SUMMER MEETING, 1882. 57 



tinguishing peculiarities except her dense forest trees, both decideous and 

 evergreen, yet these would show to an observing mind the richness and adapta- 

 bilitv of our soils. The thousands of bushels of fruit of dilTorent kinds that 

 pass from our shore add proof of the fertility of our lands. 



The constituents of these soils vary greatly. Frequently within a few feet 

 this variation becomes manifest by the changes in the growth of the timber 

 and vegetation. In accordance with the theory that particular kinds and va- 

 rieties of fruit require for their successful cultivation different soils, this then 

 would be an advantage. Some kinds requiring heavy, and others light soils, 

 some varieties require dry, while others do better on damp, cold soils. For 

 this reason we can say that nature has admirably arranged them. For here 

 the fruit-grower may raise a variety of fruits that ripen at different periods, 

 thus enabling him to distribute his labor and realize the profits of different 

 markets. This diversity of soils is peculiar to our state, and more espec- 

 ially to the fruit belt, for in no part of the country do we find the surface so 

 diversified. It is not uncommon to find one portion clay loam, another por- 

 tion sandy loam, while some may be nearly all sand. 



These combinations and variations constitute a soil unsurpassed for fruit- 

 growing. Xearly all the fruit that can be grown in a temperate climate seems 

 to find a home in our peninsula. This fact alone would prove very conclusive- 

 ly to any fruit-grower tiiat our lauds are preeminently adapted to successful 

 fruit-raising. 



Agricultural chemistry teaches us that the fertility of soils depends largely 

 upon the relative ingredients of the soil; that is, all the elements necessary to 

 plant growth, such as potash, soda, lime, magnesia, which are generally called 

 alkalies ; the acids of sulphur, phosphorus, and silex, or our common sand ; and 

 the neutrals, such as chlorine, oxide of iron, and oxide of manganese. 

 These are the earthy matters, but the greater part of the food of the plant is 

 taken from the carbonic acid of the atmosphere. 



Indeed, we have more than this. The surface is covered to a great depth 

 with earth, scientifically called drift, a mass of earth that has been formed by 

 the breaking up and grinding together of rocky masses (during glacial period) 

 until they have become pulverized and mingled together into a more or less 

 homogeneous mass of sand, clay, and gravel, mixed in with shells consisting of 

 carbonate of lime. It is from the latter that the lime of our soils originated. 



As we travel along the lake shore, we find many places where the sands, 

 even on the steep hill-sides, are so porous that the heavy rain-falls do not wash 

 or gulley the surface. On these steep banks can be found large maples mixed 

 in with many other trees and shrubs. This most certainly indicates that 

 there is something very remarkable about these light soils along the lakes and 

 for many miles in the interior. Plums and such fruit that do not do well on 

 sandy soils in other sections, have never failed to give a prodigious yield with 

 ns. This fertility is largely owing to the permeability of the soil. To be per- 

 meable is to be porous. 



In coarse gravel and sand the water runs through them very rapidh^, carry- 

 ing a large part of nutriment of the soil with it, and as a natural result it 

 renders the land worthless, for the plant is unable to find sufficient food to 

 sustain it in tlie growth. 



Generally the soils in this vicinity are finely divided, more of an alluvial 

 deposit than of an ordinary soil. For millions of years this lake formation, 

 which is indeed very similar to what takes place in great river basins, has been 



