ENGLISH AGRICULTURE. 43 



Fourthly, the soil must admit of the ingress of air, the free 

 passage of water, and the free passage of roots. The texture 

 of the soil must be suitable in all these respects. 



The soil must rest upon a suitable substratum, and if it 

 does not we cannot have a fertile soil. We must have a 

 suitable subsoil. That is of vast importance, and ought to be 

 included in all instruction upon the true conditions of fertility. 



Then there is climate. I am aware that climate is an 

 external circumstance, but it is most important. I mean 

 climate as influenced not only by latitude, but also by longi- 

 tude, altitude, aspect, and shelter. Climate must be taken 

 into account before we have all the necessary conditions. 



Now I believe that we have treated the subject before us 

 fairly exhaustively that is to say, if we have a soil in which 

 there is an abundance of plant food in an available state, in 

 which there is plenty of it as indicated in depth of soil, not 

 only a percentage, but an actually big amount of it, if it is 

 free from injurious substances of all sorts, if we can have 

 it of proper texture, if it is lying upon a suitable subsoil, 

 and if it is exposed to a suitable climate, we have the six 

 conditions of fertility. A soil with all these conditions is a 

 fertile soil ; a soil without any one of these is not a fertile 

 soil. Some of these conditions are under our control, and 

 others are not. Those within our control may be produced 

 by possible improvement. Others of these conditions, such 

 as climate, for example, are generally, but not altogether, out 

 of our control. 



As to the indications of fertility, I shall only open the 

 subject. I must introduce them, if only to contrast them 

 with the conditions of fertility. When I ask for the indica- 

 tions of fertility, I very generally elicit what I have just been 

 enforcing as the conditions of fertility. The indications of 

 fertility are those features which appeal to the unassisted 

 senses, and which point out to the skilled observer the 





