THE FARM A WORKSHOP 141 



put them there. New land usually has a good supply of 

 plant-food. Land which has been used for many years 

 must have fertilizers added to it, if it is to produce good 

 crops. Plant-food is chiefly phosphorus, potash, and 

 nitrogen, although there are many other materials which 

 are needed in small quantities. 



All other kinds of business depend upon the farmers 

 to whom we must look for our food of all kinds except 

 fish. The farmer has opportunities in his business which 

 are far greater than those found in other lines of work. 

 He can, by experimenting, produce new fruits and vege- 

 tables, as well as improve those which we already have. 

 He is a producer, that is, he gives to the world something 

 which the world did not have before. Most of the other 

 kinds of business take what has been produced from the 

 earth and only make from it something which is of use. 

 While all kinds of business tend to make the world a 

 pleasanter place in which to live, the farmer is the only 

 business man who actually makes the world richer for 

 his labor. 



55. Tilling the Soil. 



When we consider the farm a workshop in which 

 plant-food is changed into plants, and fruits, and vege- 

 tables, we must remember that plants require a large 

 amount of water, and take care that they receive it. We 

 learned in Section 48 that if rain fell upon bare ground 

 it all would run off rapidly and wear the soil away. 

 Where the land is level the run-off is not nearly as great 

 as upon a hillside, but so much runs off that the soil does 

 not receive enough to supply the needs of the plants. Tf 



