Mortufh Nature and PwpeHij of Soils. 153 



agriculture, than scientifically, with regard to the geological or 

 chemical constituents of soils. All the soils of England may be 

 classed under aluminous, calcareous, and silicious soils. Thus : — 

 Aluminous soils include the London clay, the plastic clay, the 

 Weald clay, and the clay of the coal formation : there is little 

 or no calcareous matter in the soils resting on these formations. 

 The blue lias, the gault : there is a considerable portion of cal- 

 careous matter in the soil of these, but less silicious matter than 

 in others. 



Calcareous soils include, the lower chalk marl, some of the 

 gault, the clay of the oolite : the soils resting on these formations 

 are formed of impalpable matter. The diluvium on the Oxford 

 clay, the diluvium on the blue lias : these are calcareous gravelly 

 soils. The upper chalk, some of the lower chalk, the shelly 

 oolite, the great oolite : the soils on these formations are com- 

 posed of fragments of calcareous rock, with little or no silicious 

 matter in their composition. The coral rag, the lower oolite, 

 the magnesian lime, the carboniferous lime : the soils on these 

 formations are composed of fragments, and have a considerable 

 portion of silicious matter in their composition. 



Silicious soils include the sand of the plastic clay, the iron 

 sand, the sand of the coal formation, the millstone grit, the old 

 red sand, the granite formation : the soils on these formations 

 are composed of very friable, loose, dry sand, with very little 

 aluminous, and no calcareous, matter in their composition. The 

 diluvium on the plastic clay, the diluvium on the gault, the di- 

 luvium on the new red sand, the diluvium on the coal formation; 

 these form gravelly strong soils, with a considerable portion of 

 clay in their composition. The greywacke and clay-slate, some 

 of the basalt : these soils are composed of fragments. The al- 

 luvial, the green sand, the new red sand, the old red sand, or red 

 marl of Hereford, some of the basalt : all these soils have cal- 

 careous matter with silex and clay in their composition, and are 

 of the first quality. 



The author next gives some paragraphs on the principles of 

 vegetable life ; the effects produced by the sun and air on vege- 

 tation ; water ; air ; analysis of vegetables ; nature and proper- 

 ties of the minerals which compose different soils ; silex, alumina ; 

 lime ; loam ; the properties and use of soil and subsoil ; with 

 other subjects ; and he concludes with remarks on fallowing, 

 and various agricultural processes. 



On the whole, he has produced a work which may be perused 

 witii advantage by the young cultivator, whether a gardener or a 

 farmer. Perhaps it is not too much to say of it, that it is the 

 most practically useful treatise on soils which has been published 

 since the time of Sir Humphry Davy. 



