Soil. 29 



ish farmer, (Mr Boys of Betshangerj, the produce has 

 been great, and the ground has been laid down in the high- 

 est order with sainfoin, or any other grass calculated for 

 this species of soil ( 95 ). By adopting this system, many thou- 

 sands of acres might be improved, which are now lying in an 

 unproductive state ( 96 ). 



6. diluvial Soils. These are of two sorts ; -one derived 

 from the sediment of fresh, and the other from that of salt 

 water. 



Along the sides of rivers, and other considerable streams, 

 water-formed soils are to be met with, consisting of the de- 

 composed matter of decayed vegetables, with the sediment 

 of these streams. They are in general deep and fertile, and 

 not apt to be injured by rain, as they usually lie on a bed of 

 open gravel ( 97 ). They are commonly employed as meadows, 

 from the hazard of crops of grain being injured, or carried 

 off by floods. 



Those fine alluvial soils, arising from the operations of 

 salt-water, (called salt marshes in England, carses in Scot- 

 land, and polders in Holland and Flanders), are composed 

 of clay, washed off by running water, and deposited on flat 

 ground, on the shores of estuaries, where they are covered 

 by the reflux of the tide, but often protected by embank- 

 ments from any risk of injury from such inundations. They 

 are frequently enriched with marine productions, which ren- 

 der them peculiarly valuable ( 98 ). When analyzed, they 

 often produce the same ingredients, or nearly so, as mould, 

 with, in some cases, a mixture of calcareous earth. They 

 generally have a smooth, level surface, and being deep in the 

 staple, they are well adapted for the culture of the most 

 valuable crops. Hence wheat, barley, oats, and clover, are 

 all productive on this species of soil; which is likewise pe- 

 culiarly well calculated for beans, as the tap-root pushes 

 vigorously through it, and finds its nourishment at a great 

 depth. From the great mass of excellent earth, the fer- 

 tility of these tracts is nearly inexhaustible ; but from their 

 low and damp situations, they are not easily managed. Lime, 

 in considerable quantities, is found to answer well upon 

 this species of soil. 



7. Marshes. Some low grounds are apt to be overflowed 

 either by rivers or by the sea, and hence are characterised by 

 a considerable degree of wetness. 1" hose on the sea-shore, 

 are rarely brought into cultivation, the herbs they produce 

 being of considerable value, not only for feeding stock, but 

 for curing them of disease. Places covered with water, either 



