SOIL DEPLETION 85 



the evolution of a really scientific and self- 

 perpetuating agriculture is beginning to appear 

 here and there, mostly in the long-settled regions. 

 The drift to poverty and degradation is pro- 

 nounced in many parts of the country. In every 

 region a certain class of the population is forced 

 to the poor lands, becoming a handicap to the 

 community and constituting a very difficult 

 social problem. 



There are two great classes of farmers: those 

 who make farming a real and active constructive 

 business, as much as the successful manufacturer 

 or merchant makes his effort a business ; and those 

 who merely passively live on the land, often 

 because they cannot do anything else, and by 

 dint of hard work and the strictest economy 

 manage to subsist. Each class has its difficulties. 

 The problems of the former class are largely 

 those arising from the man's relation to the world 

 at large. The farmer of the latter class is not 

 only powerless as against trade in general, but 

 is also more or less helpless in his own farming 

 problems. In applying corrective measures, we 

 must recognize these two classes of persons. 



When no change of system has followed the 



