And yet sacred as is the soil and binding as is 

 the farmer's obligation to society, the means for 

 providing the world's food is nevertheless at his 

 mercy. 



It is a well-known fact that the soil can readily 

 be depleted of its fertility and thus robbed of its 

 strength by a system of exploitation, commonly 

 referred to as " extensive farming." Too much 

 of our land is being thus exploited. On the other 

 hand the productiveness of the soil may be very 

 greatly improved. Denmark, Belgium, Germany, 

 and other European nations have fully demon- 

 strated that by the application of science to the 

 art of agriculture, the productiveness of the soil 

 can be multiplied almost to the limit of necessity. 



A Progressive Agriculture. Fortunately Na- 

 ture has supplied every means for the develop- 

 ment of a progressive and permanent agriculture. 

 It is also obvious that it is man's privilege, if not 

 his mission, to improve upon Nature to substi- 

 tute quality for mere physical endurance, in agri- 

 cultural products. 



By the grace of Providence the individuals of 

 the animal and vegetable kingdoms were not creat- 

 ed inflexible in habit or perfect in form, but they 

 may be changed in character and quality and in- 

 trinsic worth at the will of the intelligent and ob- 

 serving farmer. To this end agricultural educa- 

 tion lends its beneficent influence. Man's dominion 

 over Nature would be such in name only were it 

 not for the class-room and the laboratory, for re- 

 search and investigation; for by these means 

 scientific knowledge is obtained and diffused and 

 eventually brought to bear upon the solution of 

 the most vital problems that concern the human 

 family. These problems center largely around 

 food and clothing. To supply these necessities an 



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