CHARACTER OF SOILS. Ill 



manures are applied where something else is 

 needed, the farmer loses the money invested, the 

 labor of applying them, and oftentimes his crop, 

 by not using the substance really required. 



The bulk of all soils consists of sand and day. 

 These are general terms^ and have no reference 

 to the chemical properties of the different parts, 

 as all granulated bodies in soils are termed sand, 

 and all tenacious substances easily pulverized 

 are termed clay. 



Two specific terms are in use to denote the 

 character of soils, viz : alluvial and diluvial. 

 Soils that have been washed from hills and 

 mountains are termed alluvial, but if they can- 

 not be traced to such a source, and are elevated 

 plains, or the tops pf hills and mountains, they 

 are termed diluvial, and must be traced to the 

 action of glaciers or the gradual disintegration of 

 rocks by the action of the elements. 



A knowledge of the chemical composition of 

 the rocks, from which the sand and clay are 

 formed, will enable us to judge correctly of the 

 kinds of minerals to be found in the soil ; and 

 of their adaptability to the wants of agriculture ; 

 hence, the study of these rocks is quite as im- 

 portant as the study of the soil itself. 



The rocks essential to the formation of fertile 

 soils, and from which they are usually produced, 

 are Granite, Felspar, Limestone, Gypsum, 



