GENESIS OF THE SOIL AND ITS POSSIBILITIES 193 



merely a general one. We may say in a general way 

 that corn flourishes best on soils of the third class, and 

 that it probably is mostly produced there, and wheat 

 on the first and the third classes, more probably being 

 produced on the first class. But individual soils of the 

 second class are even more fertile than those found in 

 either the first or the third. 



" A notable example of the soils of the second class 

 is found on the table-lands of eastern Oregon and 

 Washington; the underlying rock is volcanic, which by 

 its decomposition has given rise to a soil of very great 

 fertility and of easy tillage. The experience of the 

 Old World with volcanic soils about the Mediterranean 

 and in the Rhine region, some of which soils have vine- 

 yards of great age upon them, indicates that these soils 

 of eastern Oregon and Washington will retain their 

 fertility for a great period, and it is probable will ulti- 

 mately support a dense population and produce a great 

 variety of agricultural products. This area is now 

 rapidly gaining as a wheat region. Barley and oats 

 grow well, and are of most excellent quality, but the 

 climate is unfavorable to Indian corn." 



FURTHER DETAILS OF CLASSIFICATION. 



I have given above some of the general principles 

 of the classification of soils, but not in sufficient detail 

 for the information of the farmer seeking knowledge 

 on this important question. In regard to their method 

 of deposition soils are divided into five classes: 



1. Those which are formed from the decomposition 

 of crystalline or sedimentary rocks or of unconsolidatcd 

 sedimentary material in situ. 



2. Those which have been moved by water from the 

 place of their original formation and deposited by sub- 



