CHAPTER XIV. 



BRINGING EXHAUSTED SOILS BACK TO LIFE 



We have few cotton soils that are really worn-out. 

 We merely call them so. We have treated them 

 badly; so badly that they have become unre- 

 sponsive to our calls. Some of these were good 

 once, others were less valuable, but bad treatment, 

 cruel neglect, and thoughtlessness of their com- 

 fort, have contributed to making them what they 

 are to-day. 



What shall we do with them ? 



We can do three things : 



(1) Turn them over to weeds and gullies. 



(2) Make forests out of them. 



(3) Bring them back to productiveness and 

 beauty. 



Of course, we have no desire to give them over to 

 weeds and gullies. We have already enough of 

 each. Weeds come as nature's blessings to those 

 abandoned fields, but the gully leaves only ruin 

 and desolation to mark its track. 



Perhaps there are many areas where hills and 

 rocks abound that might be used to better advantage 

 if turned over to forest growth. Timber lands are 

 becoming valuable, and with the coming years, 

 will be still more valuable. Hence, lands difficult 

 of tillage and cultivation might be better employed 



(115) 



