XXIII. 

 MACHINERY OF THE CLAYS. 



"MATTER is infinitely divisible," says the philoso- 

 pher. " Cultivation consists in pulveration" says 

 Tull. " The greater the comminution of the soil, 

 that is, the exposure of its internal superficies, the 

 greater its power to absorb Ammonia, the essence 

 of manure, from that great storehouse of fertility 

 the atmosphere," says the chemist. "Soils," says 

 the geologist, consist of three elements : Clay, Sand, 

 and Lime ; the more suitably they are inter-combined 

 the more fertile the resulting combination." 



This looks simple enough. Yet in the judicious 

 application of these few truths lie the great practical 

 problems of Husbandry ! All truth is simple : 

 "Simplicity is the test of Truth." Yet, like the 

 three primary colors, "Red," "Yellow," and "Blue," 

 bright, clear, and simple as they are to the eye, how 

 infinite their varieties of combination ; what scope 

 for judgment, or for error, in their admixture, or 

 that of their secondaries ; what ample room for 



