CHAPTER XIV. 
BRINGING EXHAUSTED SOILS BACK TO LIFE 
We have few cotton soils that are really worn-out. 
We merely call them so. We have treated them 
badly; so badly that they have become unre- 
sponsive to our calls. Some of these were good 
once, others were less valuable, but bad treatment, 
cruel neglect, and thoughtlessness of their com- 
fort, have contributed to making them what they 
are to-day. 
What shall we do with them ? 
We can do three things : 
(1) Turn them over to weeds and gullies. 
(2) Make forests out of them. 
(3) Bring them back to productiveness and 
beauty. 
Of course, we have no desire to give them over to 
weeds and gullies. We have already enough of 
each. Weeds come as nature's blessings to those 
abandoned fields, but the gully leaves only ruin 
and desolation to mark its track. 
Perhaps there are many areas where hills and 
rocks abound that might be used to better advantage 
if turned over to forest growth. Timber lands are 
becoming valuable, and with the coming years, 
will be still more valuable. Hence, lands difficult 
of tillage and cultivation might be better employed 
(115) 
