The Story -Book of the Fields 



and damp. They are used in agriculture for 

 improving the ground. 



Clay soil is entirely different from sand. 

 It is converted by water into a sticky paste, 

 which adheres firmly to the plough. When 

 once wetted it is cold and dries very slowly. 

 By the spade it is divided into compact clods, 

 which refuse to crumble when exposed to the 

 air, and are unfit for sowing. The cultivator 

 must use every effort to draw off the water 

 and to break up the earth with the plough 

 before and during the frost. It is improved 

 by sand, ashes or lime. Wheat does better 

 in a clay soil than in any other ground. 



Clay lands may be known by their vegeta- 

 tion. The wild plants that distinguish them 

 are the coltsfoot and the dwarf elder. The 

 coltsfoot is so called because of the shape of 

 its leaves, the outline of which recalls the 

 print of a horse's foot. They are white under- 

 neath and the flowers are yellow like small 

 marigolds. They appear before the leaves 

 in early spring. The dwarf elder is a kind of 

 herbaceous elder, rising to half the height of a 

 man. It has small white flowers which are 

 succeeded by reddish violet berries. 



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