I 



Feeding the Land 195 



only abound, the land is hard, dry, lifeless. Com- 

 bine humus and mineral, heat and moisture and 

 cultivation, you will make the desert blossom like 

 the rose. 



Now every tree, vine, shrub, and root is a con- 

 sumer of mineral matter, sending its roots down- 

 ward in search of food. Sideward also the roots 

 run, and often surfaceward also. The heat and 

 moisture in the soil break down humus and min- 

 eral matter, making both soluble and thus con- 

 verting both into plant-food. We have both 

 humus and mineral matter in tree and vine, shrub, 

 tuber, and root. Here again the law is working: 

 "Each after its kind. '* Trees and vines pierce 

 the soil to a great depth as compared with berries, 

 tubers, and cereals. This means that the depths 

 of the soil, not its surface, are the feeding ground 

 for orchard and vineyard. Here is the cue to the 

 fruit-grower's lines; the culture of orchard and 

 vineyard differs from that of grain-field or truck 

 garden. But how shall we get plant-food deep 

 down in the earth? It is not found there as abun- 

 dant as nearer the surface. Yet we know that 

 earth that is brought up from deep wells and shafts 

 will support plant life, and that germs, buried for 

 ages, burst forth into plant life when thus exposed. 

 We know that deeply buried seeds have great 

 vitality, not because they have been, deeply buried, 

 but because they are living germs, long carefully 

 protected by nature against decay, and in condition 

 to grow at opportunity. Doubtless all earth 



