CORN NOT INCREASED BY FARM-YARD MANURING. 231 



and by these, as a matter of course, the helpless are ex- 

 pelled from the inheritance of their forefathers. 



As an animal cannot care for himself, the law of 

 nature takes care of him, and is his master ; but not so 

 with man, who, if he understands the intentions of God 

 in his creation, is master of the law of nature, which 

 yields to him a complete and willing obedience. The 

 animal brings into the world his perceptions and in- 

 stincts, which grow up with his growth, and without 

 any effort of his own ; but to man the Creator gave 

 the gift of reason, and this distinguished him from the 

 brutes. This is the divine talent, which he should put 

 out to interest, and of which it is said, ' He that hath, 

 to him shall be given ; but from him that hath not, 

 shall be taken away even that which he hath.' It is 

 only the interest procured by means of this ' talent ' 

 that gives man power over the forces of the earth. 



Error arising from want of knowledge is Excusable, 

 for no one adheres to it after recognising its existence ; 

 and the struggle between error and dawning truth arises 

 from the natural striving of men for knowledge. In 

 this contest truth must grow stronger, and if error pre- 

 vails, this only proves that truth has yet to grow, not 

 that error is truth. 



At all times the ' better ' has always been the ene- 

 my of the ' good ; ' but men do not comprehend for all 

 that why, in so many cases, ignorance is the enemy of 

 reason. 



There is no profession which for its successful prac- 

 tice requires a larger extent of knowledge than agricul- 

 ture, and none in which the actual ignorance is greater. 



The farmer who practises the system of rotation, 

 depending exclusively upon the application of farm-yard 

 manure, needs very little observation, nay only to open 

 his eyes, in order to be convinced, by innumerable proofs, 

 that whatever may have been the outlay of labour and 

 industry applied to the production of farm-yard manure, 

 his fields have not been thereby increased in the power 

 of bearing crops. 



If farm-yard manure was actually able to render a 



