8 COUNTRY LIFE AND FARMING 



the soil is depleted and becomes less and less productive each 

 succeeding year. The crops gradually decrease until they be- 

 come unprofitable, and finally the land is abandoned. That is 

 generally the result with unscientific farming where the farmer 

 looks upon the land as an inexhaustible mine or reservoir upon 

 which he may draw without any thought of the future. 



The skillful farmer treats the land as a factory, and supplies 

 the necessary crude elements as fast as they are transformed into 



In the country there is plenty of room. 



crops, thus keeping the land at the height of fertility. There is 

 skill in farming as much as in any other occupation, and the 

 more we reflect on the question, the more we are compelled to 

 admit the necessity for studying the science of farming. 



In its broad sense this science includes Agriculture, Horticul- 

 ture, Forestry, Animal Industry, and Road Building. 



Agriculture is the science which treats of the general manage- 

 ment of lands and farms, and the production of useful plants and 

 animals. 



Horticulture treats of the growing of fruits, vegetables, and 

 ornamental plants. It may be subdivided into Olericulture, 

 Pomology, Floriculture, and Landscape Gardening. 



Olericulture is the science which treats of vegetable growing and 

 truck farming. 



