76 ■ The Bulletin. 



operates far below or far above this surface. Man and his animals move 

 and have their being upon the surface. Plants, which sustain both man and 

 his animals, are fixed and have their being upon the surface of the earth, 

 and draw their sustenance from the shallow crust and the air. Animals are 

 dependent upon plants, and plants control their existence. Plants are depend- 

 ent upon the soil, and the condition and composition of the soil controls the 

 kinds and quantities of plants that may spring from it. It is evident, then, 

 that we must depend upon the soil for the production of plants, upon plants 

 for the production of animals, and upon both plants and animals for the 

 sustenance of man. With all this responsibility resting upon the soil, it is 

 evident that the condition of the soil and its ability to produce plants or 

 crops is a matter of first consideration for the individual, for the State, for 

 the Nation, and for the entire world, since man and his activities are prima- 

 rily with the soil. 



The man who tills the soil has the greatest of responsibilities resting upon 

 him. He is responsible for the feeding and clothing of the world and for 

 keeping his soil in such condition as will enable him to continue to feed and 

 clothe as the demand for increased quantities of food and clothing grows 

 greater and greater. No man has the right to allow, through ignorance or 

 carelessness, his soil to become poorer year after year. He who does this, is 

 neglectful of those who are dependent upon him, is unpatriotic to his Nation, 

 and is recreant to a Divine trust. 



The capacity of a soil for production is controlled by its chemical composi- 

 tion and its physical condition, both of which may be marvelously affected 

 by the man who tills the soil. It is no uncommon sight to see two areas of 

 soil within a few feet of each other, one producing abundantly and the other 

 barely at all, though originally these two areas may have had the same physi- 

 cal condition. 



Nature, in either the even or uneven tenor of her way, has many hidden 

 secrets, and many, many lessons are spread before man that he may read 

 them. It is man's mission to know nature better and better as time passes 

 and he finds a better knowledge of her laws of great good. 



A casual glance at the condition of our farming lands as it was found upon 

 the discovery of America will show that nature was then, all over North 

 Carolina, cultivating the crop of her choice. This crop had for centuries 

 been growing and year by year approaching nearer to perfection. Under 

 these natural conditions this crop, the forest, was mature and self-supporting 

 and self-perpetuating. Each year in the leaves, fruit, twigs, and bark that 

 fell upon the floor of the forest was as much mineral plant food as each year 

 was taken from the soil for the support of the forest. This mineral plant 

 food was associated with a larger bulk of "organic matter" accumulated upon 

 the floor of the forest in a never-decreasing mulch. 



Each year this accumulating mulch was added to and each year the lower 

 layers decomposed and liberated the plant food that the rains might return 

 it into the soil and within the reach of the roots of the forest. This "over 

 and over again" kept up a balanced condition of soil fertility and a uniform, 

 regular, and never-failing growth. There was always an abundance of solu- 

 ble plant food and plant food in the proportion demanded by the growing 

 crop, since its origin was largely from the discarded parts of the crop of trees 

 to which it was to be returned. 



This covering of vegetation served another and equally important function, 

 in that it modified the temperature of the soil, keeping it warmer in the 

 winter and cooler in the summer, and checked all excesses. The rainfall, 

 modified and regulated by the forest, fell upon a bed of loaves and was all 

 taken up, to be allowed to slowly sink into the soil and be stored for the use 

 of the forest in abundant and never-failing quantities. 



When the forest was cleared for the use of man the annual addition to the 

 hunuis-formiug material ceased and the accumulated supply (if not burned 

 when the forest was cleared) rapidly disappeared by decomposition through 

 the first few years of cultivation. Thus was destroyed not only the ever 

 present supply of plant food, but with it the conditions which were instru- 



