NORTH-CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. O 



the modes by which they should be treated. Soils too, being 

 derived from rocks of different periods and constitutions, in- 

 fluence their composition and capabilities more or less. Close 

 observation relative to those influences frequently establish 

 important generalizations; and hence, geology may be re- 

 garded as a department very intimately connected with agri- 

 culture, and whose principles are capable of advancing its 

 interests. 



It is scarcely necessary to refer to botany, as an allied 

 branch of science. A practical knowledge of soils may be 

 derived from it. Nature rarely errs in collocation. Plants, 

 without selecting soils in truth, do really flourish best on cer- 

 tain tracts whose soil is found to be adapted to their special 

 wants. Some are lime, others are potash plants ; and hence, 

 the farmer may be satisfied where certain plants abound, that 

 certain important constituents of soils are present. 



Animals, however, form a large part of his care and over- 

 sight. Often his chief wealth consists in cattle. The rearing 

 of stock of favorite breeds, their improvement in general, and 

 often in special points, demands a knowledge of physiology 

 and anatomy. There is property in a knowledge of the foot 

 of the horse, the joints of the bullock and the structure of the 

 hoof. There is property in a knowledge of the skull and the 

 physiognomy of the horse and the kine ; and there is pro- 

 perty in the knowledge of habits and best food for cattle and 

 flocks, and in the organization of the stomach and its depen- 

 dencies. 



The farmer and planter, therefore, may say that they have 

 not only property in lands and in cattle, but also in the phe- 

 nomena of nature, as they may make those phenomena sub- 

 servient to their interests; the sunbeam and shade add 

 golden dust to their stores, when seed times and tillage are 

 chosen under the guidance of philosophy. 



4:. "While agriculture in all its aspects presents a wide 

 field for investigation, it still has very clearly such subdivi- 

 sions of labor, that in practice, it may reach a high degree of 

 perfection. We find, for example, that climate frequently 

 restricts the most profitable productions to one or two staples. 



