Note C — Chapter I · THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IDEA OF A SOIL POPULATION.

“Of the leguminous plants the bean best reinvigorates the ground ... because the plant is of loose growth and rots easily, wherefore the people of Macedonia and Thessaly turn over the ground when it is in flower” (i.e. dig it into the ground if the soil is poor). Theophrastus, “Enquiry into Plants,” bk. viii. 2, and bk. ix. I. This book is of profound interest to agriculturists and botanists. An excellent translation by Sir Arthur Hort is now available. (Loeb’s Classical Library.)