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  soil 
  is 
  gone, 
  all 
  is 
  gone; 
  and 
  the 
  greatest 
  danger 
  to 
  the 
  soil 
  is 
  

   not 
  robbery 
  by 
  ill 
  cropping, 
  because 
  no 
  matter 
  how 
  man 
  may 
  

   abuse 
  the 
  soil, 
  scientific 
  agriculture 
  can 
  bring 
  it 
  back 
  with 
  aston- 
  

   ishing 
  speed. 
  But 
  the 
  greatest 
  enemy 
  of 
  conservation 
  is 
  erosion, 
  

   the 
  best 
  checks 
  for 
  erosion 
  are 
  roots. 
  

  

  Thug 
  far, 
  the 
  only 
  man 
  who 
  has 
  been 
  telling 
  us 
  anything 
  

   about 
  planting 
  roots 
  upon 
  the 
  hillsides 
  is 
  the 
  forester. 
  But 
  he 
  

   usually 
  sets 
  nothing 
  but 
  wood 
  trees, 
  which 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  fifty 
  

   or 
  a 
  hundred 
  or 
  a 
  hundred 
  and 
  fifty 
  years, 
  we 
  can 
  cut 
  down, 
  

   and 
  which, 
  during 
  the 
  intervening 
  time, 
  have 
  done 
  nothing 
  but 
  

   cast 
  shade, 
  drop 
  leaves 
  and 
  retain 
  the 
  soil. 
  My 
  doctrine 
  is 
  that 
  

   the 
  potentially 
  greatest 
  crop-producing 
  plants 
  are 
  not 
  those 
  on 
  

   which 
  we 
  now 
  depend 
  for 
  our 
  food, 
  but 
  are 
  the 
  trees,; 
  that 
  the 
  

   greatest 
  engines 
  for 
  production 
  are 
  not 
  the 
  grasses, 
  but 
  the 
  trees. 
  

   Our 
  agriculture 
  is 
  an 
  inheritance 
  from 
  the 
  savage, 
  and 
  the 
  sav- 
  

   age 
  found 
  that 
  he 
  could 
  do 
  better 
  with 
  annual 
  grains 
  than 
  he 
  

   could 
  with 
  nut 
  trees, 
  because 
  he 
  didn't 
  know 
  how 
  to 
  improve 
  

   the 
  nut 
  crop 
  by 
  selection 
  of 
  the 
  trees, 
  while 
  there 
  came 
  involun- 
  

   tarily 
  an 
  improvement 
  in 
  the 
  other 
  crops. 
  No 
  man 
  today 
  knows 
  

   the 
  parentage 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  cultivated 
  plants 
  and 
  grains 
  on 
  

   which 
  we 
  now 
  depend. 
  Thus 
  we 
  came 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  day 
  

   of 
  science, 
  with 
  the 
  purely 
  chance 
  discoveries 
  of 
  savages 
  as 
  the 
  

   main 
  dependence 
  of 
  mankind 
  for 
  the 
  basis 
  of 
  agriculture. 
  

  

  We 
  have 
  within 
  a 
  decade 
  discovered 
  the 
  laws 
  of 
  plant 
  breed- 
  

   ing. 
  We 
  know 
  a 
  good 
  deal 
  more 
  about 
  it 
  now 
  than 
  ever 
  before 
  

   and 
  are 
  in 
  a 
  position 
  to 
  start 
  about 
  it 
  very 
  deliberately 
  and 
  

   with 
  a 
  reasonable 
  certainty 
  that 
  we 
  are 
  going 
  to 
  get 
  certain 
  

   combinations 
  of 
  qualities 
  if 
  we 
  keep 
  at 
  it 
  long 
  enough. 
  Thus 
  

   the 
  hickory 
  and 
  walnut 
  offer 
  perfect 
  marvels 
  of 
  possibilities. 
  

   Look 
  around 
  on 
  these 
  tables 
  and 
  see 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  

   things. 
  There 
  are 
  hickory 
  nuts 
  11-4 
  inch 
  long 
  and 
  there 
  are 
  

   shagbarks 
  as 
  full 
  of 
  meat 
  as 
  pecans 
  and 
  probably 
  quite 
  as 
  good. 
  

   There 
  are 
  in 
  Kentucky, 
  I 
  am 
  told, 
  hickory 
  nuts 
  that 
  you 
  can 
  

   take 
  in 
  your 
  fingers 
  and 
  crush. 
  Here 
  we 
  have 
  the 
  pecan, 
  this 
  

   great 
  big 
  shellbark 
  from 
  Indiana, 
  the 
  shagbark 
  from 
  the 
  North, 
  

   and 
  the 
  thin 
  shell 
  nuts 
  from 
  Kentucky. 
  Now 
  hybridize 
  these 
  

   and 
  I 
  think, 
  if 
  you 
  work 
  at 
  it 
  long 
  enough, 
  you 
  will 
  get 
  a 
  tree 
  

   that 
  will 
  have 
  all 
  those 
  good 
  qualities. 
  

  

  The 
  wonderful 
  black 
  walnut 
  is 
  a 
  tree 
  of 
  hardiness, 
  and 
  the 
  

   delicious 
  Persian 
  or 
  English 
  walnut 
  is 
  a 
  nut 
  of 
  acceptable 
  form. 
  

   The 
  pair 
  offers 
  splendid 
  possibilities 
  in 
  their 
  hybrid 
  progeny. 
  

  

  We 
  have 
  fruits 
  thus 
  far 
  recognized 
  as 
  of 
  little 
  value 
  which 
  

  

  