are putting chalk on your field.

Does he then? If he ever tries to farm round here, he will have to learn
for his first rule--No chalk, no wheat.

But why?

Why, is more than I can tell, young squire. But if you want to see how
it comes about, look here at this freshly-grubbed land--how sour it is.
You can see that by the colour of it--some black, some red, some green,
some yellow, all full of sour iron, which will let nothing grow. After
the chalk has been on it a year or two, those colours will have all gone
out of it; and it will turn to a nice wholesome brown, like the rest of
the field; and then you will know that the land is sweet, and fit for any
crop. Now do you mind what I tell you, and then I'll tell you something
more. We put on the chalk because, beside sweetening the land, it will
hold water. You see, the land about here, though it is often very wet
from springs, is sandy and hungry; and when we drain the bottom water out
of it, the top water (that is, the rain) is apt to run through it too
fast: and then it dries and burns up; and we get no plant of wheat, nor
of turnips either. So we put on chalk to hold water, and keep the ground
moist.

But how can these lumps of chalk hold water? They are not made like
cups.

No: but they are made like sponges, which serves our turn better still.
Just take up that lump, young squire, and you'll see water enough in it,
or rather looking out of it, and staring you in the face.

Why! one side of the lump is all over thick ice.

So it is. All that water was inside the chalk last night, till it froze.
And then it came squeezing out of the holes in the chalk in strings, as
you may see it if you break the ice across. Now you may judge for
yourself how much water a load of chalk will hold, even on a dry summer's
day. And now, if you'll excuse me, sir, I must be off to market.

Was it all true that the farmer said?

Quite true, I believe. He is not a scientific man--that is, he does not
know the chemical causes of all these things; but his knowledge is sound
and useful, because it comes from long experience. He and his
forefathers, perhaps for a thousand years and more, have been farming
this country, reading Madam How's books with very keen eyes,
experimenting and watching, very carefully and rationally; making
mistakes often, and failing and losing their crops and their money; but
learning from their mistakes, till their empiric knowledge, as it is
ca