172 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 



upon the summits of the mountains or within the great basins, 

 during most of the summer period of each year. Often had our 

 mind dwelt upon the wastes of war, and after finding out the way 

 of the waters, we frequently reverted to the fact that, if the money 

 spent during the last half century in the support of armies and 

 n,avies, and the prosecution of wars, had been diverted to construct- 

 ing a canal along the northern incline of the African Continent, 

 dropping the waters coming of the melting of snows on the Mount- 

 ains of the Moon down upon the Sahara, this great desert of Africa 

 might have been made to blossom as the rose. 



In our earliest childhood we noted that the spring smoked in mid- 

 winter, and that evaporation went on amid frosts. We had dug 

 earth worms for fishing in the neighborhood of springs when the 

 ground was still frozen only a few feet aw-ay, and all through life 

 we had kept our eye on the grass green growing as the snows of 

 winter melted about the spring. Dakota's great wheat fields, with 

 their deep laid foundations of frost, had not escaped attention, and 

 the warm suns of March and April shining upon these fields and 

 bringing early germination and steady growth until harvest time, 

 told the story of the waters beneath at spring water temperature. 

 Nor had the conditions along the Alps and Appenines escaped our 

 attention, where, underlying in pockets of soil, the water coming of 

 melting snows, furnished not only moisture for the vine, but inspir- 

 ation to its growth. Authentic information had been received of 

 such an increase of production and improvement in flavor of the 

 fruit of the vine, as to convince us that the same simple methods 

 might be made use of to transform the arid regions of our own 

 country into those of boundless fertility and wealth. 



That our great desert is a treeless region, or one nearly so, is 

 true, nor can it ever be otherwise until the time shall come for 

 husbanding ihe waters, and making use of them in a way to pre- 



