210 THE BUSINESS OF FAEMING 



great profusion along the roadsides and upon the 

 waste unproductive soils, a plant immediately de- 

 nounced by the people generally as a most serious 

 weed pest. There was mystery in its origin, for 

 no one knew from whence it came. In alarm the 

 farmer said it would invade and devastate his 

 cultivated fields, yet it never did take hold upon 

 the rich or fairly rich cultivated or uncultivated 

 lands, but upon the poorest, stoniest, and driest 

 waste places, road sides and commons, it flourished 

 and grew to great size, no matter what the char- 

 acter of the growing season might be. 



This seeming weed pest was but one of the pow- 

 erful soil restoring working forces that Nature 

 so kindly sets before the owners of worn and 

 worn-out soil for restoring soil fertility. It was 

 one of her mute offers of help to our burdened 

 soils, and though soil owners spurned the prof- 

 fered help, Nature was persistent. When the 

 soil owner would with fury strike down the seem- 

 ing pest with mower and scythe, Nature made it 

 grow more luxuriantly than ever before, and fur- 

 ther emphasized one of its valuable characteristics. 

 The persistence of Nature in making the plant 

 flourish under the sternest opposition and environ- 

 ment, no doubt led some one out in thought and 

 investigation, for somebody saw the virtues and 

 uses of the plant, and it was discovered that Na- 

 ture was bringing to the very feet of the farmer, 

 a plant whose soil restoring and fertility main- 

 taining powers and feeding value is not equaled 

 by any plant grown, or human agency devised by 

 man. Thus the despised and rejected sweet clover 

 plant is not only about to become a corner stone 



