fertile fields of the South and West no longer produce rich 

 harvests almost unaided, as they did before. Now they 

 must be fertilized and given careful culture. 



At first one might suppose that this left a poor prospect 

 for our future food supply. It does not; the prospect is 

 as good as ever. It means that the whole plan of the 

 family in regard to its food supply must be changed. 

 What Mother Nature freely provided, almost of herself, 

 she will continue to provide as bountifully as before, but 

 now she must be helped in the work. Hereafter man must 

 study the problem of his food supply and must stand ready 

 to give the aid that Nature needs to insure an abundance 

 of nutritious food. 



Americans have just begun to understand the meaning 

 of the high cost of food. For many years workmen hoped 

 to relieve their condition by demanding higher wages. 

 Step by step wages advanced, but the general food condi- 

 tion did not improve. The larger wages bought no more 

 food than the small wages had. Indeed, frequently they 

 did not buy so much. 



The men on the farms had to feed the men in the factories 

 and in the cities. As the farms became less easy to 

 work, and harvests required greater labor, the number of 

 those in the factories and cities who produced no food be- 

 came greater. Food became scarcer and cost more. Then 

 the men in the factories said, "We cannot live and buy 

 food on the wages we get now. We must have more 

 wages." 



They got more wages. Then the factory owners had to 

 raise the price of the shoes and hats and clothing they 

 made, to pay the higher wages. Soon the farmer found 



