174 



HARNESSING THE EARTHWORM 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, with rearrangement for pur- 

 poses of illustration. 



1000 POUNDS OF DRY VEGETATION 



From air 

 Carbon (C) .. 

 Oxygen (O) . . 

 Hydrogen (H) 

 Nitrogen (N) 



Pounds~\ A total of 950^ 



. . 443.0 I pounds of elements Protein 



Food classification 



100 pounds 



429.0 ^derived from the ^Carbohydrates . 820 pounds 



61.8 ( air, representing . . Fats 30 pounds 



16.2J j 



From earth 



Potassium (K) . . 16.8 



Silicon (Si) 7.0 



Calcium (Ca) .... 6.2 



Phosphorus (P) . 5.6 



Sodium (Na) .... 4.3 



Magnesium (Mg) . 3.8 



Sulphur (S) 3.7 



Chlorine (Cl) 2.2 



Iron (Fe) 0.4 . 



A total of 50 pounds of the named mineral ele- 

 ments derived from the earth, all entering into 

 or assisting in the manufacture of the above 

 named food materials. While we have not named 

 other trace elements, such as Boron, which con- 

 stitute a minute part of the whole, these trace 

 elements are of tremendous importance and can- 

 not be ignored in arriving at final conclusions. 

 These figures have been given to illustrate and 

 emphasize the part which the sun plays in pro- 

 viding, through photosynthesis, the major part 

 by weight of parent material for the building 

 of topsoil. 



From the foregoing pages, we can see that we will have no 

 shortage of parent materials with which to work and exploit the 

 new and last frontier. We hear the age-old soldier-crusader cry, 

 the eternal questioning cry of conquering man on his upward 

 path, "Where do we go from here?" As the idea takes hold of 

 the constructive mind and creative imagination, the entire surface 

 of the earth becomes a pleasant work-ground. There are no waste 

 places: all is right and useful to the all-seeing and comprehend- 

 ing mind of man. The earth and the fullness thereof becomes 

 a new earth. We see that we can spread the sun- trap of leaf- 

 green in practically all the so-called waste places of the earth, 

 to catch and transform the inexhaustible resources of the air into 

 usable, soil-building material for man. The tropical jungles, with 

 their myriad forms of quick-growing vegetation, insect and ani- 



