410 



EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE. 



rays of the sun, are much warmer than those to the north, and. 

 in both cases, the temperature is affected by the angle of incli 

 nation at which the land presents itself towards, or recedes from, 

 the rays of the sun; the steeper it is towards the south the 

 warmer the steeper it is towards the north, for obvious reasons, 

 the colder the temperature. It is well known, in respect to the 

 tenderer fruits such as peaches, for example in high northern 

 latitudes, that the crop is generally more certain on the northern 

 than on the southern side of a hill, for the reason that, the frost 

 continuing longer and more constantly, they come into flower 

 at a later period, and therefore are less liable to the dangers of 

 being repeatedly frozen and thawed, and to be cut off by the 

 late frosts in the spring.* 



LXX. PEATY SOIL. 



There are two other varieties of soil to which I have referred, 

 upon which I shall take leave to make some passing remarks. 

 The first is the peaty soil, which is composed wholly of vege 

 table matter, and is sometimes found of a great depth. It is 

 evidently formed of the deposit and decay of vegetables, and in 

 different stages of decomposition, some being reduced to a fine 

 and compact pulp, which cuts like butter, other being only par 

 tially decayed, arid retaining the original forms of its leaves and 

 stems. If vegetable matter were, as is often reckoned, the best 

 food of plants, it would seem as though no soil could lie so 

 fertile as that of peat. This is not found to be the case, how 

 ever, but for reasons not so well established as the fact. The 

 plants of which peat land is composed have perished under 

 water. It may be said, therefore, that they are rather in a state 

 of preservation than decay, and this is quite obvious from the 

 fact, that the water is required only to be drained out, or dried 

 up in them, and they furnish a fuel equal to wood. &quot; From the 



* &quot; In the country in which 1 reside, it has been remarked, that those portions 

 of land which receive the first rays of the morning 1 sun are more apt to suffer 

 from the effects of white frosts than others, because the sudden transition from 

 cold to heat sensibly affects delicate plants.&quot; French Trans, of Von Thaer. 



