ANALYSIS OP COTTON AND ITS SOIL. 211 



it, and that, therefore, the planter's principal endeavor must 

 be directed to the formation of a more calcareous cement, as 

 well as it regards the mechanical texture of the soil as its di- 

 rectly nourishing properties. The improvement in the me- 

 chanical texture of this soil will best be effected by the appli- 

 cation of a clayey marl, a substance composed of clay and 

 lime, of which the former will increase the slight tenacity and 

 water-reserving powers of the soil, whilst the latter will supply 

 the present deficiency of lime. 



If clayey marl cannot be procured, it may be best substi- 

 tuted by any kind of mud, the texture of which is stiffer than 

 that of the soil, mixed with common oyster shell lime, which 

 should be applied to this soil on the surface, and suffered to 

 remain there as long as possible. This will act on the soil in 

 the double capacity of improving its texture, and affording 

 lime as a nutriment. 



As to the directly nourishing properties of the soil, the 

 analysis shows one acre, one foot deep, weighing 3,000 tons, 

 to contain of phosphoric acid, less than 15 Ibs. ; sulphuric 

 acid, less than is contained in one bushel of plaster of Paris ; 

 chlorine, more than is contained in four bushels of common 

 salt ; potash, less than 20 Ibs., a quantity so small that it 

 could not accurately be ascertained; soda, more than four 

 bushels of common salt contained. 



We here, therefore, meet with 



A deficiency of phosphoric acid ; 



A deficiency of sulphuric acid ; 



A deficiency of potash ; 

 and on the other side with 



An abundance of chlorine ; 



An abundance of soda. 



As to soda, it stands nearest in its chemical character to 

 potash, and though it is itself not nourishment for plants, to 



