122 OBSERVATIONS ON SOILS. 



amateur, yet, we humbly think, often in such a way as must baffle 

 his skill and perseverance to compound them. Were all the various 

 earths and manures mentioned in many horticultural works really 

 necessary for good cultivation, we would, at once, say to amateurs of 

 limited means, give it up ; for the time and expense necessary to 

 collect them will leave no balance of satisfaction behind. But we 

 believe that this is by no means the case; nay, we affirm, that 

 without one tithe of the dirty compounds often recommended, equal, 

 if not superior articles, may be produced. 



In speaking of soil, we shall first consider its mechanical construc- 

 tion, and, again, its nutritive qualities. One great use of the soil is 

 to afford the roots of plants permanent fixture, and from whence they 

 may draw supplies of nourishment for their existence. In cultivating 

 plants great regard must be paid to the form of the roots ; and this 

 in a greater degree when they are cultivated in pots. For the sake 

 of clearness we shall divide plants into two divisions ; the one having 

 a mass of fine fibry roots ; the other having a branching root of 

 greater substance. Now any one can perceive that, to place a plant 

 of the former division in a close adhesive soil, it will never be able to 

 penetrate and extend its sponglits ; and it is through them, that all 

 nourishment is received into the plant; they remain a pent-up 

 mass ; and, when water reaches them, it is not to disengage and 

 liquify their proper food. By its sluggish motion through the soil it 

 rots, instead of feeds them. This is no theory, but a fact that may 

 be seen and understood. No nutriment in the soil is of any avail 

 unless the soil be of that open consistence that the roots can freely 

 run through it without too much resistance; and, moreover, in this 

 state it has no communication with the air to keep it fresh ; this also 

 hastens the decay of the roots. Again, place a plant of the latter 

 division in this soil, and, from the extension of its stronger roots, it 

 displaces and opens the soil, making way for its fibres. Plants with 

 roots of this description have a tendency to open the soil, and make 

 it porous; and, owing to the fewness of its fibres, it requires a soil of 

 greater resistance to afford it sufficient fixture. 



From this we infer, that plants having a mass of delicate fibry 

 roots, as heaths, epacris, &c., must be provided with a soil of a 

 nature sufficiently open that the roots may be at liberty to run freely 

 through it in all directions. In this condition, air and water find a 



