AMERICAN Agriculture, 
433 
As I have said before, the agricultural outlook in America is an 
inviting and prosperous one. There is plenty of work to be done. 
W e own our own farms; we are surrounded by an active, energetic 
and intelligent business, commercial and manufacturing people, 
and our own prosperity will be in proportion to the energy, skill 
and intelligence we put into our work. We shall not confine our¬ 
selves to raising wheat and corn, pork and beef. Many will do 
this. But others will raise products which require more capital and 
skill, and afford larger profits. 
Our first object must be to make our farms cleaner and richer. 
Draining when necessary, and thorough cultivation, especially on 
the heavier soils, are the first steps. The real source of fertilizing 
matter is the soil. Draining and cultivation render a portion of 
the plant food, which lies dormant in the soil, available. Mr. Lawes 
has raised fifteen bushels of wheat every year for over thirty years, 
without manure, the grain and straw being all removed. In other 
words, on his heavy lands, cultivation renders enough plant food 
available every year for fifteen bushels of wheat and straw. This 
is the normal yield of his soil. On lighter and poorer soils, the 
normal annual supply of plant-food would not be so much, and on 
richer alluvial soils it is often much greater. But whatever the ex¬ 
act amount, it is evident that this annual supply is the real manurial 
income of the farm. Our object must be to use this annual income 
to the best advantage. If we sell all our crops we live up to our 
income, and the farm gets no richer.. And if we lose any by leach¬ 
ing or evaporation,the soil becomes to that extent poorer. If we 
retain half the crop at home on the farm, and use it judiciously, we 
add so much to our manurial capital. 
Many of our farmers sow land to wheat and seed it down with 
clover. They then plow under the clover and sow wheat again. 
In this way they raise a crop of wheat every other year, and, theo- 
retically,^ if the normal yield, or the annual supply of plant-food, is 
equal to fifteen bushels of wheat per acre, the yield, in such a case, 
every other year, should be thirty bushels to the acre. You get no 
more wheat in one case than in the other, and the only advantage 
is the saving in seed, and in the labor of preparing for and harvest¬ 
ing the crop. I admit that these are very great advantages. Sum¬ 
mer fallowing on some soils would have equal advantages. But I 
have not time to dwell on this part of the subject. I have said that, 
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