62 THE MECHANICAL ANAL YSIS OF SOILS [chap. 



farmyard manure or town dung are available, straw- 

 berries being a favourite crop. 



Soil No. 2 was taken from the Stackyard field of the 

 farm of the Royal Agricultural Society at Woburn, and 

 represents a light sandy loam, early, and extremely easy 

 to work in any weather. Owing to the preponderance 

 of coarse sand, it suffers somewhat from drought and 

 rarely carries heavy crops ; and though responding well 

 to manuring, the soil is hungry and does not long retain 

 organic manures. The soil contains enough silt to 

 possess a distinct power of lifting the subsoil water by 

 capillarity, and similar soils containing less coarse sand 

 and rather more fine sand and silt are often among the 

 most valuable, because they combine free working 

 with a capacity to resist drought through capillary action. 

 This soil is more suited to market gardening than to 

 mixed farming, makes poor pastures, grows good barley 

 and turnips, but is too light for wheat and mangolds. 



Soil No. 3 is a light sandy loam from one of the 

 most valued of the " red land" potato soils near Dunbar. 

 In the cool climate, with a fair rainfall here prevailing, 

 this forms an excellent arable soil for all crops, specially 

 prized as yielding potatoes which retain their colour 

 and are mealy after boiling. 



Soil No. 4 is a typical free working loam from the 

 Thanet sand formation, but rather lighter than usual. 

 It is easy to work, warm and early, stands drought well, 

 and is grateful and fairly retentive of manure. This is 

 a highly valued soil for all ordinary arable cultivation, 

 but is rather too light for wheat and pasture in the 

 south or east of England. No particular fraction of 

 the soil is predominant, but the soil is a fairly uniform 

 mixture of particles of all grades. 



It should be noticed that in these first four soils of 

 a sandy type soil and subsoil are of very similar 



