380 



NEW ENGLAND FxVRMEll. 



Aug. 



tor, iiml perhaps the liumblc position I take will 

 mollify the wrath of those who still take up the 

 shovel and t!ie hoe against tlic deserters. 



Ajidovcr, ATass. O.vk or 'em. 



THE SOIL. 



Hither of tho original earths, so called, in a 

 atato of isolation, constitute a sterile soil. The 

 productive power of all cultivated lands depends 

 almost exclusively upon the relative proportions 

 in which the primitive earths arc mixed in their 

 coinjiosition. It is to the almo-t infinite variety 

 of those proportions, that we arc to refer the va- 

 rious descriptions of soil which are mot with on 

 the earth's surface. The more fertile a soil is, as 

 a general thing, tho less will be its specific gravi- 

 ty'. Many cui-ious experiments have been institut- 

 ed in order to ascertain accurately, the reliability 

 of this as a criterion, and the following hv W. 

 Kh.\h are perhaps as authentic as any with which 

 the public have as yet been favored. A good qual- 

 ity of garden mould consists of 



Clay h2A 



Silicious sand 3G.5 



Ciilcavooua saiul , .. ..1.8 



Carbonate of lime 2.0 



Orgaaio matter .7.3 



VMS found to 250sses3 a specific gravity of 2.332. 

 .V good loam consisting of 



Clay 51.2 



^ilicious sand ' 42.7 



• 'aleareous sand 0.4 



r.'irlj'jiiate of lime 2.3 



Urpanio matter 3.4 



l>. '. 1 a specific gravity of 2.401 ; and a soil of 



poorer quality, consisting of 



Siliciou3 sand C4.0 



Clay...r 32.3 



• calcareous sand 1.2 



Oarlvonate of lime 1.2 



Organic matter 1.8 



!iad a specific gravity of 2.526. 



M. CnAPTAL, in some very valuable observa- 

 tions on soil, says: — "Land in which there is a pre- 

 ponderance of lime, (carbonate of lime is here 

 <loublle88 meant,) is porous, light, easily permea- 

 ble by water, can bo tillel without difliculty, 

 forms a paste which possesses little or no consist- 

 ence, and is not sensibly altered liy the action of 

 fire. Tlic air easily penjtratcs calcareous earth, 

 and is there capable of vivifying the germs wliich 

 it contains to a certain depth ; bat water, which 

 penotMtes it without resistance, escapes again 

 with equal facility. Land, of this nature, is al- 

 ternately swamped and parched ; and those plants 

 wliich arc not strong enough to withst;ind such 

 variations, languish or perish in a soil of tiiis na- 

 ture." Von TiivER says: — "When a soil contains 

 too much lime, tliat subsUmce i*3 apt to become 

 prejudicial. This is especially the case in dis- 

 tricts where a chalky formation exists. 



I. Becauae it do;s not retain moisture, and has 

 even a greater disposition than atnd to suffer it to 

 evaporate ; consequently .during warm, dry wcath- 

 KT, it is totally p;u'ched, and reduced to dust. 



2. Because it consumes manure and humus 

 very rapidly ; accelerates the passage of these 

 substances to the plants, and thus hastens their 

 vegetiition at first ; and does not reserve any nu- 

 trition for their support during tho latter stages 

 of their development ; on which account they fliU 

 oft' and perish before they arrive at maturity." 



Acc-ording to some writers, calcareous soil--, 

 which present, on analysis, forty parts in one hun- 

 dred of lime, thirty-six of sand, and a liberal per- 

 centage of aluminous or argillaceous matter, is 

 wrought with greater difficulty, after being sat- 

 urated by a heavy fall of rain, than argillaceous 

 soils, so called, are. In a state of ordinary dry- 

 ness or freedom from excessive moisture, this diffi- 

 culty is essentially diminished, however, and the 

 details of husbandry arc readily performed. As 

 to /mmus, it may, perhaps, be considered as a good 

 rule to regard the fertility of soils as increasing 

 in proportion to the quantity of this article — in a 

 soluble state, which it contains. Perhaps — if wo 

 may rely upon the data furnished by the best an- 

 alytical chcmiets — two parts in a hundred of hu- 

 inns by weight, as the average quantity in argil- 

 laceous soils, and one and a half parts as the aver- 

 ago of the same in sandy vegetable soils. 



Results differ widely, however, in the analytical 

 examination of the several descriptions of soil ; 

 but if we take a medium quality of tho surface 

 soil from a field, evaporate the water, and then 

 subject it to white heat, after having weighed it 

 subsequent to the evaporation, the diminution of 

 weight occasioned by its exposure to the action of 

 heat, will indicate tho per centum of humus con- 

 tained in it. This process may be regarded as a 

 suro test, and is so simple in its manijnilatory de- 

 tails, that any person can work it out with the ut- 

 most ease. 



It is often desirable, on many practical accounts, 

 to possess accurate and reliable information on 

 this point. A true knowledge of the specific pro- 

 ductive energy or fertility of soils, must ever be 

 regarded as a most important consideration in 

 farming; and, indeed, the more we know of the 

 chemical character, and capacities of the soil for 

 production, the better shall we be enabled to farm 

 it judiciously, and the greater will be our profits 

 from our investments of la'ior and manure. The 

 action of manure on light, sandy soils, is to in- 

 crease its cohesibility, its capacity for absorbing 

 and retiiining moisture,anl to ren lor it more com- 

 pressible. Applied in sufficient quantity, it com- 

 municates unctuosity, renders it less likely to bo 

 injuriously affected by the sudden atmospheric al- 

 ternations of wet and dry. It also constitutes a 

 better medium for the roots of vegetables, which, 

 in alight and excessively porous soil, do not take 

 hold v/ith sufficient firmness, and are often seri- 

 ously injurred by undue experiments to light and 

 iir, in the interstices which exist Si) nuraerouslv 



