122 AMERICAN MANURES. 



ject too often neglected in this country. Some 

 rich soils fail to produce good crops, from a defi- 

 ciency in these properties. The addition of lirne, 

 marl, clay, and swamp-muck, will greatly im- 

 prove such soils. Should there be an excess of 

 moisture, as in low swampy land, surface appli- 

 cations cannot benefit it much, and the farmer 

 must resort to drainage to remove the difficulty. 

 These are important considerations, and are de- 

 serving of a more extended notice than we can 

 give them in this book. 



Sandy soils have been greatly benefited by 

 the addition of even small amounts of clay, thus 

 correcting their porosity and leaching tendency, 

 and verifying the truth of the old saying, that 



" Clay upon sand 

 Makes very good land." 



On the contrary, very little benefit results from 

 the application of sand to heavy tenacious soils, 

 as the amount required to produce any real 

 change is so large, that the farmer could not pos- 

 sibly be repaid for his labor ; or, as expressed in 

 the following equally terse saying, 



" Sand upon clay 

 Is money thrown away." 



