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THE  EDWARDS  MFC.  CO. 
923-973  Pike  St.  Cincinnati,  0. 
The  Life  Principle  in  the  Soil 
Answering  a  correspondent  on  page  993 
you  say  some  things  are  not  easily  ex¬ 
plained.  Almost  40  years  ago  I  spent 
some  weeks  on  the  diked  lands'  of  New 
Brunswick,  at  the  head  of  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  the  most  wonderful  section  of 
country  I  was  ever  on.  There  they  raise 
a  dike  and  shut  out  the  tide,  and  when 
dry  enough  pick  up  the  debris  and  make 
shallow  ditches  to  drain  in  sections  about 
three  rods  wide  and  40  to  60  long.  Of 
course  these  ditches  lead  into  deeper  ones 
until  the  fan  dam  is  met,  which  lets  out 
the  surplus  water.  Then  there  comes 
in  a  spiral'  shaped  grass,  such  as  we  see 
when  a  well  is  dug  and  the  earth  brought 
from  the  bottom  and  spread  out,  and  fol¬ 
lowing  this  a  broad  leaf  sickle  edged  grass 
something  the  same  as  you  found  when  a 
boy  on  the  marshes.  Then  the  third 
year  came  in  clover,  a  solid  mat,  cover¬ 
ing  acre  on  acre,  and  following  this  the 
Timothy,  one  coming  and  other  going 
every  few  years.  The  evenness  and  vol¬ 
ume  was  what  surprised  me,  and  to  my 
friend  I  suggested  the  completeness  of 
the  seeding.  His  reply  was  “There  was 
no  seeding,”  and  when  I  suggested  the 
winds  and  the  birds  he  looked  at  me  with 
a  strange  expression  and  said :  “Do  you 
believe  that  this  field  was  seeded  so  uni¬ 
formly  and  completely  by  birds  or 
winds?”  and  then  came  the  theory  of 
the  life  principle  in  the  soil  waiting  only 
favorable  conditions.  A  Canadian  has 
written  a  book  covering  the  same  theory, 
and  it  presents  strong  arguments.  Is  it 
possible  that  here  is  the  solution  of  the 
coming  and  going  of  plant  and  tree  life? 
Is  it  possible  that  seeds  can  live  in  a 
moist  soil  and  not  germinate?  That  same 
year  I  was  on  a  large  tract  which  until 
two  years  before  had  been  scraped  yearly 
for  the  clay  for  the  brick  yard,  and  while 
that  clay  was  as  hard  as  a  rock  almost, 
yet  in  two  years  time  the  clover  was  a 
solid  mat  over  the  whole.  Did  the  birds 
and  winds  bring  the  seeds  there?  I  wish 
you  could  tell  me  for  a  fact,  because  I 
am  stumbling  on  lessons  daily  where  I 
am  lost  in  the  maze,  and  find  I  can  only 
go  so  far  and  must  wait.  Out  of  my  own 
experience  1  am  being  led  to  believe  in 
the  theory  that  all  life  exists  and  waits 
only  favorable  atmospheric  and  climatic 
conditions  to  come  forth.  You  see  I  am 
an  evolutionist,  and  as  life  came  forth 
in  the  olden  time  in  answer  to  the  call, 
and  the  needs  of  the  times,  so  new  forms 
are  coming  forth,  not  out  of  nothing  but 
out  of  the  fulness  of  the  providence  of 
God.  Just  as  He  planted  in  the  soil  all 
the  elements  for  the  feeding  of  tree  and 
plant  .and ‘crops  for  all  time,  <and  wisely 
saved  from  destruction  by  putting  in 
forrrtvwhere  it  could  only  be  dissolved  and 
changed  by  the  introduction  of  other 
forms  of  life,  thereby  saving  for  all  time 
the  inherent  power  of  these  elements,  why 
not  believe  that  He  also  placed  in  the 
same  soil  the  inherent  life  principle  wait¬ 
ing  for  generations  to  open  the  door  for 
its  forthcoming?  Tyndall,  you  know,  be¬ 
lieved  that  all  life  was  in  the  world  to  be 
called  forth  when  conditions  were  favor¬ 
able.  Direct  touch  with  the  soil  has 
given  me  a  deeper  faith  in  the  bigness 
and  broadness  of  the  order  at  the  base 
of  all  things.  So  I  go  about  my  work 
searching  for  the  open  door  out  into 
larger  possibilities.  I  found  it  in  an  old 
run-out  field  where  10  crops  of  hay  had 
been  taken  without  any  return  of  plant 
food.  By  adding  one  ton  of  lime  and 
one  of  raw  rock  to  the  acre  last  year, 
when  seeding,  I  this  year  weighed  in 
four  tons  and  1,241  lbs.  of  choice  clover, 
and  today  there  is  a  solid  mat  promising 
a  heavy  second  crop.  The  come-back  is 
surprising,  but  it  only  proves  what  our 
granite  soils-  are  hungry  for.  My  sur¬ 
prise  is  greater  when  I  remember  that  for 
six  weeks  last  year,  after  seeding,  the  wa¬ 
ter  stood  on  a  good  portion  for  weeks. 
Maine.  g.  m.  twitciiell. 
R.  N.-Y.  -We  confess  that  this  leads 
us  out  into  deep  water  where  we  find  it 
difficult  to  swim. 
