Land, then, is not merely soil; it is a fountain of energy flowing through a circuit of soils, plants, and animals. – Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest. – Douglas William Jerrold, about Australia, A Land of Plenty

We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot. – Leonardo da Vinci