388 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



Rains that are absorbed and sink in the soil, 

 forming: reservoirs of water on the pubsoil, may 

 be considered one of the most favorablt^ indica- 

 tions. 



A gray soil, presenting on i(e surface white 

 quartz, mica and sandstone, is thin and weak, 

 having liule or no subsoil: this is an unfavorable 

 indication. Gray soils, with pale yellow subsoils, 

 generally grow acid plants, as younji pines and 

 sorrels : this is an unfavorable mdication. 



Soils that produce marine and sub-aquatic 

 plants are generally sterile until the earth be- 

 comes drained and pulverized by freezing ; then 

 they become the richest and most productive 

 lands. Soils of a daik yellow color, with a deep 

 red clay subsoil, are considered superior soils. 



Alluvial soils, when they are of a dark color, are 

 valuable. Oats, barley, rye and corn, flourish and 

 grow kindly in this soil. 



From a number of experiments made by Mr. 

 Tillet, he hag proved that the best proportions of 

 a fertile earth for corn are 



Three-eighths of clay, 



Two-eishths of sand, and 



Three-eighths of the fragments of hard stone. 



Wheat delights in a yellow stiff soil, having 

 clay and lime subsoils. 



Tobacco of the finest fibre, and most delicate 

 texture and flavor, is grown on gray soils, hav- 

 ing a pale yellow subsoil of sand, ciay and gravel. 

 Whereas the coarse, large, rich, dark tobaecoes, 

 are found growing on fertile yellow soils resting on 

 a subsoil of red clay. Clover, herda-grase and 

 timothy arrive at great perlection in such soils, 

 more particularly if they are moist.* 



Indications from the growth, 8fc. — A soil must 

 be good, when it puts up luxuriant growth, either 

 in the field or forest; the stems of plants and 

 trunks of trees straight and tall, having many 

 plants and trees of distinct species. 



We find on the richest soils in the United 

 States, viz., in the Mississippi valley and its tri- 

 butary alrcams, the buck-eye, cherry, ash and su- 

 gar maple; with an undergrowth of vines. May 

 apple, puccoon and Indian turnip. Such trees and 

 plants are considered the best test of rich loams in 

 the west. 



The next soil, in fertility, grows walnut, mulber- 

 ry and red bud, with a thick undergrowth o[' pa- 

 paw, spice wood, &c. 



Third. Poplar, locust and sycamore, with an 

 undergrowth of hazle-riul. 



Fourth. Hickory, oak and pine, with nn under- 

 growth of rich weed and angelica. This soil, after 

 cultivation, glows dock, poke, Jajnestown weed, 

 and wire grass-, all of which are considered indi- 

 cationg of rich earth. This was the native growth 

 <if the highlands of Virginia, and her soil origi- 

 nally was perhaps the best in the United Sates. 



Fifth. Oak lands interspersed with heart pine, 



* Chaptal says, "a proper soil is that, 1st. Which 

 affords a sufficiently firm support to prevent the plant 

 from bein;:; shaken. 2d. Which permits the roots to 

 extend themselves to a distance with ease. Sd. Which 

 becomes impregnated with humidity, and retains the 

 water sufficiently, that the plant may not be without it 

 when wanted. To answer these several indications, 

 it is necessary to make a proper mixture of the piimi- 

 tiva earths, for none of them, in particular, possesses 

 them." See Elements of Chemistry, by M. J. A. 

 Chaptal, page 431. 



having an undergrowth of whortleberry, should be 

 rejeeied, the soil is silicious and thin, requiring a 

 constant accession of \vaterand manure. 



Si.xih. Red-oak lands are not rich, but have ge- 

 nerally a clay Ibundalion, and produce wheat 

 kindly. 



Seventh. White-oak lands interspersed with 

 gum are not tote relied on; they are, however, va- 

 luable on account of timber and the quantity of 

 food they aflord (br hoi;s. 



Eifrhlh. Post-oak lands, with an undergrowth 

 of haw, produce fine crops, but when worn they 

 are hard to reclaim. 



Ninth. Chestnut-oak lands are considered ste- 

 rile. 



Tenth. If we are to judce of the soil from its 

 growth, tlie most unfavorable indication is dwarf 

 black-jacks, with dead limbs covered with moss, 

 interspersed witli chinquepin bushes and occasion- 

 ally lightwood knots and stumps of pine. Such 

 lands, when cleared and cultivated, put up pover- 

 ty grass, sassafras bushes and blackberry vines. 



Eleventh. Prairie lands are fertile and valuable 

 in proportion to the depth of soil ; the best and 

 deepest prairie soils are without forest trees, the 

 soil being light, causes the growth to be shaken 

 by winds and prostrated in storms. Or it may be 

 owing to the circumstance that such soils are 

 pealy from luxuriant coats of vegetation, and are 

 unfavorable to the growth of forest trees. Various 

 opinions have been criven us by geolocjists on the 

 subject of prairies ; the most plausible is that those 

 extended fields weie originally lakes or seas, in 

 which vegetable matters were partially decom- 

 posed, and a rich mould left after the waters re- 

 ceded : but they have never given a satisfactory 

 reason why such lands are not clothed with the 

 growth of the forest. Prairie lands are very fer- 

 tile, growing sward, and thickly covered with 

 many species of plants. Generally speaking, all 

 the rich and more nutritious pasture grasses are to 

 be found on prairie lands. 



ONTHEDEANSTON FREQUENT DRAIN SYSTEM. 



As distinguished from and compared with the furrow 

 draining and deep ploughing of the Midland coun- 

 ties of England. In a letterto the Editor. By the 

 Right Honorable Sir James Graham, Bart., M. P., 

 F. R. S., &c. Read Feb. 20, 1839. 



From the Franlclin Farmer. 



A recent inquiry addressed to me by the Lord 

 Spencer, relative to the "Deanston frequent drain 

 svstern," induces me to believe that I may render 

 some service to agriculture, if 1 am so fortunate as 

 to direct the atieniioii of your readers to this im- 

 portant subject at this particular time. 



The great object of our quarterly publication is, 

 as I conct'ive, the establishment of an authentic 

 record of practical experirrients ; and by multiply- 

 ing facts and proofs of this discription agriculture 

 will be treated as a science, and will advance, and 

 the transactions of our society will become the 

 depository of useful information, verified by the 

 name and the address of the several correspond- 

 en's. 



Mr. Smith, of Deanston, in the county of Perth, 

 vyas exarjniped as a witness before the agricultural 



