54 THE CULTIVATION OF THE 



until, after a time, the trees in his locality failed, and he 

 said to himself, "the soil is exhausted and I do not 

 "know the cause, but the trees won't grow, and I will 

 "hie me down the State and take up new land and grow 

 "the fruit as successfully as I did up the State." So he 

 did. and so have his sons been doing, but the day of 

 reckoning is at hand, and necessity, the great mother of 

 invention, will find out the cause of this inability of the 

 land to grow the peach ; will find out the cause and the 

 reason of this exhaustion of the soil. Will find out the 

 cause ? Why, is the cause a hidden one ? I trow not. 

 Will a given field produce wheat year after year without 

 its being furnished plant-food ? Will a given field pro- 

 duce corn, year after year, without proper sustenance 

 being afforded for the corn ? Will the bee make honey 

 without the flower ? No ! Nor is it any more reasonable 

 to ask that the land will produce peaches without its 

 being supplied with food for the peaches to feed upon. 

 Heretofore, we have rested satisfied when we have 

 peached the land over, and settled down, thoroughly 

 satisfied of its exhaustion, aud that there was no remedy 

 for it. It may be assumed that peaches have gone out. 

 in districts, and though there are plenty of fields in 

 those districts which have never been planted in 

 peaches, yet if we plant peaches in them they won't 

 thrive, showing that it is the locality and not the soil. 

 It may be replied here, that there are other influences 



