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Chemical in agriculture
Agro-Ecosystems, 5 ( 1 9 7 9 ) 1 8 1 - - 1 8 6
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© Elsevier Scientific P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y , A m s t e r d a m - - P r i n t e d in T h e N e t h e r l a n d s
Book Reviews C H E M I C A L S IN A G R I C U L T U R E
Jealott's Hill. Fifty Years o f Agricultural Research, 1928--1978. F.C. Peacock (Editor). Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd., Bracknell, 1978, viii + 160 pp., £ 4.50, ISBN 0--901747--01--7. As biological production in general, agriculture depends upon transformations of many inorganic and organic compounds drawn from nature. Obviously not all of these compounds are provided by nature in the right amount and at the best moment. Many correctives are welcome. Thus chemicals, enabling a spectacular 'intensification' of many branches of animal and plant production to take place, characterize present,lay agricultural techniques. But they also attract criticism from many corners. In fact, they may have led to the existence of this journal. An exposure of the agricultural activities of I.C.I., one of the leading firms in this respect, has been given in this book. It has been compiled on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its Agricultural Research Station at Jealott's Hill. It contains accounts of innovations in the fields of fertilizers, soil improvers, feed additives, pesticides (also for public health campaigns) and microbial protein as an alternative feeding stuff. The material has not been presented purely as a success story, but a number of research and development lines have been treated that were abandoned. A chapter on environmental studies emphasizes the concern about the more remote but nevertheless far reaching effects that are imaginable if chemicals are used only on the basis of their immediate economical usefulness. Although the text is on a scientific level, it does not supply the many technical data needed to absorb the intricate details of the trains of thought followed in the book. Some literature cited at the end of each chapter and some excellent illustrations provide a certain amount of help. G.J. V E R V E L D E
(Wageningen, The Netherlands) DINITROGEN FIXATION -- BIOLOGY, AGRONOMY AND ECOLOGY
A Treatise on Dinitrogen Fixation. Section III: Biology. R.W.F. Hardy and W.S. Silver (Editors). John Wiley and Sons, New York, N.Y., London, Sydney, N.S.W., Toronto, Ont., 1977, xii + 675 pp., 67 figures and plates, 44 tables, US$ 43.00, £ 25.00, ISBN 0--471--35138--5 (Section 3). A Treatise on Dinitrogen Fixation. Section IV: Agronomy and Ecology. R.W.F. Hardy and A.H. Gibson (Editors). John Wiley and Sons, New
181
© Elsevier Scientific P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y , A m s t e r d a m - - P r i n t e d in T h e N e t h e r l a n d s
Book Reviews C H E M I C A L S IN A G R I C U L T U R E
Jealott's Hill. Fifty Years o f Agricultural Research, 1928--1978. F.C. Peacock (Editor). Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd., Bracknell, 1978, viii + 160 pp., £ 4.50, ISBN 0--901747--01--7. As biological production in general, agriculture depends upon transformations of many inorganic and organic compounds drawn from nature. Obviously not all of these compounds are provided by nature in the right amount and at the best moment. Many correctives are welcome. Thus chemicals, enabling a spectacular 'intensification' of many branches of animal and plant production to take place, characterize present,lay agricultural techniques. But they also attract criticism from many corners. In fact, they may have led to the existence of this journal. An exposure of the agricultural activities of I.C.I., one of the leading firms in this respect, has been given in this book. It has been compiled on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its Agricultural Research Station at Jealott's Hill. It contains accounts of innovations in the fields of fertilizers, soil improvers, feed additives, pesticides (also for public health campaigns) and microbial protein as an alternative feeding stuff. The material has not been presented purely as a success story, but a number of research and development lines have been treated that were abandoned. A chapter on environmental studies emphasizes the concern about the more remote but nevertheless far reaching effects that are imaginable if chemicals are used only on the basis of their immediate economical usefulness. Although the text is on a scientific level, it does not supply the many technical data needed to absorb the intricate details of the trains of thought followed in the book. Some literature cited at the end of each chapter and some excellent illustrations provide a certain amount of help. G.J. V E R V E L D E
(Wageningen, The Netherlands) DINITROGEN FIXATION -- BIOLOGY, AGRONOMY AND ECOLOGY
A Treatise on Dinitrogen Fixation. Section III: Biology. R.W.F. Hardy and W.S. Silver (Editors). John Wiley and Sons, New York, N.Y., London, Sydney, N.S.W., Toronto, Ont., 1977, xii + 675 pp., 67 figures and plates, 44 tables, US$ 43.00, £ 25.00, ISBN 0--471--35138--5 (Section 3). A Treatise on Dinitrogen Fixation. Section IV: Agronomy and Ecology. R.W.F. Hardy and A.H. Gibson (Editors). John Wiley and Sons, New