put into his skinned land just the elements lacking. In short, he gave his
soil a big dose of powders, and we all know the result. If he had given his
farm a pinch of snuff better crops ought to have been sneezed. No chemicals
and land doctors for me, thank you. Beg pardon, Marvin! no reflections on
your calling, but doctorin' land don't seem profitable for those who pay
for the medicine."

They all laughed except Webb, who seemed nettled, but who quietly said,
"Squire, will you please tell us what your house is made of?"

"Good lumber, sir."

"Well, when passing one day, I saw a fine stalk of corn in one of your
fields. Will you also tell us what that was made of? It must have
weighed, with the ears upon it, several pounds, and it was all of six
feet high. How did it come into existence?"

"Why, it grew," said the squire, sententiously.

"That utterance was worthy of Solomon," remarked Dr. Marvin, laughing.

"It grew," continued Webb, "because it found the needed material at hand.
I do not see how Nature can build a well-eared stalk of corn without
proper material any more than you could have built your house without
lumber. Suppose we have a soil in which the elements that make a crop of
corn do not exist, or are present in a very deficient degree, what course
is left for us but to supply what is lacking? Because Mr. Walters did not
do this in the right way, is no reason why we should do nothing. If soil
does not contain the ingredients of a crop, we must put them there, or
our labor goes for nothing".