LOSS OF MANURE BY CARELESSNESS. 275 



mineral matters will be important enough in tlie eyes of 

 those who are, at present, so void of sense as to beheve 

 that the great natural law of restoration does not apply to 

 their own fields ; and the sins of the fathers, in this 

 respect, will also be visited upon tlieir posterity. In 

 matters of this kind, inveterate evil habits are but too 

 apt to obscin-e our better judgment. Even the most 

 ignorant peasant is quite aware that the rain falling 

 upon his dung-heap washes away a great many silver 

 dollars, and that it would be much more profitable to 

 him to have on his fields what now poisons the air of his 

 house and the streets of his village ; but he looks on un- 

 concerned, and leaves matters to take their course, because 

 they have always gone on in the same way. 



T 2 



