d'avoir le premier eu, of having been the first to hâve

7. Elkington (Joseph), a farmer of Warwickshire in central England. His System of drainage was made public in 1795, when the British Parliament voted him a reward of ./^ooo for his valuable discoveries.

Page 71. — 1. à fleur de terre, on the surface.

2. M. Barrai, French chemist and naturalist, born at Metz in 1819; gave spécial attention to the application of science to agriculture; was manager of the Journal d'agriculture pratique.

Page 72. — 1. ne saurait; cf. page 21, note 10.

Page 74. — 1. croisés en chevalets, set crosswise.

Page 75. — 1. l'emportent de beaucoup sur, are far superior to ; V emporter sur \s an idiom meaning literally " to carry it off over," the pronoun standing for some word for " victory " or "advantage"; so the meaning is " to surpass," "to get the better of."