48 



generally abound in organic matter, and in the saline con- 

 stituents of prime soils. Hence they are usually dark, rich, 

 deep, and friable. Where the siliceous matter prevails, 

 grain crops are not given to lodge or go so much to straw 

 as on clayey loams of finer tilth, and the labours of the 

 husbandman can be carried on with more success and cer- 

 tainty in a variable climate. 



2. Sandy soils. These, at the best, are never of great 

 worth. They are too dry and loose in their texture for 

 producing superior grain crops, except in wet seasons. 

 Where they are rich in organic matter, they produce 

 green crops well, and are easily laboured. They are, how- 

 ever, of little value, except to be laid down for permanent 

 pasture, the herbage they produce being sweet and 

 wholesome. 



3. Gravelly soils. These vary, like the foregoing, from 

 hungry and uncertain soils, to others that are highly 

 prized by farmers. Where there is a sufficient admixture 

 of clay to bind and consolidate the gravel, and render it 

 firm and retentive of water, they are alike good for the 

 production of green crops and our most valued cereals. 



4. Slaty soils. Soils from the debris of slate rocks and 

 interspersed with fragments not yet decomposed, are not 

 naturally rich, but are capable, under judicious manage- 

 ment, of great improvement, and may generally be de- 

 pended upon. Flax is found to succeed upon such lands, 

 when it is not grown more frequently than once in eight 

 or ten years on the same fields. 



5. Stony soils. These vary much in character and ma- 

 terial, being composed, in some places, as in spots along 

 the coast of the county Antrim, of round flints about the 

 size of an egg ; in other places, of stones two or three 

 pounds' weight, and difficult to work. Their appearance 

 is often deceptive, and fine crops of wheat are grown 

 where an inexperienced observer would have thought the 

 land extremely barren. 



