AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM 281 



Thr> varieties of sol!* in every jjrent division, that 

 could be made, of a portion of the g;lobe, is no doubt 

 considerable; yet every invcstip^atingand rei'ectingi'nind 

 will perceive, thai there inust be considerable degrees 

 of a,Jin\iy in soils, whose foiinnation is jrranile, calcare- 

 ons stone, sand-stone, or that are bedded in schistous 

 rock ; so hkewise in rer;ions tliat &re aliuvla!, and in 

 those that are exposed to a marine atmosphere, and 

 those that are exposed to exhalations of a different 

 kind. 



The kind of sr.rface wli'ch any kind of soil possesses 

 mnstalso give it a peculiar ciia;-acter, visible, %nd easily 

 understood without t'le assisiance of analys:*, or a mi- 

 nute examination. Wit!i the assistance of these and 

 such like striking traiti, and distinctive characteristic 

 marks apparent, at liisi: view, to the eye of liie tno«t un- 

 lett:3red fanner, an arra'ioement and ciassilication might 

 be made, that vvoukl not. i)e without its uses The sur- 

 face of tliC soil has more to do with the labours of the 

 farmer, and the prodiietions of the earth, than the inte- 

 rior structure. The feiiiiity of soils depends aiso more 

 upon their surface, than is at first imagined) as I will 

 shew in the sequel. 



A classification bottomed u:)on the subterranean cfeo- 

 graphy of a couiitry, would no doubt be desirable, not 

 only to the artist, mineralogist, and chjmist, but would 

 greatly assist the a.o'iciilturaHst — in as much as it would 

 set bounds, more precise and accucate, to the different 

 regions, and more clearly develope the occult affinities 

 and differences of soil. Bat this requires resources and 



* "Soils as Kirwin observes, consist of different com- 

 binations of two or more of the four ptimitive earths, 

 namely the calcareous (nhieh I somelirrfes call mdd calx) 

 magnesia, argil and the siiicious. For a more accurate 

 description of these, 1 must refer to books of mineralo 

 gy, and shall only remark, that by calcareous earths are 

 meant chalk and ali stones that burn to lime. They are 

 easily distinguished by their property of etleivesciu^ 

 with acids." ^ 



