ANALYSIS OF SOILS. 51 



crops are greater exhausters than leguminous ; an- 

 other is, that the stems of culmiferous plants be- 

 come hard and flinty, and their leaves dry and yel- 

 low, from the time of flowering till the ripening of 

 the seed, losing their inhaling or absorbing facul- 

 ties, circulating no juices, and living altogether in 

 their roots, and on aliments exclusively derived 

 from the earth ; whereas leguminous or cruciferous 

 plants, as cabbages, turnips, &c., &c., have succu- 

 lent stems, and broad and porous leaves, and draw 

 their principal nourishment from the atmosphere. 

 The remains of culmiferous crops also are fewer 

 and less easily decomposed than those of the legu- 

 minous family. 



8th. Meadows, natural and artificial, yield the food 

 necessary to cattle, and, in proportion as these are mul- 

 tiplied, manure.'! are increased and the soil made better. 

 Another circumstance which recommends meadows 

 is, that, so long as they last, they exact but little 

 labour, and leave the whole force of the farmer to 

 be directed to his arable grounds. 



9th. Grasses are either fibrous or tap-rooted, or both 

 The remarks already made in articles 1, 2, and 3, ap- 

 ply also to them. Timothy, redtop, oat-grass, and 

 rye-grass, succeed best in stiff, wet soils. Sainfoin 

 does well on soils the most, bare, mountainous, and 

 arid ; lucerne and the trefoils (or clovers) only at- 

 tain the perfection of which they are susceptible in 

 warm, dry, calcareous earth. 



10th. The ameliorating quality of tap-rocted plants 

 is supposed to be in proportion to their natural duration ; 

 annual clover (Inpinella) has less of this property 

 than biennial (Dutch clover), biennial less thansain- 

 iom, and sainfoin less than lucerne. 



llth. Any green crop ploughed into the soil has 

 an effect highly improving ; but for this purpose lu- 

 pines and buckwheat (cut when in flower) are most 

 proper. 



12th. Mixed crops (as Indian corn and pumpkins, 

 5 



