could easily do by feeding it to your cattle and sheep. That would
bring $18 an acre or six per cent. interest on $300 land. I am
altogether confident that this could be done on your sloping
hillsides, with their rich supplies of phosphorus and other mineral
foods, provided, of course, that you use plenty of ground limestone
and thoroughly inoculate the soil."

"Well, I shall certainly try alfalfa again," said Mr. West, "and if
I can grow such crops of alfalfa as you think on the hillsides, I
can have much more farm manure produced for the improvement of the
rest of the land. By the way what did that chemist find in that
sample you took of the other land where it does not wash so much as
on the steeper slopes."

"He found the following:

1,030 pounds of nitrogen
1,270 pounds of phosphorus
16,500 pounds of potassium
7,460 pounds of magnesium
16,100 pounds of calcium

"Well, the phosphorus is not so low," said Mr. West.

"Fully equal to that in our $150 Illinois prairie," replied Percy,
"and again the calcium is more than ours, with magnesium not far
below, and potassium half our supply. Nitrogen is plainly the most
serious problem on most of this farm, and limestone and legumes must
solve that problem if properly used."