Relative Value of Corn-crops. 37 



£() 1 2s. ; and of oats, £c). But the wheat is 

 more costly to grow, as it is four months longer 

 in the soil, and therefore takes more out of it 

 than either barley or oats, and requires either a 

 better soil or more enriching preparation. On 

 soils of equal quality the average weight of 

 barley and oats yielded by an acre exceeds that 

 of wheat in about the same proportion as it falls 

 short of it in value per ton. Hence, where the 

 soil and climate are equally suited to the 

 production of these varieties of corn, the 

 choice of one or the other is more a ques- 

 tion of convenience than profit, and depends 

 much on the local value of the different kinds 

 of straw. 



The fertility of a soil may be expressed by Examjiies 



of soils of 



examples taken, ist, in the natural state of the great- 

 est and 

 pasture, and 2nd, on similar soils after treat- least 



natural 



ment. The maximum of fertility in the natural fertility, 

 state is a rich pasture capable of fattening an 

 ox and two sheep on an acre. Such soils are 

 exceptional, though in most counties they are 

 to be met with. The Pawlet Hams in Somer- 

 setshire, for example, is a tract of rich alluvial 



