35S AGRICULTl'UAL MUSEUM 



Chalk, if not very impure, is of a white colour, mo- 

 derate consisteiicc, and dirty surface, stains the fin- 

 gers, adheres slis^htly to the tongue, does not harden 

 wljen heated, but on the contrary, in a strong iieat 

 burns to Hme and loses about four tenths of its weight. 

 It effervesces witli acids and dissolves almost entirely 

 therein. I shall also add, that this solution is not dis- 

 turbed by caustic volatile alkali ; as this circumstance 

 distinguishes it from mtigncsia — it promotes putre- 

 faction. 



Sand. By this is meant small loose -grains of great 

 hardness, not coliering with water, nor softened by it. 

 It is generally of the silicious kind and therefore inso- 

 luble in acids. 



Gravel differs from sand chiefly in size ; however,, 

 stones of a calcareous nature when small and rounded^ 

 are often comprehended under that denomination. 



Lnani denotes any soil moderately cohesive: that is, 

 less so than clay, and more so than loose chalk. By 

 the author of the Body of Agriculture it is said to be 

 a clay mixed with sandj 



I do not conceive that clay and sand alone, can proper. 

 ly be called loam, '^itEiout a portion of decayed vegeta. 

 ble matter which tits i-t for vegetation, and makes it less 

 heavy than pure clay 'and sand In this last sense I have 

 used it, and cannot but think it correct. 



Clayey Loam denotes, a compound soil moderately 

 coh( ^ive, in which the argillaceous ingredient pre- 

 dominates. Its cnherence is then greater than that of 

 any other loam, but less than that of pure cla}'. The 

 other ingredient is a coarse sand, with or without a 

 small mixture of die ca! areous ingredient It is this 

 whi^ii Farrn'M's generally call strong, stilV, cold, and 

 heavy loan in proiortton as th.; clay abounds in it. 



Chalky Loam T^iis loam indicates a loam formed 

 Qfclay, coarse sand and chalk; in which, however, the 



