32 MAN ON THE LANDSCAPE 



ing jaws, smaller dental arches, crowded teeth in the youngsters as 

 contrasted with the grandparents. Your own judgment will tell you 

 where such people are most likely to be found. 



Our sketchy excerpts from Price do not do him justice and his 

 volume should be consulted for a fuller presentation. One of his 

 conclusions is: "The vitamin and protein content of plants has been 

 shown to be directly related to availability of soil minerals and other 

 nutrients. A program that does not include maintaining this balance 

 between population and soil productivity must inevitably lead to dis- 

 astrous degeneration." "The most serious problem confronting t^c 

 con: ing generation is that nearly insurmountable handicap of deple- 

 tion of the quality of foods because of depletion of minerals in the 

 soil." 9 



Nutritional studies of livestock have served as outposts in this new 

 science. Next in amount of attention received have been the humans. 

 Third come plants, and at the bottom of the list wildlife. The increase 

 in fur farming has lately focused attention on the feeding problem, 

 because right feeding means a good pelt, and cash to jingle. To see 

 how far astray man can go in feeding, note this : Autopsies on ranch 

 reared and on wild silver foxes revealed 54 times as much vitamin A 

 in the wild animals. Considering the role of Vitamin A in night 

 vision, what chance would the man-fed fox have of catching a field 

 mouse at night? Similarly, if the land were reduced in fertility to 

 the point where it failed to provide plants with pro-vitamin A (caro- 

 tene) how could the fox population maintain itself when most of its 

 hunting must be done at night when the prey is up and about that 

 is, such prey as could exist on sick land. 



Fecundity is a matter of vital concern to all producers of animals. 

 The certain conception and delivery of healthy young by the female 

 is a prerequisite for successful management of both domestic and wild 

 animals. Dr. Ralph Bogart gives a considered estimate that 40 per 

 cent of Missouri pigs are never weaned. They die. Yet there are 

 instances where effort toward securing feeds from fertile soil has cut 

 this loss to 25 per cent. Sound and vigorous offspring cannot be 

 produced by food consisting of sunlight, air and water alone. Price's 

 observations in the human field corroborate this. 



Albrecht has demonstrated that the male rabbit may become sterile 

 \vhen fed forage from a depleted soil ; that the addition of phosphate 

 to the soil improved the procreative performance ; and that addition of 

 both limestone and phosphate resulted in hay which tended to insure a 

 virile and reliable buck. The doubtful males were markedly rejuve- 

 nated by three weeks feeding on the latter, nutritious hay. (Fig. 13.) 



Sportsmen who lament the scarcity of cottontail and other game 

 may take the hint and pull mightily for soil conservation and fer- 



9 Price, Weston, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, published by the author 

 (4th printing, enlarged), Redlands, Calif., 1945, p. 392 and p. 417. 



