90 SOILS. 



only one in thirty of our soils contains any. That the 

 lack of this matter is not confined to Massachusetts, 

 but that similar statements are made by Edmund 

 Ruffin, Esq. of Virginia, of the soils of that State, and 

 of some of the Western States, even in limestone 

 regions. He states, further, that he has recently ex- 

 amined five of the richest soils of Ohio and Illinois, 

 and that though he found calcareous matter in all but 

 one of them, yet that the average quantity is not over 

 two per cent. 



It seems, therefore, that if our soils are wholly desti- 

 tute of lime, but little would be wanted yearly for any 

 kind of grain. But why so much lime should be used 

 in Europe on soils that seem to abound in that article 

 is wholly inexplicable. We have some of the richest 

 soils on the globe in Ohio and Illinois, and these con- 

 tain not more than two per cent, of lime ; while some 

 European soils contain fifty per cent, of lime, on which 

 more is artificially spread, to make them fertile ! We 

 are much inclined to think that something besides 

 lime is wanted on our New England soils. 



Iron ore is found often in our low intervals : you 

 detect it on the surface of little puddles of water in 

 your low grounds : it sometimes shines like silver. 

 Lime would be beneficial in all such places to neutral- 

 ize the acids. Spots abounding in iron ore are among 

 the most barren in our country ; and yet their location 

 is often favorable for the largest crops of grass, were it 

 not for the presence of this mineral. 



The principal constituents of soils, then, are sand 

 and clay ; and the proportions of these in Massachusetts 

 in many fields would be found to be ninety of sand, 

 to ten of clay, while, in many districts in England, we 

 shall find these proportions reversed. Clay is the 

 article most wanted to improve the texture of the soils 

 of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Bristol and 

 Worcester counties. And clay is sometimes found so 

 near the surface, that a good plough will bring it up 

 and mix it with the sandy surface soil. When this 



