SOILS. 19 



feet high, and was beginning to head out, when the plows were set in motion, and the green, 

 juicy rye was turned under and the field planted with corn. The yield was forty-four bushels 

 of No. 1 shelled corn to the acre. There was less labor and expense attending the plowing 

 and sowing of that rye than there would have been to have hauled sufficient manure from 

 my own barnyard, even if I had had the manure to have spread on the land to produce the 

 same quantity of corn that plowing in the rye did. Again, the corn did not require one-half 

 the labor to keep it clean that it would have done had ordinary barnyard manure, full of all 

 kinds of seeds, been spread on the land and plowed in before planting. Rye is the best of 

 all the small grains to clean land from weeds. The late fall and winter feed which the rye 

 furnished to the stock was of more value than the seed sown. 



Some farmers make a practice of sowing rye among their corn in July, just before 

 cultivating the corn the last time. The rye does not make much growth until the corn is ripe 

 and the deadened leaves let the sun on it. After the corn is picked, the cattle are turned in, 

 and thrive on the stalks and green rye. In May, the rye and what is left of the stalks are 

 plowed in, and is said by those who have practiced it to increase the yield of corn ten to 

 fifteen bushels to the acre. There is abundance of evidence that heavy clay lands that have 

 been worn out by successive cropping, can be restored to at least their original fertility by the 

 same process that I have found so beneficial on sandy land.&quot; 



Gravelly Soils. Gravelly soils, being coarser in texture than what are commonly 

 called sandy soils, are peculiarly leachy and permit the escape of manures, both by evapora 

 tion and rapid drainage ; they are therefore not as valuable as sandy soils. Some of the 

 gravelly soils are composed of essentially the same elements as the coarse granites, viz., sand, 

 clay, and potash, with a small percentage of iron, lime, and magnesia. Carbonic acid is found 

 in the air, water, and soils ; when in a state of solution in water it is the principal agent in 

 decomposing the granite rocks and setting free the potash contained in them ; when in large 

 quantities in the soil, or, as chemists say, in excess, it forms bicarbonate of potash, soda, mag 

 nesia, and lime, all being soluble in water. By different processes new compounds are thus 

 formed which constitute the food of plants, and thus the coarser soils are made available for 

 agricultural purposes. Gravelly soils that are in their nature calcareous, or composed of 

 decomposed limestone, are more valuable for tillage than the former, since they have a ten 

 dency to retain more of the elements of plant-food, and are consequently richer and more 

 compact. The poorer gravelly soils are used principally for pasturage, not yielding sufficient 

 returns in crops generally to repay the expense and labor of tillage. 



Loamy Soils. A loamy soil is an intermediate in character between sandy and clayey 

 soils, being lighter and warmer than a clay, and stronger and more retentive than a sandy 

 soil. Most loamy soils contain, in different proportions, silicious sand, clay, carbonate of lime, 

 with more or less oxide of iron, magnesia, and various salts, etc. These soils, when of 

 desirable combination, are generally regarded as among the best for the various agricultural 

 purposes. &quot;When they contain a large per cent, of clay they require, like clay soils, careful 

 drainage , this is especially desirable for . an orchard, otherwise many of the tender varieties 

 would be liable to be winter-killed. In cultivating such soils they should be treated like 

 either clayey or sandy soils in proportion as they approximate nearest to the one or the other 

 of these soils in characteristics. 



Marly and Calcareous Soils. Marly soils contain a mixture of clay and sand with 

 a considerable proportion of carbonate of lime, the latter being a very valuable ingredient as 

 a fertilizer. They are designated as calcareous, clayey, or sandy, according to the preponder 

 ance of one or the other main ingredient. Pure marl, in order to be of much value as a 

 manure, must be rich in carbonate of lime, and sufficiently soft to be excavated by ordinary 

 digging utensils. It is generally formed of the shells of mollusks and other marine animals 



