Chemistry in its application to agriculture and physiology / by Justus Liebig ... ; edited from the manuscript of the author by Lyon Playfair.

  • Justus von Liebig
Date:
1847
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Chemistry in its application to agriculture and physiology / by Justus Liebig ... ; edited from the manuscript of the author by Lyon Playfair. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    from chemistry, which teaches the mode of investigating the compostion and of studying the characters of the different substances from which plants derive their nourishment. The chemical forces play a part in all the processes of the living animal organ- ism ; and a number of transformations and changes in the living body are exclu- sively dependent on their influence. The diseases incident to the period of growth of man, contagion and contagious matters, have their analogues in many chemical processes. The investigation of the chemical connection subsisting between those actions proceeding in the living body, and the transformations presented by chemical compounds, has also been a subject of my inquiries. A perfect exhaustion of this subject, so highly important to medicine, cannot be expected without the co-opera- tion of physiologists. Hence I have merely brought forward the purely chemical part of the inquiry, and hope to attract attention to the subject. Since the time of the immortal author of the Agricultural Chemistry, no chemist has occupied himself in studying the applications of chemical principles to the growth of vegetables, and to organic processes. I have endeavoured to follow the path marked out by Sir Humphry Davy, who based his conclusions only on that which was capable of inquiry and proof. This is the path of true philoso- phical inquiry, which promises to lead us to truth—the proper object of our research. In presenting this report to the British Association I feel myself bound to convey my sincere thanks to Dr. Lyon Plairfair, of St. Andrew's, for the active assistance which has been afforded me in its preparation by that intelligent young chemist, during his residence in Giessen. I cannot suppress the wish that he may succeed in being as useful, by his profound and well grounded knowledge of chemistry, as his talents promise. JUSTUS LIEBIG. Giessen, September 1, 1840.
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