Soil-Makers 39 



feathered fowls, not classed as * game,' which yet form 

 part of the live stock for which nature grows the varied 

 crops of the ' great farm.' 



The soil of the chalk-downs is like that of the granite 

 table-lands in one respect, that it is derived chiefly 

 from the rock beneath, and has had little advantage of 

 intermixture with others ; but — and this makes a vast 

 difference — the underlying chalk absorbs water readily, 

 like a sponge, so that bogs have no chance of forming. 

 The downs grow excellent pasture, and are especially 

 adapted for sheep-farming; but if people will plough 

 up the soft fine herbage of nature's providing and try 

 to grow corn and turnips instead, they must not be 

 surprised if they get poor crops in return for much 

 labour. The soil wants mixing before they can be 

 grown to much purpose ; and since the other minerals 

 necessary are not upon the spot, the farmer must fetch 

 them from a distance before he can grow a satisfactory 

 crop — and this is expensive. 



But nature has labourers at her command who can 

 do what the farmer can never accomplish, no matter 

 what his wealth and appliances. Nature's soil has been 

 transported wholesale, not once only, but over and over 

 again, and has become so much mixed in the process 

 that no soil is absolutely pure, even though it be pro- 

 duced by the crumbling down of one kind of rock only. 

 For every rock that meets our eyes was formed from 

 others more ancient still. 



Most of the richest soils of the world have been 

 mixed, either by the work of rivers, or by that of other 

 labourers to be considered by-and-by. And besides 

 being mixed, they have in many cases been transported ' 

 from situations where they were comparatively useless, 



