45 AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. 



tity of decayed animal or vegetable matter is pres 

 ent, the growth of plants will be vigorous, and their 

 perfection, if not obstructed by other causes, certam. 

 To ascertain the proper proportion of silica, lime, 

 and alumina that must be united to form the best 

 soils, chymists have very naturally resorted to an 

 analysis of the earths of those countries and those 

 particular places rtiost celebrated for the quantity and 

 quality of their products. These examinations have 

 been made by different individuals ; but the general 

 results agree so nearly as to inspire much greater 

 confidence in their accuracy than if they were dis- 

 cordant and contradictory. To show the composi- 

 tion of some of the best arable soils, the quantity of 

 sand, lime, and clay, as well as the nature of the 

 other substances combined in such lands, we have 

 selected some instances of analysis from the best 

 authorities on the subject.* 



Bergmann found that one of the most fertile soils 

 in Sweden contained in 100 parts : 



Coarse Silex . 30 parts. I Alumina . .14 parts. 



Silica . . 26 " I Carbonate of Lime 30 " 



In a specimen analyzed by Giobert of Turin, these 

 three earths were in the following proportions : 



Silica 77 to 79 parts. 



Alumina 9 — 14 " 



Lime 5 — 12 " 



An excellent soil for wheat in the county of Mid- 

 dlesex, England, gave the following proportions of 

 these principal earths, finely divided : 



Carbonate of Lime 28 parts. 



Silica 32 " 



Alumina 28 " 



Animal and Vegetable matter . . . 11 " 



Count Chaptal analyzed a very fertile alluvion on 

 the Loire, 375 miles from its source, and found it 

 composed of 



* See Chaptal's Chymistry applied to Agriculture, p. 116, 

 Harpers' edition. 



