would watch the cows on the fertile high Alpine pastures. The graz-
ing animal gathers the grass stems together in a spiralling move-
ment with its tongue, cutting them with a jerk of its head so as not
to damage the stalks. It then seals the ends of the stalks with its
moist nose to prevent the loss of moisture and energy.
The Alpine farmers needing as much winter fodder as they
could get, would crop the grass sometimes three times in the sum-
mer. Their implement is the much-cherished scythe that delivers a
long, slicing cut, thereby keeping the wound area to a minimum. But
more than that, their method of sharpening the blade imparts to it
an ionizing energy that draws together the damaged fibres and rap-
idly seals the wound.
Those who have lived close to the land for many generations use
Nature as their teacher. These farmers knew that sharpening a
scythe with a stone robs it of its charge of energy. Instead they
would hammer the blade on a block of hardwood which enhanced
the electrical charge. Mounted on a wooden handle, wrapped in
cloth and stored in darkness ensured that it would keep its charge.
Schauberger understood that the Sun's light and heat would dis-
charge a newly sharpened scythe and, for that reason, these farm-
ers would do their blade hammering early or late, and their scything
in the early morning or evening. The accumulated energies could be
seen as minute glowing sparks on the blade, leaping from one ser-
ration to another in the growing darkness of a summer evening.
We have lost this knowledge, and today soil fertility and produc-
tivity are in dangerous decline, ironically, because of the heavy use
of artificial fertilizers as well as misguided techniques.Artificial fertilizers
Contemporary agriculture treats Mother-Earth like a whore and
rapes her. All year round it scrapes away her skin and poisons it with
artificial fertilizer, for which we have to thank a science that has lost
all connection with Nature. Viktor Schauberger^3The pioneer of modern artificial fertilizers was Justus von Liebig
(1803-1873), a German chemist. His research into the elements and
chemicals required by plants for growth found that four principal
minerals were often deficient in agricultural soils. To increase fertil-
ity he advocated the supplementation of calcium (Ca) in the form of
- SOIL FERTILITY AND CULTIVATION