M. Georges Ville; William Crookes [ed.] — On Artificial Manures; Their Chemical Selection and Scientific Application to Agriculture

London, Longmans, Green and Co. 1879 . First edition. Cloth. A very scarce copy of the first edition of the English translation of this illustrated series of lectures by French agronomist and plant physiologist. The very scarce first English edition of the work.In publisher's original brown cloth binding. Written in French by M. Georges Ville, a French agronomist and plant physiologist born in Pont-Saint-Esprit.Translated and edited by William Crookes, an English chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry. He was a pioneer of vacuum tubes, inventing the Crookes tube, which was made in 1875. Observing cathode rays generated in these tubes, Crookes posited that "radiant matter" was a unique fourth state of matter, a foundational contribution to plasma physics.A series of lectures given at the experimental farm at Vincennes during 1867 & 1874-5. Divided into two parts, theory and practice, and practice extended by theory.Illustrated with a coloured folding frontispiece, and five folding plates. Collated, complete. In publisher's original cloth binding. Externally, smart. Odd mark to boards. Shelf wear to extremities, with bumping to the head and tail of the spine. Fading to spine, with rubbing to joints. Ink inscription to rear of front free endpaper. Internally, generally firmly bound. Front hinge cracked, with binding slightly fragile, but firm. Pages are bright and clean, with the odd spot. Very Good . Ill.: Not Stated. Very Good .