490 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 8 



Whatever has been observed relative to sand, 

 is equally applicable to gravels and all other liglit 

 land liable to sufier (ioin drought. 



Like sands, they possess various gradations of 

 quality, Iroin almost absolute barrenness to great 

 fertility. The foniicr are in general termed hmi- 

 gry soils, from their tendency to absorb manure 

 without any corresiionding benefit to ihe land ; 

 but as their staple becomes firmer by the admix- 

 ture of other earth, so do their properties im- 

 prove. The richer kinds produce every species of 

 grain, and though the looseness of their texture 

 renders them less suited to the cultivation of beans 

 and wheat, yet they are admirably adapted to that 

 of Lent corn. The quality of the grain is like- 

 wise good ; and being also favorable to the 

 growth of leguminous crops and artificial grasses, 

 they are commonly called turnip soils, from that 

 root being generally cultivated on such land. It 

 may be worked as arable land in any season, and 

 is sound enough in grass to bear stock in winter. 



Sometimes clay and gravel lie in alternate stra- 

 ta, cropping out^ on the sides of hills. This is 

 one of the worst descriptions of arable land, in 

 consequence of the great number of land-springs 

 flowing out of it ; ditficulty of drainage, and its 

 liability (in consequence of stones and clay being 

 so firmly bound together) to become impenetrable 

 by the plough after a dry time. ft is in this 

 species of land, too, that we often find both the 

 gravel and clay tinged with the oxide of iron, than 

 which nothing is more injurious to corn crops. 



There is another kind of land, very widely spread 

 throughout our southern counties, which, though 

 not properly of a gravelly nature, yet is so inter- 

 mixed with loose stones of a moderate size, as to 

 bear some resemblance to soils of that description. 

 The staple, indeed, is more commonly of clay 

 than sand, and the stones are chiefly _^/?i/s ; 

 which may be justly supposed to afiect the quality 

 of the earth with which they are mingled, by im- 

 parting to it something of their calcareous nature, 

 for the land in which they are found is very gene- 

 rally fertile. The.f-e is in Yorkshire a singular 

 species of it, called red-stone land, which is com- 

 posed of loams of different qualities, intermixed 

 with a greater or less quantity of soft sandy stones, 

 about the ordinary size of flints, and of a dark yel- 

 lew or orange color ; a species of grit or freestone. 

 The cultivated soil is in some instances, nearly 

 half of it made up of these stones, and Mr. Mar- 

 shall describes it as 'beyond dispute, one of the 

 finest corn soils in the kingdom. 'f He likewise 

 mentions instances — which we have also witness- 

 ed in some parts of Kent — of great quantities of 

 these stones having been gathered off as an in- 

 cumbrance to the soil, by which its productiveness 

 was much lowered ; but the stones having been 

 returned, it was restored to its former state'^of fer- 

 tility. 



Loa7)i 



is the name given to that kind of soil which ap- 

 pears to be an inUmate mixture of all other earths 



* A term used by miners to signify the highest edge 

 of the bed of coal, !kc., or where it appears on the sur- 

 face. 



t Rural Economy of Yorkshire, 2nd Ed., vol. i., U. 

 p. 280. 



reduced to a fine and equable state. It is of dif- 

 ferent colors. On elevated table-lands, it is 

 mostly red ; on gradual" slopes, it is yellow or ha- 

 zel ; and in the bottom of valleys, it is almost 

 black. The two first appear to be ueposites from 

 the general, the last from partial, floods. It is 

 found reposing on stone, on clay, or on gravel, of 

 various depth, sometimes in deep beds, but, in 

 general, always deep enough for every purpose of 

 the farmer. Its consistence is fi-iable ; readily ad- 

 mitiingair and rain, and as readily discharging all 

 excess of the latter, only retaining or imbibing from 

 the air as much as is necessary to vegetation ; and 

 nehher liable to be parched in summer, nor 

 drenched and chilled by surface water in winter. 



Loam in its uncultivated state, always contains 

 a notable proportion of that nameless peculiar 

 qualit}', so nourishing and stimulating to plants, 

 known only as the constituent of viro-in or maiden 

 earth — i. e., unexhausted earth. V/halever this 

 quality may be, it is not only more abundant, but 

 also much more permanent in loam than in any 

 other description of arable land. Besides this pro- 

 perty, the facility of its culture must not be forgot- 

 ten. Except in hard frost, or immediately after a 

 heavy ftill of rain, it is ploughed at any time with 

 ease and regularity; harrowed, scarified, hoed, by 

 horse or hand, and rolled effectually. Such a soil 

 rarely suffers from drought, nor are floods ever 

 dreaded. If. from neL^ect, it be overrun with 

 weeds, they are soon extirpated ; and if impover- 

 ished by mismanagement, it is quickly recovered. 

 It is suitable for every kind of crop, and every sys- 

 tem of husbandry ; and whether for corn or grass, 

 yields the greatest profit to both landlord and ten- 

 ant. 



Such being the history of a loamy soil, it is co- 

 veted by every cultivator, and every industrious 

 one endeavors to bring his land of an opposite char- 

 acter as near to the standard and nature of loam 

 as possible. The expediency of such attempts is 

 universallj' admitted ; but it is only under particu- 

 larly fiivorable circumstances it can be accom- 

 plished to any great extent. Covering a large 

 field of sand with cla}^, or of clay with sand, is a 

 formidable affair, whicli but few can undertake. 

 Still, as there can be no doubt of immediate ad- 

 vantaije and ultimate success, such an ameliora- 

 tion should never be lost sight of by the farmer 

 of either a too light or too heavy a soil. Some- 

 times the opposite qualities lie contiguous, and in 

 a course of years may be brought to improve each 

 other. And though, in many cases, the desired 

 quality may not be on the surffice, it may happen 

 to be found at no great distance below, sand and 

 clay being often found stratified with each other. 



There is also a species of rich loam which, un- 

 der the name of alluvial soil, is understood to 

 mean land which has been gained in low situa- 

 tions by deposites laid by the overflowing of 

 streams from higher grounds, or by the artificial 

 process of warping fiom the turbid waters of mud- 

 dy rivers, as well as by slimy matter, thrown up 

 by the tides, and afterwards embanked. This 

 contains a large proportion of vegetable and ani- 

 mal matter, which gives it a dark color, and pro- 

 duces almost inexhaustible fartilily ; but the qual- 

 ity of its products, though luxuriant to the eye, 

 arc not, as we have already had occasion to re- 

 mark, equal nutriment to tliose grown on drier 

 land. This is not alone observable throughout 



