Liebig and Lawes: An End-of-the-Century Note

LIEBIG AND LA WES.

AN END-OF-THE-CENTURY NOTE. BY DR. JOHN A. WIDTSOE, DIRECTOR EXPERIMENT STATION, UTAH STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

The death roll of last August included the name of Sir John Bennett Lawes, of the manor of Rothamsted, near London, in England. The passing away of this stately old man, recalls vividly a chapter in the history of this century, which for brilliancy in results, or value to man, has not been surpassed. On the eve of this century, it is safe to say that the work with which Sir John B. Lawes was associated for sixty years, will be one of the main burdens of the coming century, and one of its chief glories. This century, the nineteenth after Christ, is remarkable. for its going back to the study of first principles, and primary laws. First commands have been sought out, studied and obeyed. The great minds of the world have busied themselves with the things of common life. There have been times in the history of man, when greatness consisted in dealing with things afar off; when astronomy was greater than botany, for the reason that the stars were set in the sky and out of man's reach, while fragrant flowers crept up to his side, without his bidding. But the notion of greatness improves from century to century, and the wise ones of this age have held, and hold, that to know the things of every day life is knowledge of the highest worth. Among the first commands that God gave to man was that to

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till the ground. Man obeyed it—how intelligently in the beginning we know not—but as time passed on, it became an unspoken fact, that only minds of a low order, of little intelligence, and less ambition, engaged in the tillage of the soil. It became a practice,

built upon "rules of thumb," in which nature was the master, and man the servant. During the great awakening, amidst which this century was ushered in, it became evident to many great thinkers,

that this order of things was wrong. Man should be the master; nature, the servant. The great art of soil tillage, on which the welfare of mankind rests, in the last analysis, should be backed

and supported by intelligence; should be dignified by a place among the great systems of knowledge. Therefore, the students of nature set to work to learn the reasons why different treatments were applied to the soil; to learn how plants fed and lived, and the actual relation that is sustained between plants and animals. They worked with vigor, and it was soon discovered that good crops and fair yields could be obtained in spite of the weather. Many bright men devoted much time in the latter part of the last century, and in the early part of this, build a to experiments upon the results of which it was hoped to system of rational agriculture, in which nature would be compelled

to bend to the intelligent will of man. Success came slowly, only near the middle of the century could it be said that soil tillage for the production of plants had been placed on a secure foundation of experimental results. In the making of modern agriculture, many men were promi- nent, but no other two stand out so prominently as the German chemist, Justus von Liebig, and the English landlord. Sir John Ben- nett Lawes. While we are rejoicing, at the end of this century, because of the marvelous strides in the advancement of mankind, shall we not stop and give brief honor to the men who labored long

to make our progress possible? Justus von Liebig was born in the year 1803, in the German city of Darmstadt. From his earliest boyhood, he delighted in the work of the chemist. Experimentation was his life; and history has it,that his lessons were often neglected for the pleasure of hours spent among the chemicals and apparatus which he had collected in an up-stair room of his home. As a boy, he declared he would

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be a chemist; though at that time chemistry was young, and few men thought of following it as a profession. Liebig had his way, and a chemist he became. He studied first in Germany, then in France. In both countries he made valuable discoveries, so that early in his life he was made professor of chemistry in the University of Giessen. Liebig possessed a powerful intellect; he therefore touched on many branches of human thought in his work. As a founder of modern methods of science-teaching, he will ever be remembered; as a discoverer in the domain of pure science, he has a firm position; as an investigator in the science of physiology, he excelled most of those who have followed him. It is, however, as the father of modern agriculture that Liebig will be remembered down to the last day, when the last grain shall be taken from the ground. Early in his life, he saw, with an insight almost prophetic, the necessity of placing the art of farming on a scientific basis; and, with untiring devotion, he forsook all other studies, to consecrate himself to the advancement of the most fundamental of the arts. In his day, many facts relating to plant and animal life were known,but their connection was wholly misunderstood. It was known

that plants contain much carbon or charcoal, but it was thought that the carbon was taken from the humus, or decaying plants or manure, in the soil. Liebig's first work was to show that this theory was erroneous. It had been discovered many years earlier

that the leaves of plants had the power to decompose the gas carbon dioxide found in the air, and to retain the carbon thus obtained; but it had occurred to none that all the carbon which plants contain was taken up in this manner. This, Liebig demonstrated. He grew various plants on sand containing mineral fertilizers, and obtained large, healthy plants. The sands contain no humus, or other vegetable or animal remains, so that the plants must of necessity have obtained their carbon from the air. The proof of the true nature of the carbon assimilation of plants, overthrew the theories of plant-feeding that were current in those days. At this time, too, (about 1830-1840) it was known that all plants when burned leave behind a small quantity of ash. It was thought that the ash in plants was accidental and of no particular value. Some even thought that the ash was created by the plant;

