e farmers of the Mississippi Valley and of all the other valleys
that help support the city people are careful of their soil and keep up
its fertility, our country will remain prosperous. But we are sorry to
say that the farmers have not always been careful. Many have wanted to
make more than they should from their lands. The plant food with which
Nature has filled the soil has been taken away year after year faster
than she has been able to renew it. Many fields do not produce the crops
they once did. The smaller the yield becomes, the higher the prices the
produce brings. This makes it more difficult for the workers in the
cities to live comfortably. The less abundant the supply of food
becomes, the less prosperous is the country.

There are countries, such as England, that have neglected agriculture
but have, in spite of this, become rich and powerful through devoting
their time to manufacturing articles to sell to other people. But those
who work in the factories of England have to be fed, and so they must
depend upon other countries to supply much of their food. If, for any
reason, they were cut off from trade with these countries, not only
would their manufacturing be ruined, but they would be in danger of
starvation.

To the first men, who lived entirely upon hunting and fishing, the soil
was of little consequence. Now things are different. The wild game has
mostly gone and we have to depend upon the products of the soil.

[Illustration: _H. W. Fairbanks_
At the top of the bank we see a layer of dark, rich soil.]

The people of those lands where the climate is unfavorable and the soil
poor and rocky lack most of the comforts of life, unless they are able
to obtain them through trade. It does not follow, however, that people
living in lands favored by Nature are always happy and prosperous.

You must remember that when the first men increased in numbers over the
earth, the soil was fresh from the hand of Nature. Although they had
everything about them that could be asked for, yet they were poor. There
are men living today on the rich deltas that we have learned about who
have few of the comforts that we have. This is because they are lazy and
ignorant, and do not make proper use of this valuable gift, the rich
soil.

We conclude, then, that the soil forms the real wealth of the world. All
our comforts and luxuries come in the first place, as we have seen, from
the soil. The more crowded people become upo