CALCAREOUS MANURES-THEORY. 4 | 



more of this rich valley from the overflowing waters. Another specimen 

 was taken from the bottom of a ditch just opened, eighteen inches below 

 the surface. It was a black loam, and exhibited to the eye some very dimi- 

 .nutive fresh-water shells, (perriwinkles, about one tenth of an inch in 

 length,) and many of their broken fragments. This gave, from two hun- 

 dred grains, seventy-four of calcareous earth. But this cannot fairly be 

 placed" on the same footing with the other soils, as it had obviously been 

 once the bottom of a stream, or lake, and the collection and deposite of so 

 large and unusual a proportion of calcareous matter seemed to be of ani- 

 mal formation. Both these specimens were selected at my request by one 

 of our best farmers, and who also furnished a written description of the 

 soils, and their situation. 



9. Wood-land, west of Union, Monroe county. Soil, a black clay loam, 

 lying on, but not intermixed at the surface with lime-stone rock. Sub-soil, 

 yellowish clay. The rock at this place, a foot below the surface. Principal 

 growth, sugar maple, white walnut, and oak. This and the next specimen 

 are from one of the richest tracts of high land that I have seen. 



1 0. Soil similar to the last and about two hundred yards distant. Here 

 the lime-stone showed above the surface, and the specimen was taken from 

 between two large masses of fixed rock, and about a foot distant from 

 each. 



11. Black rich soil, from wood-land between the Hot and Warm Springs, 

 in Bath county. The specimen was part of what was in contact with a 

 mass of lime-stone. 



12. Soil from the western foot of the Warm Spring mountain, on a gen- 

 tle slope between the court-house and the road, and about one hundred and 

 fifty yards from the Warm Bath. Rich brown loam, containing many 

 small pieces of lime-stone, but no finely divided calcareous earth. 



13. A specimen taken two or three hundred yards from the last, and 

 also at the foot of the mountain. Soil, a rich black loam, full of small frag- 

 ments of lime-stone of different sizes, between that of a nutmeg and small 

 shot. The land had never been broken up for cultivation. One thousand 

 grains contained two hundred and forty grains of small stone or gravel, 

 mostly lime-stone, separated mechanically, and sixty-nine grains of finely 

 divided calcareous earth. 



14. Black loamy clay, from the excellent wheat soil adjoining the town 

 of Bedford, in Pennsylvania : the specimen taken from beneath and in con- 

 tact with lime-stone. One thousand grains yielded less than one grain of 

 calcareous earth. 



1 5. A specimen from within a few yards of the last, but not in contact 

 with lime-stone, contained no calcareous earth ; neither did the red clay 

 sub-soil, six inches below the surface. 



16. Very similar soil, but much deeper, adjoining the principal street of 

 Bedford— the specimen taken from eighteen inches below the surface, and 

 adjoining a mass of lime-stone. A very small disengagement of gas indi- 



^ cated the presence of calcareous earth— but certainly less than one grain in 

 one thousand, and perhaps not half that quantity. 



17. Alluvial soil on the Juniata, adjoining Bedford. 



18. Alluvial vegetable soil near the stream flowing from all the Saratoga 

 Mineral Springs, and necessarily often covered and soaked by those wa- 

 ters, and 



19. Soil taken from the bed of the same stream— neither contained any 

 portion of carbonate of lime. 



Thus it appears that of these nineteen specimens of soils, only four con- 

 tained calcareous earth, and three of these four in exceedingly small pro- 



