been built.

As has already been indicated, Liebig's chief claim to rank as the
greatest agricultural chemist of the century does not rest upon the
number or value of his actual researches, but on the formative power he
exercised in the evolution of the science. His master-mind surveyed the
whole field of agricultural chemistry, and saw laws and principles where
others saw simply a confusion of isolated, and, in many cases, seemingly
contradictory facts.

But great as the direct value of Liebig's work was, it may be questioned
whether its indirect value was not even greater. The publication of his
famous work had the effect of giving a general interest to questions
which up till then had possessed a special interest, and that for
comparatively few. Both on the Continent and in England a very large
amount of discussion took place regarding his various theories.

_Development of Agricultural Research in Germany._

It was especially in Germany, however, that Liebig's work bore its
greatest and most immediate fruit. Thanks to the great chemist, the
German Government recognised the importance of forwarding scientific
research by State aid. Agricultural Departments were added to some of
the universities, largely at State expense, while agricultural research
stations were, one after another, instituted in different parts of the
country.

The first of the agricultural research stations to be founded was the
now famous one of Moeckern, near Leipzig. It was instituted in the year
1851. Others followed, until at the present day there are some seventy
to eighty of these _Versuchs-Stationen_ scattered throughout Germany,
all well equipped and doing excellent work. Some idea of the activity of
the German stations may be inferred when it is stated that up to the
year 1877 the total number of papers embodying the results of their
experiments published by them amount to over 2000.[16]

To trace the development of agricultural chemistry, subsequent to
Liebig's time, in the way it has been done prior to the year 1840, is no
longer possible. This is due to the enormous increase in the number of
workers in the field, as also to the overlapping nature of their work,
which renders a strict chronological record wellnigh an impossibility.
It will be better, therefore, to attempt to give a brief statement of
our present knowledge on the subject, naming the chief workers in the
various departments of the subject.

_The Rothamsted Exp