HISTORICAL EESUME 23 



tion and soil destruction to flee from the wrath of 

 worn and worn-out soils? 



His cry was even heard in ages past. It fell 

 on ears deadened with greed and avarice and 

 stolid indifference, and the wrath of worn and 

 worn-out soils came as a pestilence and swallowed 

 up nations once proud and great. 



When the gentle and loving Savior of mankind 

 and his disciples walked through the fertile fields 

 of Palestine plucking the ears of corn for their 

 food, he was on the mission of talking and teach- 

 ing the gospel of life and help and love to the 

 multitudes that came from the fruitful valleys 

 and hillsides of the fertile Holy Land that con- 

 tained many cities of commerce and power; but 

 now these cities lie covered with the debris of 

 centuries, the fertile valleys and hillsides that 

 sang to the Christ the song of plenty, lie stripped 

 of their fertility by a system of soil neglect that 

 mined them of their soil wealth and they have 

 become "a dreary desert and a gloomy waste." 



Eomeward the student of history delights to 

 set his face, for the study of its history is so 

 fascinating. So, delving into the history of 

 Borne, he finds that agriculture was once its big- 

 gest business. She acquired the greatest agri- 

 cultural literature ever possessed by any nation, 

 and under its inspiration her agriculture so 

 flourished that she grew in wealth and power and 

 reached the pinnacle of her greatness. But she 

 forgot the source of her power. Her agricultural 

 operations were intrusted to slaves or bondsmen 

 driven under the lash without wages, so- her soil 

 was neglected and her fields became stricken with 



