118 QUARTERLY JOURNAL. 



in the Agricultural Report for 1843, in the Journal of Agricul- 

 ture, and the Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural So- 

 ciety of Scotland, p. 99, it is stated that the under ripened seed 

 of the potatoe crop raised in the bad season of 1841, produced 

 crop without failure in 1842, in the aHeged unfavorable season, in 

 consequence of heat and drought, while the over ripened seed 

 raised in the fair season of 1842, has caused an extensive failure 

 in 1843, in a favorable season. These are very important facts, 

 and as the report very properly inquires, should not unripe seed 

 be planted in all cases 1 



THE RELATION OF CLAY TO SANDY SOILS, 



There seems to be one remarkable association of soils ; thus, 

 wherever a sandy tract exists it is rarely disconnected with clay j 

 clay, as such, in this state, underlies every tract of sand which 

 we have seen. It is not always accessible, but in many -instances 

 it is so, and it requires only a slight examination to find it. It 

 will frequently be found cropping out beneath the sand in ravines, 

 and on the borders of streams. The Hudson river sands always 

 rest upon clay, and that is the order in which the two deposits 

 are situated with regard to each other, sand above and clay beneath. 

 When clay is the surface material, it is because the superincum- 

 bent sand has been removed by diluvial action. From these facts 

 it will be seen, that the both kinds of soils may be frequently 

 ameliorated by mixture, and even is more practicable than most 

 farmers are aware. The position too of these soils is important, 

 on account of the certainty of procuring water ; the clay beneath 

 is impervious, in consequence of which it will throw up water 

 when the sand is penetrated. 



THEORIES, 



Those formulas of belief termed theories, which, although they 

 may have been but distant approximations to the true, yet are far 

 more satisfactory than to remain in the mere possession of facts 

 unconnected by expressions signifying the existence of relations. 

 Hence we find in the spirit of philosophy that spirit which attempts 



