Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1908-02-15
Tells How to Preserve
Fertility Of the Soil
Continued from FIRST page)

NSPe SCiHS 81 iollS OfSL luSIS. 4NOW
/ am going to tell you about It, IL
was in France, one of the best foreign
countries in the world. The people
love the soil. They work right down
in it with their own hands. 1t was near
, Paris that Monsieur Deltour owned a
farm which saw. And we shook our
heads, and smiled all the way from
Paris to the farm. We drove across
the fields, and they were beautiful and
fertile. The farms were small. and
] everywhere the land was pure, and the
families were big. Wheat was taller
than the backs of the oxen. 1t was so
thick that you could throw your hat
out in it and it would be borne up by
the heads. so closely were they set
together. 1t was in the most perfect
of condition. We drove on, and came
to meadow where eight men were
cutting grass with a scythe. never
saw anyone who could swing a scythe
as the Frenchmen could. Following
the men with the scythes. others came
along and tied the grass Together in
small shocks. 1t was red clover, san
foin, and whole lot of alfalfa. All
of it was in bloom, and all was very
beautiful.
Next we came to a beautiful field
where they were hoeing sugar beets.
The leaves were so dark green that
they were nearly black. The little
fellows would bend over, hoeing hard,
They were working by the job, not by
the day. You see, human nature goes
the same, the whole world around.
Beyond the beet fields was a beautiful
little village of little stone houses.
learned that these houses belonged to
the laborers, who worked on the plan
tation. They owned their houses, but
did not own their land. Next, we
came to the castle, where the proprie-
tor himself lived. We drove through
an archway, and came into a large
court, into which faced the farm build
ings. On one side of the court were
stone stables, holding two thousand
sheep. They were in perfect health,
and beautiful. They were eating grain
and clover with the blossom on. Or
the other side were grand stone stables
where there were 125 cows, splendid
great cows. All were eating the same
green clover with the blossoms on. AT
the other end of the court was the res
idence of the old man who owned all
of this. When l was inside, found
the most elegant country house | have
ever seen. There were fine pictures,
beautiful plate glass, mahogany, and
a governess for his little boy. All
the windows he had looked out into the
court. He saw cows coming and 60
ing every day. He saw two thousand
sheep coming out, with the wonderful
man and the wonderful dog coming
with them to sec that they did not go
estray. He saw the big, two-wheeled
carts coming in and going out. He
saw all of these things. and the men
coming and going, but the principal
thing he saw was a pile of manure
The biggest pile of manure have
ever seen in the world. 1t was very
high. and covered over with straw to
keep the ammonia down. He looked
out and said
"See my pile of manure. There is
what feeds all Of these things. There
is the thing that keeps the fields green
and poisoning about my castle walls.
See it grow"
One day when was walking over
this beautiful farm these thoughts
came to me:
"Back in Ohio where you have been
living, scarcely hundred years have
gone by. and you think the life is
worn out of the soil. Here is field
that five hundred years ago was an old
field" Then l gave another thought:
"Not five hundred, but a thousand
years old, and today this noble old
field carries more productivity than
anything in America. 4" Then | said: