every cog and wheel

If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.
--Aldo Leopold, 1938

Posted on November 4, 2015 08:49 PM by ellen5