Birch  and  Magnolia  From  Seed 
How  do  you  raise  birch  from  seed,  also 
Magnolia  from  seed  or  otherwise?  I 
have  tried  at  different  times  but  did  not 
succeed.  Hi 
Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
Birch  seeds  may  be  gathered  as  soon 
as  mature,  and  sown  in  the  Fall,  or  they 
may  be  stratified  in  a  box  of  sand  over 
Winter,  and  sown  in  Spring.  An  excep¬ 
tion  to  this  is  the  black  birch,  which 
ripens  its  seeds  in  June,  and  they  must 
be  sown  at  once.  They  germinate  very 
quickly,  and  will  be  several  inches  high 
by  Fall.  Birch  seeds  should  he  sown  in 
sandy  soil,  rather  thick,  as  germination 
is  usually  not  very  high.  The  seed  is 
merely  pressed  into  the  ground,  or  very 
slightly  covered,  -and  kept  moist  and 
shady.  The  seedlings  are  transplanted 
when  a  year  old. 
Magnolia  seeds  should  be  sown  as  soon 
as  they  are  ripe,  or  else  stratified  in  sand 
over  Winter  and  sown  in  Spring.  If 
they  are  allowed  to  dry  out  they  are  not 
likely  to  germinate. 
Montgomery Watd  £?©. 
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may  just  as  well  profit  by  the  saving  this  book  offers. 
Over  Fifty  Years’  experience  in  buying  and  manufacturing  has  gone  into  this  book 
— to  secure  for  you  and  your  family  the  lowest  prices  and  t  e  biggest  savings. 
Over  Forty  Million  Dollars’  worth  of  merchandise  has  been  bought  when  prices  were 
lowest,  and  manufactured  especially  for  this  Catalogue. 
Our  World-wide  Search  for  Bargains 
Actually,  our  buyers  have  searched  every  important  market  of  the  world  to  secure 
for  you  these  bargains.  Nothing  has  been  left  undone  to  secure  the  lowest  prices.  And 
in  all  this  work  we  have  never  lost  sight  of  quality. 
To  offer  only  the  kinfi  of  goods  that  is  best  for  you  to  buy,  that  will  give  the  longest 
service,  that  is  our  policy.  We  never  sacrifice  quality  to  make  a  seemingly  low  price. 
Vo«r  Order  will  be  Sh‘ 
shiPPedi n  iZ^arIy  all  ord*durinK 
Promise 
-beW4..d°  b*tt, 
“Ward  Quality’*  Means  Reliable  Goods 
When  you  buy  from  Montgomery  Ward  8s  Co.;  you  get  only  goods  that  will  stand 
inspection  and  use. 
That  has  been  our  principle  for  over  Fifty  Years.  To  sell  only  Dependable,  Service¬ 
able  Goods  at  the  lowest  prices  possible — and  always  your  money  back  if  you  are 
not  satisfied. 
Everything  for  the  Home,  the  Farm  and  the  Family 
FOR  WOMEN:  Our  own  Fashion  Experts,  living  in  New  York,  have  selected  for 
you  the  best  New  York  Styles,  only  the  best.  And  we  offer  these  for  every  member  of 
the  family,  without  the  usual 
“fashion  profits.”  You  will  be  de¬ 
lighted  with  the  big  Woman’s  Sec¬ 
tion  of  this  new  Fall  8b  Winter 
Catalogue. 
FOR.  THE  HOME:  Experts  in 
interior  decoration  have  provided  a 
treat  for  all  women  interested  in 
beautifying  their  homes.  Every¬ 
thing  new  in  furniture,  carpets,  and 
decorations  —  everything  practical 
and  new  in  household  devices; 
everything  needed  for  the  home 
this  book  offers  at  a  big  saving. 
FOR.  THE  FARM:  For  over 
Fifty  Years,  the  American  Farmer 
and  Montgomery  Ward  85  Co.  have 
helped  each  other.  We  have  helped 
and  are  continuing  to  help  by  offer¬ 
ing  everything  for  the  farm  at  the 
lowest  prices :  T ools,  hardware,  tires; 
harness,  everything  a  farmer  uses  is 
offered  at  a  saving. 
FOR.  THE  MEN:  Everything 
for  the  man’s  and  boy’s  personal 
use.  Our  bargains  in  clothing  alone 
make  this  book  invaluable  to  every 
man.  There  is  a  saving  on  every¬ 
thing  a  man  uses  or  wears. 
And  so  we  say  to  you — don’t  you, 
at  least,  miss  the  advantage  this 
book  offers  you.  You  and  your 
family  may  just  as  well  profit  by 
its  saving. 
The  coupon  below  brings  you  this 
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Montgomery  Ward  &  Co. 
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Portland,  Ore.  Fort  Worth 
0/  Our  o  “ecause  a  an  our 
*****  24  hZ  Sre  actua£°r?Zntago 
,  So  you  can  “ra-  lyahl*>Ped 
Ward  & Co  °'dcr  from  , 
every  tim.  '  and  feel  sure  .?  tgomery 
,n.  ,c«s  thanks  ^°rder  wiII 
W,tbin  24  hour,.  °Urs’  and  frequent 
To 
MONTGOMERY 
WARD  8s  CO. 
Dept.  64-H 
Chicago,  Kansas  City. 
St.  Paul,  Portland,  Ore.. 
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pon  to  the  house  nearest  you.) 
Please  mail  me  my  free  copy  of 
Montgomery  Ward’3  complete 
Fall  and  Winter  Catalogue. 
