THK 



AGHICULTUilAL MUSEUM 



OMMIJI FERET OlMNIA TELLUS. VIUG. 



Vol. I.] Georgetown, Ca. April 21 [No. 9A. j 



LUCUBU.VTIONS ON SOil,S ISo. 4. 



The mountainous rcgioii comprehendiDg the mountains 

 iand ihe inlermediatc vullics. is very extensive, and 

 might undergo a variety of dlvisiotis and subdivisions, 

 resjiect being had either to the sui-faec, or to the differ- 

 ent strata of rocks, ochres anrl metals vvhieh here abound, 

 atiid form the bed on which this whole legion j-ests. 

 The surface might be divided into giades. slope.s and 

 valiies, and be styled sand-stone glades, schistous 

 siopeSj pyritous or calcareous vallies, <Sc;c. as those rocks, 

 as ferruginous loam or ti!l, or as iron or otber metal 

 prevailed. Tiiis region might also be called Parent 

 earth ; because it is the oldest and highest earth of which 

 all ne\v soils are formed. The soil in this region is 

 closei", more impermeable and more retentive^ than iit 

 the regions we Irxvc already described; because the 

 laws of affinity and gravitation, and the other great 

 laws of nature acting upon its component articles, have 

 had time in the immense lapse of ages, to i>ive them 

 ]iarder, purer, and more solid forms. Its sands have 

 agglutinated and form rocks, its clays have been chang- 

 ed to ochres, to alumn, and transfoimed in various 

 ways to other hard substances. What ouce were shells 

 are here solid rock; its calx and sulphur are converted 

 into metals, and its liijneous and vegetable substances, 

 into pit coa! and slate. If it was not for tht retentive and 

 impermeable properties of these solid substances, and 

 the adhesive texture of its soil, the obiiqwty and eleva- 

 tion of the surface, would not permit it to jetain a sulitt- 

 eicnovof moisture for the purposes of vegetation, and 



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