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a learned society in Berlin once gave a prize to a man for proving this to be so. Liebig proved by his experiments that all this was false. He found that plants require certain mineral substances as foods, and that the vegetable world cannot exist on soils that are deficient in any one of the necessary plant foods. The results of the latest science teach that the following substances must be contained in a soil to enable plants to grow in it: 1, potash; 2, iron; 3, lime; 4, nitric acid; 5, phosphoric acid. If any one of these is absent, plant growth will be impossible. He further demonstrated that every whit of ash contained in plants comes from the soil, and, under normal conditions, from the soil only. In these facts, the nature of the fertility of soils was explained, as well as the true nature of plant feeding. Plants in their growth take certain substances from the ground; many crops take away much of these substances. In time, most of the plant-foods will have been used up, and the soil is made infertile. To fertilize such a soil, the ingredients which have been taken away must be given back. Thus the theory of manuring and fertilization was developed. This, in its most barren outlines, is the foundation upon which modern rational agriculture rests. It seems self-evident to us of this day; but many gifted minds, together with the incomparable genius of Liebig, contributed to make it. The theory of plant-feeding as first outlined was proposed about 1840. Following up these fundamental discoveries, Liebig investigated in a more or less thorough manner almost every question which, up to that date, had arisen in the practice of plant culture. He devoted much time, also, to the nature of animal physiology. He made remarkable discoveries in every field in which he worked, and, to his honor be it said, he attempted to apply all his discoveries to the benefit of mankind. Even, today, his name is current in commerce, in the Liebig meat extracts that he first made. He was a gifted speaker and writer; and he popularized chemistry in books written for the masses. The world acknowledged his great power, and his greater achievements. From every country on the globe came honor to the man who had made his intelligence bear on the art of Adam; degrees, medals and other distinctions, came to him, in scores. He was given a Baron's title, and the privilege of nobility was allowed to descend to his poster-

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ity. Still strong of spirit and full of queries, but feeble of body, he died on the 18th of April, 1873. The world of science honors him as one of the greatest spirits of the century. Let us honor his memory, too, for he served all humanity by his efforts. Sir John Bennett Lawes was born in 1814. He was descended from an ancient and wealthy family. When he was eight years old, his father died, and left him the owner of the historic manor

of Rothamsted, with its two hundred and fifty acres of land, which the young possessor was destined to make the most famous farm in the world. From early boyhood, like Baron Liebig, young Lawes evinced a strong taste for science, and especially for chemistry. One of the first things he did on arriving at his majority was ta order a complete chemical laboratory from a London firm, and to have it installed in onp of the spare bedrooms of his ancestral home. A little later, he began investigations on the growth of useful plants; and particularly, studies on the best methods of increasing the yields of crops on land that had been worn out by long^ cropping. The new ideas advanced by Liebig, that plants feed from the soil, took hold of him, and he began to feed his crops by adding to the soils of his farm such ingredients as he thought were lacking. Marvelous results seemed to follow his experiments, and before he knew it, a large portion of the estate had been converted into an experimental farm where the influence of different manures on various plants was being studied. About this time, he sought for a chemist who could assist him in the analysis of manures, soils and plants. As Providence directed, he found a young man, fresh from Liebig's laboratory, finely trained, and full of enthusiasm for the coming agriculture. This was Dr. J. H. Gilbert, and from that time (1843) until the death of Lawes, in last September, these two men worked together, patiently and consistently for the advancement of farming. During those fifty-seven years, their published work includes hundreds of papers, most of which bear the two names of Lawes and Gilbert. Today, it is impossible to know who did this part or the other of the work. We only know that Lawes was full of ideas, anxious to test them and rather impatient of delay; while Gilbert was cautious, accurate, and unwilling to take up new problems while the old ones were unsolved. They balanced each other perfectly, and the splendid results of the

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Rothamsted Experiment Station are largely due to the friendly collaboration of these two gifted minds. The chief work and the most important results of the labors of Lawes and Gilbert are those that pertain to the nature of plant feeding. On one field, wheat has now been grown continuously for fifty-seven years without manure. During this time an average yield of nearly thirteen bushels to the acre has been obtained. On other fields, the effect of different fertilizers on wheat has been noted. Similar experiments have been carried on with barley, oats, beans, peas, potatoes, beets, grasses, etc. The results of these long continued experiments have taught, with great clearness,, what plant foods are especially required by different crops, and which should therefore be added to the soil for the well being of any particular plant. When Lawes began his experiments, there was a meadow on his farm, which had not been interfered with for several hundred years. The grasses growing there were those that flourished naturally under the existing conditions.This meadow was laid out in long strips, and a few pounds of fertilizers, different for each strip, were scattered over the ground. In a few years marked results were obtained. The different strips began to carry different kinds of plants, according to the manure used. The plants that required most potash preponderated on the strips fertilized with potash; those of high phosphoric acid requirements, on the strips manured with phosphoric acid, and so on. I had the privilege to view this field in late June, when the English climate was at its best. Many of the plants of the meadow were in bloom, and marked clearly the different action of the manures. One strip looked bright yellow from the numberless yellow flowers that it carried; another was blue from the excess of blue flowers; still another was red, and so on over the whole field. The lines of separation were distinct, and followed with absolute precision the lines of the different fertilizers used. No finer proof of the need of different plants for different foods exists in the world than this meadow. The work of Lawes and Gilbert went out in many directions;^ and many of the results have become the commonplaces of modern farming. The experiment station system, so finely developed

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in the United States, is partly due to the success of the Rothamsted Experiment Station. Lawes was also gifted with a strong commercial insight, and his factories for the production of artifical fertilizers areamong the largest in Great Britain. The wealth which he thus acquired has been used for the welfare of mankind, for the living and for generations to come. About eleven years ago, Lawes deeded his famous experimental fields, and gave besides $500,000 to a committee which is to carry on the work so well begun. Honors have come in rich abundance to these men. Both have been knighted; and Sir Lawes has been created a baronet. They have lived far beyond the allotted time of man; the Lord has blessed them greatly. Sir J. B. Lawes died four months ago; soon his name will be only a memory. Sir J. H. Gilbert is still living, but under the weight of eighty- four years; he, too, will soon pass away. But the work of these men and that of Liebig, will live forever, and cry out of the dust to him who must "earn his bread in the sweat of his brow." Honor be to all the great dead, who used the lives they held in trust, with a singleness of purpose, for the achievement of noble deeds.