328 SOIL CONDITIONS AND PLANT GROWTH 



has therefore better power of retaining water and manures, 

 and is more productive and more generally useful. But as 

 the coarse sand exceeds the clay in amount it is still distinctly 

 light ; it responds better to organic than to artificial manures 

 and suffers rather in droughty weather in spite of lying not far 

 above the marshes. It contains 45 per cent of fine sand and 

 therefore tends to cake on the surface after rain and to form 

 steely lumps if worked when wet. Under proper management, 

 however, it produces good crops and is equally suited for 

 ordinary arable and for fruit or potato cultivation. 



The next three soils may be taken as illustrations of the 

 very best loams in the three counties. Silt forms the largest 

 fraction and therefore the soils possess sufficient, but not too 

 great, a power of retaining water. The fine silt is always 

 lower than the clay ; the latter varies between 1 2 and 1 6 per 

 cent., a very satisfactory amount where the rainfall is not too 

 high. As there is a considerable amount of fine sand and no 

 excess of fine silt and clay, the absence of coarse sand is no 

 disadvantage. 



The Tolworth soil is highly productive arable land but 

 almost too heavy for profitable cultivation ; only by dressings 

 of dung (fortunately obtainable cheaply from town) can it be 

 kept workable. It contains rather too much clay and would 

 no doubt have gone down to grass had there not been so 

 much coarse sand present. 



The Shaddoxhurst soil is bad. It contains much clay and 

 still more fine silt, consequently its texture is not improved as 

 much as might be expected by liming. There is practically 

 no coarse sand and not much fine sand to keep the soil open, 

 it has always and deservedly been in bad repute. It is best 

 as pasture land, and, after drainage and treatment with basic 

 slag, it may be made useful but never very good. 



The Ewhurst soils are both in pasture, being too heavy 

 for arable cultivation on account of their high clay and low 

 coarse sand content. The first has the better constitution ; 

 silt is the predominant feature, the clay is not too high, nor is 

 the fine silt. It has all the characteristics of a good, heavy, 



