LITTLE land in 1796, making observations that have been re- 

 JOURNEYS cently unconsciously paraphrased by the United States 

 Secretary of Agriculture who said in a printed re- 

 port, " "Western farmers who raise and sell hogs and 

 cattle, feeding them grain instead of selling it, are sure 

 to acquire a competence. The farmers who sell grain 

 are the ones who do not pay off their mortgages." 

 Says Humboldt, " Here on the sides of these tower- 

 ing and forbidding mountains we find the most fertile 

 and beautiful miniature farms, nestling in little valleys 

 or on plateaus. Indeed, I heard today of a man falling 

 out of his farm and being seriously injured. He ven- 

 tured too near the edge. These Swiss gardens with 

 their prosperous and intelligent owners are only pos- 

 sible through the fact that the owners keep all the cows 

 and poultry that can comfortably exist on the acres. 

 The peasants sell butter, cheese and eggs, instead of 

 grain and vegetables exclusively. They give back to 

 the earth all that they take from it, so in the course of a 

 hundred years a fine soil evolves that supports valu- 

 able animals, including valuable men ; choice fruit, 

 flowers and birds appear, and we have what we are 

 pleased to call Christian civilization. It is not for me 



^to quibble about terms, but civilization is not neces- 

 sarily Christian, since it is more a matter of economics 

 and natural science than religion." 



Where the climate is fairly propitious, but not so 

 much so but that it compels watchfulness, economy 

 and effort, man will work, and to aid him in his work 

 he utilizes domestic animals. And the act of domesti- 

 110 



