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MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



agent for the maintenance of fertility on such soils in the ab- 

 sence of manure. 



There is very little land in northeastern Minnesota, with the 

 exception of certain areas of stiff, cold clay, that is not sandy, 

 and to condemn the whole of such a vast area because of the 

 presence of sand would be an economic absurdity. But to claim 

 that all of this sandy area can be profitably farmed is an absurd- 

 ity just as palpable. 



What, then, is to be the standard by which the permanent 

 agricultural quality of land not near to markets is to be judged? 



Norway Pine reproduction in opening. 



Long, abundant and sometimes bitter experience points out the 

 wisdom of accepting the evidence of nature, the same evidence 

 which our ancestors, before the days of lumbering, regarded as 

 conclusive — the kind and quality of the virgin timber growing 

 upon the land. Hardwoods require a fertile, lasting soil and are 

 proof that such exists, no matter what the surface indicates. 

 Pine grows upon sand, but, in Minnesota at least, the white pine 

 has the reputation of thriving only when the roots can penetrate 

 a soil containing some clay. Norway pine and jack pine are 

 practically alike in their soil requirements and are naturally 

 found as virgin timber on a sandy soil, underlaid by a sandy 

 subsoil, extending to a considerable, sometimes an unknown 



