"They feed their own crops and large amounts of imported food stuffs, and utilize all fertilizing materials thus provided for the improvement of their own lands. Legume crops are grown in great abundance and are often plowed under to help the land.
"Do you wonder why the wheat yield in England is more than thirty bushels per acre while that of the United States is less than fourteen bushels? Because England produces only fifty million bushels of wheat, while she imports two hundred million bushels of wheat, one hundred million bushels of corn, nearly a billion pounds of oil cake, and other food stuffs, from which large quantities of manure are made; and, in addition to this, England imports and uses much phosphate and other commercial plant food materials.
"Germany imports great quantities of wheat, corn, oil cake, and phosphates, and thus enriches her cultivated soil, and Germany's principal export is two billion pounds of sugar, which contains no plant food of value, but only carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, secured from air and water by the sugar beet.
"Denmark produces four million bushels of wheat, imports five million bushels of wheat, fifteen million bushels of corn, fifteen million bushels of barley, eight hundred million pounds of oil cake, eight hundred million pounds of mill feed, and other food stuffs, phosphate, etc., and exports one hundred and seventy-five million pounds of butter, which contains no plant food of value, but sells for much more than these imports cost.
"Italy applies to her soils every year about a million tons of phosphates, which contain nearly twice as much phosphorus as is removed from the land in all the crops harvested and sold from the farms of Italy.
"The very good yields of the crops of New England are attributable to large use of fertilizing materials, in part made from food stuffs shipped in from the West; and the high development of certain lands of Europe and New England has been possible under the system followed only because the areas concerned are small. Thus, the average acreage of corn in Rhode Island and Connecticut is less than three townships, or less than one-tenth as much corn land in the two States as the area of single counties in the Illinois corn belt.
"Did you ever hear of the 'Egypt' we have out West, Miss West?"
"Out West, Miss West," she repeated. "That is too much repetition of the same word to make a good sentence. I like 'Miss Adelaide' better; I do get tired of hearing West and Westover over and over. Yes, I have heard of the 'Egypt' you have out West. Is it near Illinois?"
"Near Illinois? Why, Miss Adelaide, I am surprised that you should even know about the crop yields of Rhode Island and not know where 'Egypt' is. Let me inform you that 'Egypt' is in Illinois, and our 'Egypt' is a country as large as thirteen states the size of Rhode Island. Cairo is the Capital, and Alexandria, Thebes, and Joppa are all near by. Tamm and Buncombe, and Goreville and Omega are also among our promising cities of 'Egypt,' although you may not so easily associate them with the ancient world."
"Well I know where Cairo is," Adelaide replied, "but if your 'Egypt' is on the map you will have to show me. I know now that 'Egypt' is in Southern Illinois, but how do you separate 'Egypt' from the rest of the State?"