results, is to expect a plant unfortunately destitute of roots to blossom and bear fruit.
The Chemistry of the Farm.
By R. Warington Pp. xiii. and 128. (London: Bradbury, Agnew, and Co., 1881.)
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CHURCH, A. The Chemistry of the Farm . Nature 24, 379 (1881). https://doi.org/10.1038/024379a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/024379a0