"Twenty-five bushels of wheat per acre," repeated Percy, half to himself. "The total supply of phosphorus still remaining in the plowed soil would be sufficient for only twenty more crops like that. Two hundred years of such crops would require 1600 pounds of phosphorus, making nearly 1800 pounds at the beginning, if it all came from the plowed soil. That is one and a half times as much as is now contained in our common corn belt prairie land."
"More stuff in our land than in yours, did you say?" questioned the old man. "I told you we had pretty good soil here, but I've always allowed your soil was better, but maybe not. I tell you manure lasts on this land. You can see where you put it for nigh twenty years. Then we rest our land some and that helps a sight, and if the price stays up we make good money on tobacco. I'm sorry your land is getting so poor out West, especially if you can't raise tobacco. Ever tried tobacco, Young Man?—gosh, but you remind me of one of them Government fellows who came driving along here once when Bob and his brothers were plowing corn right here about three years ago. Bob's my tenant's nigger, and he ain't no fool either, even if he is colored; but then, to tell the truth, he ain't much colored. Well, I was sitting under a tree right here smoking and keeping an eye on the niggers unbeknownst to them when one of them Government fellows stopped his horse as Bob was turning the end, and says he to Bob:
"'Your corn seems to be looking mighty yellow?'
"'Yes, suh,' says Bob. 'Yes, suh, we done planted yellow corn.'
"'Well, I mean it looks as though you won't get more than half a crop,' says he.
"'I reckon not,' says Bob. 'The landlord, he done gets the other half.'
"With that the fellow says to Bob:
"'It seems to me you're mighty near a fool.'
"'Yes, suh,' says Bob, 'and I'm mighty feared I'll catch it if I don't get a goin'.'
"The fellow just gave his horse a cut and drove on, but I liked to died. He'd been here two or three times pestering me with questions about raising tobacco. Say, you ain't one of them Government fellows, are you? They were travelling all around over this county three years ago, learning how we raised tobacco and all kinds of crops. They had augers and said they were investigating soils, but I never heard nothing of 'em since. Have you got an auger to investigate soils with?"