vegetation underneath the
trees of the forests held much of the rainwater from running away, so
that it sank into the ground. Instead of making floods in the rivers, it
fed the springs gradually and steadily through the long, dry summers.

The people of this land had learned the secrets of the growing plants
and how these plants could be made better by cultivation. They had also
learned to tame the wild animals and make them useful. The farms were
managed with great care so that they never grew poor. The soil never
refused to grow their crops. The people had learned during their earlier
years of struggle that they must not clear the forests from the
hillsides, for, if they did, the soil would begin to wash away. They had
learned that they must leave the forests on the mountains in order to
save the springs.

Rain did not always come when it was needed for the crops, and at other
times it rained too much. Reservoirs were built to hold the surplus
water for use in time of drought. Canals were dug to carry it to the
fields.

The wild animals and birds bothered the crops, and the first thought of
the people was to kill them. But it was soon discovered that this was
not wise. Those who destroyed the wild creatures about their farms began
to suffer from rats, mice, rabbits, and a multitude of little insects
that all but devoured the crops.

It did not take these people long to learn that Nature was not to be
trifled with. If they took too much from the earth one year, she made
them pay for it the next. They not only became wise enough to take care
of every good thing that Nature had given them, but improved upon many
things that she had left unsuited to their use.

Thus the land was kept beautiful and fertile. The inhabitants became
rich, and, instead of fearing Nature as they once did, they came to love
the rocks, the woods, the streams, and the wild creatures.

Let us now leave this rich and fertile land and come back to it after
hundreds of years have passed. We find a new people living there and the
country so changed that we can hardly believe it is the same land.

Yet it must be the same, for there are the very mountains that were
there long ago. To be sure, they do not look just as they did. When we
last saw them they were covered with forests, but now they are barren
and scarred with many gulches. Here is the same river, but it also looks
different. While it was once overhung with trees and its waters were so