These remarks, of course, do not detract from the value of good comparative chemical analyses, when viewed in the light of physiological knowledge, as I need hardly say; but they do, and emphatically so, attack the position that such analyses alone can explain the problems of agriculture.
On the other hand, we must not rest satisfied with the suggestions so far put forward to account for the processes referred to, since it is impossible to overlook the fact that in their present form they merely afford proximate explanations, and are too crudely mechanical for finality.
Notes on Chapter VI.
In addition to the works referred to in the last chapter, the student should consult Pfeffer's Physiology, pp. 86-149, and pp. 410-441. With reference to water cultures, Sachs' Lectures, XVII., may also be consulted. The standard work on ash constituents of plants is Wolff, Aschen-analysen, 1871 and 1880, an indispensable book of reference in this connection, though there are others, quoted in Pfeffer, where further literature may also be found.
CHAPTER VII.
THE BIOLOGY OF SOIL.
Soil not a dead matrix—Organic materials—The living organisms of the soil—Their activities—Their numbers and importance. Abandonment of the notion that chemical analysis can explain the problem.
It is customary to regard the soil, between the particles of which the root-hairs of plants are distributed, as if it were merely a dead matrix of smaller or larger pieces of rock, such as sand, gravel, stones, etc., and organic remains, such as bits of wood, leaves, bones, etc., with water and air in their interstices. As matter of fact, however, soil is a much more complex body than was suspected until comparatively recent times.