Of course you believe that Columbus discovered America, even though you were not with him. If you had been on the deck of his ship when San Salvador raised its head on the rim of the sea, you would be talking about it every day of your life. As it is, your knowledge comes to you through books, and you think you are fortunate if you are able to answer questions correctly on examination. This leads me to remark that there is much more interest in things that we have helped to "make happen" than in things that we read about and that were "made to happen" by some one else. There is a chance for each of you boys and girls, in a way, to become a Columbus. It is true that, not counting the north and south poles, all the continents are discovered, but there is much pleasure and "fun" in discovering facts. I am now speaking from experience. I think that James Buchanan was President when I learned, in such a way that I could explain to others, the principles of a suction-pump. Some of the suggestions led me to make a squirt gun from a bit of elder stalk. Sometimes when I made a demonstration the water would fly in the faces of my audience. I started a squirt gun factory, but the teacher stopped the enterprise because it made too much litter in the school-room. I have a suggestion that will start you on a voyage of discovery. When you have gone as far as you can I wish you would write me, telling what you have learned. Writers of agricultural books sometimes use the expression, "There is fertility in tillage." Is that true? By fertility is meant the power of the soil to furnish plant-food. Fertile soil is "rich" soil. By tillage is meant frequent stirring of the soil. For example, Billy Boy and his chum each have a flower garden side by side of equal size. Each boy sows seeds from the same bag. The same sunshine and the same rains give vigor to each flower-bed alike. Billy Boy spades the soil deep and makes it fine. His chum stirs the top and leaves clods on the surface. With the end of a sharp stick Billy makes a straight drill for the seed. On the bottom of the drill the soil is fine like meal, and the seed is sown with great care and is covered with the finest soil. If the seed is small he makes the soil covering very thin. The last thing he does is to firm the soil by patting it with either his hand or the flat part of a hoe, and he does it in an affectionate way as if he were patting a dog. His chum makes the drill for the seed in a hasty way, leaving in the bottom little clods of earth as large as hickory nuts. He sows the seed as if he were glad to get rid of it, and he covers it as if he wanted it out of sight as soon as possible.