18.30.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



213 



ris; but above, it is most lre(iuently covered witli 

 many otlier strata whicli keep it li-oni tlic surlace ; 

 aiKi neverlhelcss, flirils are very nunierous in the 

 soil of the plaiean. In the same manner, in those of 

 i>oml)es and JKresse we find the rolled pebbles of' 

 the Rhone, so numerous in all the tbrmations of 

 llie hasin; so tlie argilo-silicious plateaux almost 

 always contain trairmcnts peculiar to the Ibrmation 

 of the basins wliich they overlook. 



The fragments of the lower parts of the basin 

 which are found in the argilo-siliceous alluvion of 

 the plateau, would prove, if t!iat hail not been al- 

 ready established, tliat this Ibrmation is the most 

 recent, that it was general, and that it took its ele- 

 ments even from the bottoms of the basin, and 

 that it covered these bottoms as .well as the high 

 plains, or ridge land. 



Hit Estate of Barres. 



At some leagues irom Montargis, beyond No- 

 gent, we reach Barres, the proper!}^ of M. Vilnio- 

 nn. 



This property, which he purchased thirteen 

 years ago, contains 600 hectares (1,200 arpents.) 

 Mis agricultural experiments, his desire to under- 

 take great improvements, were too much confined 

 in the neighborhood of Paris. To be successful 

 on a soil of good qualitj^, was not enough for his 

 activity and his desire to be useful; he therefore 

 made a purchase here on. a soil of little fertility, 

 and in his hands, this property has become (juite 

 an experimental farm. It could not have been 

 better chosen for this purpose, because the land is 

 composed of the two kinds of soil which form the 

 district. 



I'he property' is divided into two parts by a small 

 valley, containing 50 arpents of pasture, meadow 

 and marsh, which are divided between the two 

 domains; the eastern part belongs to the calcareous 

 plain which unites with the calcareous plains of 

 Yonne, without, however, being of the same na- 

 ture as they: it composes two thirds of the proper- 

 ty, that is, 800 arpents. The western part, which 

 is more elevated than the eastern, belongs to the 

 argilo-silicious plateau of the Gatinais; of the 350" 

 arpents which compose it, 150 arc sloping, and 

 form the passage fi'om the plateau to tlie valley. 

 These 150 arpents partake of the two natures of 

 soil; they are of good quality. The remainder, 

 200 ar|)ents, belong entirely to the plateau, and 

 are composed of sandy sub-soil mixed with angu- 

 lar flints of chalk. 



This properly oflers greater resources in forage 

 than most of" the neighboring estates: besides the 

 meadows of the valley, just s|)oken of, it has some 

 of considerable extent on the Vcrnisson, a brook 

 which waters the country. 



I. The calcareous soil of the plain rests some- 

 limes on a white, granulated marl, which is easily 

 crumbled, and sometimes on a hard rock, which 

 resists the atmospheric influences; it seems to make 

 an exception among those of its class and appear- 

 ance; its exterior characters would cause it to be 

 esteemed fertile in a great part of its extent; it 

 shows a sufficient stiffness, a dark color which an- 

 nounces a sufBciently strong proportion of mould, 

 and often even the chestnut color, the ordinary in- 

 dication of a good soil. 



It is especially in spring crops that this soil 



*In tfie original, this is misprinted as 250. — Tr. 



shows its inferiority; oats, barley, and sprino" 

 vetches come up well enough alter sowing, but 

 ihey are without sfrcngth at the time of heading. 

 Clover, lucerne, and sainfoin, take well when sown 

 in the spring; at harvest, the cereal plants cover 

 them; they are vigorous enough, and preserve a 

 good appearance even during autumn and winter; 

 but when the time lor shooting arrives, they put 

 uj) only a small number of stalks. 



When this soil remains uncultivated, it is badly 

 covered with turf, produces thistles, euphorbia, 

 and other plants of no use or advantage to the cat- 

 tle that run upon it. It sutlers from wetness. 

 Sheep upon it take the rot; but it suffers still more 

 from drought, which seems to render the stalks of 

 plants stationary upon the coil. 



II. The calcareous plateau of which we speak 

 here is very extensive: it reaches from JMontargis 

 to beyond Barres, more than 10 leagues in length. 



This kind of soil appears to be peculiar to this 

 part of the basin of the Seine; the neighboring 

 calcareous soils which appertain to the basin of 

 the Yonne, present entirely different characteris- 

 tics; they are dry, it is true, but with a vegetable 

 stratum, they become covered with wild legumi- 

 nous jiJants, easily produce clovers, sainfoin, lu- 

 cerne, and in wet sjjrings, spring crops succeed 

 upon them. 



These soils have then something peculiar in 

 their nature which makes them a troublesome ex- 

 ception in the class to which by their composition 

 they naturally belong: they present an agricultu- 

 ral question of great importance to stud)', and al- 

 most new, and they are applicable to sufficiently 

 great extents of soil, since they occupy more than 

 ten leagues in length. 



The analyses made of them by JN'I. Henry, at the 

 request of M. Vilmorin, are very interesting, and 

 are as follows : 



No. 1. A coarse gray land, the earth of the sur- 

 face composing at leastthree fourths of the plough- 

 ed soil of the plain. 



10 s;rammcs of this earth gave : 



Silex, ----- 2.45 



Alumine, - . . - 0.35 



Carbonate of lime, - - - 3.85 



Sub-carbonate of magnesia, - 0.23 



Per oxide ol iron, - _ - 0.41 



J J < Soluble, 0.12 > , CO 



Humus, < T 1 1 1 1 ^n ? - 1-82 

 ' / Insoluble, l./O 5 



Water, - - - - 0.58 



Loss, ----- 0.31 



' 10.00 



The IS per cent of hum\is, soluble and insolu- 

 ble, which this analysis gave, may cause a suspi- 

 cion that the sample furnished contained more of 

 it than an average of the soil. The proportion of 

 humus would be quite extraordinary, since lands 

 the most fertile contain scarcely 10 percent: and 

 there are hardly any except marsh or alluvial 

 lands which contain it in that proportion; it is ne- 

 vertheless established by this analysis that this soil 

 contains a great proportion of humus, especially of 

 insoluble humus. 



No. 2. Represents nearly a fourth part of the 

 extent — the portions where the vegetable stratum 

 is very thin, where it is not ploughed on account 

 of its deficiency in fertility, -and is used as a sheep 

 pasture. 



