"'Egypt' is the wheat belt and the fruit belt of Illinois," Percy
continued. "One of the grand old men of Illinois, Colonel N. B.
Morrison, who was for years a trustee of the State University, used
to be called upon for an address whenever he was present at
Convocation. He always stated proudly that he lived in the 'Heart of
Egypt.' He said the soil there was not so rich perhaps as in the
corn belt, but that with plenty of hard work they were able to live
and to produce the finest fruit and the greatest men in America. He
said they had to work both the top and bottom of their soil, and he
explained that they harvested wheat and apples from the top, and
then went down about 600 feet and harvested ten thousand tons of
coal to the acre, and still left enough to support the earth. I have
heard him say that when he was born there was not a mile of railroad
in the United States, and that he had during his own lifetime,
witnessed the practical agricultural ruin of almost whole States. He
used to plead for the University to send some of her scientific men
to help them to solve the problem of restoring the fertility of
their soils down in 'Egypt'; and I am glad to say that finally the
State appropriated sufficient funds so that the Illinois Experiment
Station is rapidly securing the exact information needed to make
those Southern Illinois lands richer than they ever were.

"I spent several days in 'Egypt' last month and I am planning to
make another trip down there next week before deciding definitely
about purchasing our poor land farm. I am not sure but the land of
'Egypt' is as poor as we ought to try to build up considering our
limited means."

"Oh, do you think so? But Papa's land is not so poor is it?"