SOILS. 17 



iii abstracting vegetable nutrition from the atmosphere, that 

 many of them when thrown up from a great depth below the 

 surface, and entirely destitute of organic remains, (vegetable 

 or animal matter,) after an exposure for some months to its 

 meliorating influence, become capable of bearing large crops 

 without the aid of manure. This is particularly true of the 

 clays which rest on the Onondaga limestone, an extensive 

 group occupying the central and north-western part of New- 

 York. 



The clays are admirably adapted to the production of 

 most of the grains; and the red and white clovers cultivated 

 in the United States. These they yield in great profusion 

 and of the best quality; and so peculiarly suited are they to 

 meadows and pasturage, that they are styled by way of emi- 

 nence, grass lands. They are justly characterised as strong 

 and lasting soils, and when properly managed and put to their 

 appropriate use, they are esteemed as among the choicest of 

 the farmer's acres. 



SANDY SOILS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. The character 

 and treatment of sandy soils, are in almost every particular 

 the reverse of those of clay. They do not possess the 

 property of adhesiveness, and they have but little affinity for 

 water, which escapes from them almost as soon as it falls. 

 They have but a slight hold upon the manures which are 

 diffused through them; they are loose in their texture, and may 

 be plowed at any time with equal advantage, provided the 

 sowing or planting is to follow immediately. 



As clay soils are much benefitted by a mixture of sand, so 

 likewise are sandy soils greatly improved by the addition of 

 clay, yet in a much higher degree; for though it would never 

 pay, as a general rule, to add sand to clay, yet the addition of 

 a few loads of the stiffest clay to a light sand, would in almost 

 every instance much more than compensate for the trouble 

 and expense. For this purpose, the clay should be thinly 

 spread in. autumn upon sward land previously plowed, and 

 the winter's frost will effectually separate the particles. It 

 should then be harrowed thoroughly and deeply in the spring, 

 and subsequently plowed if necessary. Such a dressing on 

 a light crawling land, is more than equivalent to an equal 

 quantity of the best manure, and will be permanent in its 

 effects. Clay and sand are necessary to each other, as 

 they both contain qualities which are essential to a good soil; 

 and that will always be found the best, which has the proper 

 proportion of each. 



