150 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



From the (London) Library of Useful Knowledge. 



A GLOUCESTERSHIRE HILLFARM. COMMUNI- 

 CATED BY MR. JOHN MORTON, CHESTER- 

 HILL. 



Introductory Remarks.— On the formation and 

 general character of soils. 



Soil is formed by the mixture of decayed vege- 

 tables with the surface of the earth, and is clayey 

 or sandy in proportion to the quantities of clay 

 or sand with which the vegetable matter or mould 

 is mixed. It difiers irora the subjacent soil or sub- 

 soil, according to the quantity of vegetable matter 

 which it contains : but it partakes of the nature of 

 the sub-soil. When the soil rests upon rock, it is 

 supposed to have been gradually formed by the 

 decomposition of the rock on which it rests. The 

 nature of the soil will, therefore, partake of the 

 nature of the rock. And whether the sub-soil is 

 rock, gravel, sand or clay, the soil above it partakes 

 of the same nature and properties in a greater or 

 less degree. If the sub-soil is rock, the soil par- 

 takes of the nature and properties of that rock 

 whether it is calcareous, silicious, or clayey. In 

 like manner, if the sub-soil is a calcareous clay, a 

 gravelly clay, or a sandy gravel, such is the soil ; 

 it is silicious, calcareous or clayey, as the sub-soil 

 is. The nature of the sub-soil may, therefore, be 

 easily known from the nature of the subjacent rock 

 or sub-soil.* 



The connexion that subsists between the soil 

 and the subjacent rock or sub-soil is, in our opinion, 

 of great importance, and would form the best 

 foundation lor a classification of soils, as conveying 

 some idea of the nature and quality of the mate- 

 rials of which the soil is composed. 



Sub-soil may either be of a compact, and reten- 

 tive nature, preventinir the rain or water that may 

 come upon it from percolating through it, — such 

 as clay, till, lias, limestone, and some other kinds 

 of rock ; or it may be of a loose, friable, and porous 

 texture, — such as gravel, sand, and open rubbly 

 rock. In the former case, it is easily affected by 

 the alternations of dry and wet weather, and if 

 near the surlace, is of little value for the production 

 ol corn; in the latter, if also near the surface, the 

 moisture of the soil is easilv exhausted by heat 

 and drought, and the plants burn, as it is called, or 

 decay (or want of nourishment. 



A shallow soil is soon afiected by the nature and 

 texture of the sub-soil ; and the greater its depth 

 it is the less so, and, therefore, the better calculat- 

 ed for the purposes of cultivation. 



Soils are, therefore, afiecied not oily by their 

 own depth, but also by the texture and quality 

 of their sub-soils. The best sub-soil is that which is 

 dry, friable, and porous. 



General character of the oolitic formation. 



The geoloiry of the kingdom is now so well 

 known; and the direction and boundary oi'each of 

 the formations so well defined, that a selection of 

 farms alonj; the line of each of the several forma- 

 tions, would not only be the most scientific and 



* An exception, however, must be made of alluvial 

 soils, or such as have been conveyed from a distance, 

 iti the case of which the above correspondence be- 

 tween the soil and sub-s^^til docs not fiold— at loast uni- 

 versal! v. 



comprehensive mode of proceeding with giving "a 

 detailed view of the principal agricultural systems 

 of England," but also by liir the most useful to the 

 practical agriculturi:?!. Were accounts given of 

 the different modes of culture practised on the 

 different formations, and classed together according 

 to the individual lijrniations they describe, the stu- 

 dent, in search of practical kno\*rledge, would have 

 the advantage of being enabled at once to refer to a 

 variety of modes of inanagemtyit, pursued on the 

 same sub-soil and nearly the same soil, and to 

 select that which might seem the best adapted to 

 his own particular case. 



The principal feature of the county of Gloucester 

 is the western boundary of the Cotswold hills, 

 which is formed by the outer edge of the oolitic 

 rock. In it there are a number of recesses, exhi- 

 biting a great variety of forms, and giving to the 

 landscape of the county its peculiar character. 

 These recesses opening into (he great valley of the 

 Severn, finely ramified, and extending a consi- 

 derable way into the table-land, form deep, and 

 beautiliil valleys. These deep valleys, and the 

 uniform inclination of the sides of the hills, give its 

 beautiful and picturesque scenery to the county of 

 Gloucester. These hills are very sleep on the west 

 side, but form a table-land or fall very gradually on 

 the east. On this table land the Thames and the 

 Isis take their rise, and wander eastward upwards 

 ofa hundred miles, before they reach the level of the 

 tide ; while in the west, the Severn, with its rapid 

 tide, flows within about five miles of the edge of the 

 hills, and, at the shortest distance, within fifteen 

 miles of Thames' head. The Cotswold district 

 is bounded on the west by the edge of the hilLs, 

 and may be said to extend from near Bath to 

 Moreton in the Marsh, varying in breadth from 

 five to twenty miles. The sub-soil of this district 

 being calcareous rubble, lying on the oolitic rock, 

 (termed, provincially, Bath or fireestone,) which is 

 also calcareous, is open and dry, and readily per- 

 mits the water to pass through it. The soil seems 

 to be formed from the decomposition of the rock on 

 which it lies, and partakes of its calcareous nature. 

 It is loamy, shallow, and full of stones, seldom al- 

 lowing the plough to enter more than four or five 

 inches below the surface. 



The eastern side of the Cotswold is comjtosed of 

 corn-brash, or forest-marble, which lies above the 

 oolitic rock, and consists of beds of limestone, gene- 

 rally very thin, and divided by partings of calca- 

 reous clay, lying between strata of calcareo-sili- 

 cious sandstone. Its beds are thin'and slaty. Some- 

 times, however, beds two or three feet thick may 

 be found. It is composed of dark-colored shells, 

 interspersed with white oolitic particles. It is 

 generally used as a coarse roofing slate, and as 

 flagstone ; but the more solid and thick beds are 

 sometimes used as a coarse marble, being varie- 

 gated by its imbedded shells. 



The soil on the corn-brash or forest-marble is 

 more tenacious in its nature, and generally of better 

 quality than that on the oolitic or freestone. Thin 

 wet clays, however, of the most worthless kind, 

 are fiequently to be met with on it, rotting sheep, 

 if pastured on them, and seldom, if ever, repaying 

 the expense ofcultivation, if ploughed. Although 

 the soil on the corn-brash contains a portion of 

 silicious sand in its calcareous clay, it is of a bind- 

 ing and tenacious nature, clinging to the feet in 

 [ wet, and baking into hard lumps in dry weather ; 



