"That utterance was worthy of Solomon," remarked Dr. Marvin, laughing.
"It grew," continued Webb, "because it found the needed material at hand.
I do not see how Nature can build a well-eared stalk of corn without
proper material any more than you could have built your house without
lumber. Suppose we have a soil in which the elements that make a crop of
corn do not exist, or are present in a very deficient degree, what course
is left for us but to supply what is lacking? Because Mr. Walters did not
do this in the right way, is no reason why we should do nothing. If soil
does not contain the ingredients of a crop, we must put them there, or
our labor goes for nothing".
"Well, of course there's no gettin' around that; but yard manure is all I
want. It's like a square meal to a man, and not a bit of powder on his
tongue."
"No one wants anything better than barn-yard manure for most purposes,
for it contains nearly all the elements needed by growing plants, and its
mechanical action is most beneficial to the soil. But how many acres will
you be able to cover with this fertilizer this spring?"
"That's just the rub," the squire answered. "We use all we have, and when
I can pick it up cheap I buy some; but one can't cover a whole farm with
it, and so in spite of you some fields get all run out."
"I don't think there's any need of their running out," said Leonard,
emphatically. "I agree with Webb in one thing, if I can't follow him in
all of his scientific theories--we have both decided never to let a
field grow poor, any more than we would permit a horse or cow to so lose
in flesh as to be nearly useless; therefore we not only buy fertilizers
liberally, but use all the skill and care within our power to increase
them.
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