is scarce it is very necessary to restore fertility to these
exhausted lands. What are some of the ways in which this can be done?

[Illustration: FIG. 11. CLOVER IS A SOIL-IMPROVER]

There are several things to be done in trying to reclaim worn-out land.
One of the first of these is to till the land well. Many of you may have
heard the story of the dying father who called his sons about him and
whispered feebly, "There is great treasure hidden in the garden." The
sons could hardly wait to bury their dead father before, thud, thud,
thud, their picks were going in the garden. Day after day they dug; they
dug deep; they dug wide. Not a foot of the crop-worn garden escaped the
probing of the pick as the sons feverishly searched for the expected
treasure. But no treasure was found. Their work seemed entirely useless.

[Illustration: FIG. 12. INCREASING THE PRODUCTIVE POWER OF THE SOIL
Second crop of cowpeas on old, abandoned land]

"Let us not lose every whit of our labor; let us plant this pick-scarred
garden," said the eldest. So the garden was planted. In the fall the
hitherto neglected garden yielded a harvest so bountiful, so unexpected,
that the meaning of their father's words dawned upon them. "Truly," they
said, "a treasure was hidden there. Let us seek it in all our fields."

The story applies as well to-day as it did when it was first told.
Thorough culture of the soil, frequent and intelligent tillage--these
are the foundations of soil-restoration.

Along with good tillage must go crop-rotation and good drainage. A
supply of organic matter will prevent heavy rains from washing the soil
and carrying away plant food. Drainage will aid good tillage in allowing
air to circulate between the soil particles and in arranging plant food
so that plants can use it.

But we must add humus, or vegetable matter, to the soil. You remember
that the virgin soils contained a great deal of vegetable matter and
plant food, but by the continuous growing of crops like wheat, corn, and
cotton, and by constant shallow tillage, both humus and plant food have
been used up. Consequently much of our cultivated soil to-day is hard
and dead.

There are three ways of adding humus and plant food to this lifeless
land: the first way is to apply barnyard manure (to adopt this method
means that livestock raising must be a part of all farming); the second
way is to adopt rotation of crops, and frequently to plow under crops
like clover and