state Convention—rotation of Crops. 
219 
If a man can see hovering over his land, no matter how poor it 
Is, all the elements necessary to give it abundant fertility, he will 
be likely to make some effort to secure a portion as it passes. The 
rain does doubtless bring down a portion of these elements within 
reach of their roots, and every crop will receive an equal portion 
in this way, but with wheat, oats or corn we observe that the 
land will wear out. Clover alone will furnish a profitable crop 
of itself, and still lay by in store a supply for the crops which 
succeed it. I want this to be clearly understood as an induce- , 
ment for sowing clover. It is our only fertilizing crop. Any one 
seeing this can see the prosperity of a short rotation on land that 
is already worn. I am talking in the interest of such land, and 
shall advocate and practice a short rotation until my land is so 
improved as to exhibit abundant ability to carry a longer one. 
All the crops between the clover are exhaustive—that alone, is 
restorative; and at the same time it may afford as much annual 
profit as any crop we raise. 
One of the results of scientific researches is the discovery of 
wonderful systems of compensation in nature's operations. The 
flowing of our springs and rivers ’would in a single season drain 
our continent and leave it a desert, but we see the air constantly 
taking water from its great reservoirs ; the wind is sweeping it over 
the earth’s surface, where it falls in the rain, thus sustaining the 
flow of our rivers, and slaking the thirst of every living thing. 
It is found that all animal life depends for its existence upon a 
supply of oxygen, which, coming in contact with the impurities 
of the system in the lungs, converts them into gases, so that they 
are expelled in respiration. This process continually performed 
without compensation would, in time, exhaust the supply of oxy¬ 
gen, and animal life would become extinct. This would have 
been the case had a bungler been engaged in the work of creation. 
But we find that the functions of vegetable life are the exact 
counterpart of those of animal life. Plants are continually with¬ 
drawing the carbonic acids and other impurities from the atmos¬ 
phere and breathing into it a fresh supply of pure oxygen for the 
support of animals. 
Again, the indulgence of all animal wants would have a ten¬ 
dency to pile up and withdraw from the great storehouse of na- 
