4 WORN-OUT SOIL. 3/1 



land, than attempt it himself on a large scale. To clear a 

 farm out of the midst of the forest, by personal exertion, 

 requires such an iron constitution and strength of arm as few 

 British agriculturists of middle age possess. Many individuals 

 who make the attempt excavate a small space, that may be 

 termed an hospital, which ultimately becomes their graveyard. 



I experienced disappointment at crops on newly cleared 

 land being so indifferent, having been led to suppose they 

 were generally too luxuriant. Believing every vegetable 

 substance to be composed of the same elements, and reduce- 

 able by decay, so as to enter into new combinations, I fancied 

 the soil the very essence of fertility, from having been enriched 

 with the decaying leaves of many centuries. If all the woody 

 fibre of the forest and vegetable mould which covers the sur 

 face could be at once decomposed, my anticipated fertility 

 would be realized. But in burning the trees, fire passes over 

 the entire surface, and consumes almost every particle of 

 vegetable matter. The agency of fire, joined to the imperfect 

 tilling of the soil, will sufficiently account for the want of 

 luxuriance in first crops, which may generally be considered 

 a fortunate circumstance, when a free circulation of air is pre 

 vented. 



Settlers have often been cautioned against purchasing what 

 is termed worn-out soil, timbered land being preferable. This 

 appears to me to be one of the many deceptions used to 

 entrap the unwary emigrant into the wilderness. I have 

 already observed the first crops are not luxuriant after clearing 

 the forest. The first wheat crop is, however, the best one 

 until the stumps decay, when the soil will afterwards improve 

 with good management. The most productive wheat crops, 

 combining quantity and quality, are found on the oldest 

 cultivated soils. Much soil hath been abandoned to nature 

 after being cleared, not owing, however, to its having become 

 exhausted, but to its natural inferiority. It is better to restore 

 the most exhausted soil than clear forest land of the same 

 quality. Nature never becomes exhausted, and the farmer 

 has only to do his part in order to obtain her bounty. 



In course of my tour in North America, I was particular in 

 my enquiries regarding mildewed wheat, knowing how destruc- 



