74 An Account of tlie Soil [pt. i 



and the Lothians produce potatoes ; oats and swedes are 

 raised in moist regions, while in still wetter districts 

 grass and dairying come in. Wherever the climate is 

 satisfactory and the railway connections good an in- 

 dustry springs up in fruit and vegetables. Finally, the 

 higher or less accessible districts are given up to the 

 raising ot live stock to be fattened out in those favoured 

 districts where animal food grows more quickly than the 

 animals bom on the spot can consume it. 



To some extent it is possible to modify the dominating 

 effects of climate on crops ; there is a little elasticity in 

 both directions. Plants are somewhat plastic and can 

 be moulded to a certain degree in the plant breeder's 

 hands ; they can be bred to tolerate greater cold or more 

 drought than usual. Thus in Canada wheats are being 

 produced to grow further north than ordinary kinds so 

 as to take into cultivation a belt of land at present 

 suited only for grass. In Australia wheat has been bred 

 to tolerate drought and grow in the drier regions. This 

 sort of work is being done very widely and we do not 

 yet know how far it can be pushed. 



Climate apparently cannot be altered; indeed, we can 

 only get over some of its bad effects in one direction. 

 Temperature is at present beyond our control; the hot 

 regions remain hot and the cold regions remain cold and 

 we camiot alter matters. Wet districts can be improved 

 somewhat by drainage. Our great triumph, however, is 

 in the dry districts. Irrigation and the special agri- 

 cultural methods known as dry farming have brought 

 into cultivation enormous tracts of land, hitherto desert, 

 in India, South Africa, Canada, Australia and Egypt, 

 while a great project is on foot for Mesopotamia. But 

 the mention of Egypt and of Mesopotamia reminds us 



