^; ,..** <'AMPJ3P>LL'S SOIL CULTURE MAM A I. 



wisdom. The strides we are making just now are beyond 

 those of other days. We are in position to take advan- 

 tage of the accumulation of evidence and to discover the 

 truth that shall endure. 



The reader will not find in the pages of this Soil Cul- 

 ture Manual a universal guide to success in farming. But 

 he will find something here that will be of immense value 

 to him if he but has the patience and industry to master 

 the principles and is willing to give a fair trial to the 

 methods which are here described for the treatment of 

 soils. It is presented with a confidence born of years of 

 investigation and experiment, and of success in many 

 seasons of adverse conditions spread out over many states 

 with soil and climate as different as it is possible to have. 



This Soil Culture Manual has to do with just one sub- 

 ject, or rather one branch of agriculture, but it so hap- 

 pens that this lies at the very foundation of all agricul- 

 ture. Production is the end and aim of all farming. Pro- 

 duction is possible only where soil conditions are right, 

 for no matter what may be the climate or the extent of 

 cultivation, there cannot be crops if there is not fertility 

 available in the soil. Available fertility may exist, under 

 most favored conditions, where there has been no culti- 

 vation; but it is more often true that fertility comes from 

 conditions brought about by cultivation done intelligently. 



This handling of the soil with a view to the devel- 

 opment of available fertility is Scientific Soil culture. 



It is my purpose to present in this Manual the re- 

 sults of years of labor in this field. I desire to treat a com- 

 plicated subject with .plainness and frankness. Here is 

 material for a discourse filled with scientific terms, but I 

 shall try to be so plain that everyone may know all about 

 it. I shall give something of the history of the develop- 



