The Soil - Its Nature, Relations, and Fundamental Principles of Management #232851

The rural industries have taken on a new and quickened life in consequence of the recent teachings and applications of science. Agriculture is no longer a mere empiricism, not a congeries of detached experiences, but it rests upon an irrevocable foundation of laws. These fundamental laws or principles are numerous and often abstruse, and they are interwoven into a most complex fabric; but we are now able to understand their general purport, and we can often trace precisely the course of certain minor principles in problems which, a few years ago, seemed to be hopelessly obscure, and which, perhaps, were considered to lie outside the sphere of investigation. Agriculture has developed into a system of clear and correct thinking; and inasmuch as every mans habit of thought is determined greatly by the accuracy of his knowledge, it follows that the successful prosecution of rural pursuits is largely a subjective matter. It is therefore fundamentally important that every rural occupation should be contemplated from the point of view of its underlying reasons. It should be approached in a philosophic spirit.