PRACTICAL vGRICULTURE. 201 



made less refractory, and the sandy loam will be made 

 capable of holding manure, and valuable amendments 

 will have been achieved at a trifling expense. 



379. In purchasing a^arm, we should not look at it 

 merely as it 2*5, but as it may he. We should study its 

 capabilitiesj see how they can be developed, and count 

 the cost^ and the probable return. 



880. I have spoken of a general distribution of soils 

 into claysj clay-soils, clay-loa'ins, loams, sandy-loam^, 

 sands J &c. It remains to speak of their physical pro- 

 jperties. 



DENSITY, OR WEIGHT. 



881. It is a singular fact, that we speak of a clayey 

 soil as heavy, and of a sandy soil as light, meaning that 

 the first is difficidt to work, and the second easy. If 

 we speak of them with reference to their absolute 

 weight, the reverse is true — clayey soils are light, and 

 sandy soils heavy. 



882. A sandy soil weighs about 112 lbs. to the 

 square foot ; *a strong clay soil, from 90 to 100 ; com- 

 mon arable land, from 80 to 90 ; garden mould, as it 

 is more or less rich, from 70 to 80 ; and a peaty soil, 

 from 50 to 70. Clear peat, perfectly dry, sometimes 

 weighs as light as 30 lbs. to the square foot. In the 

 foregoing cases the soil is supposed to be slightly 

 luoist. The denser a soil is, the longer will it retain 

 its heat after sunset, or in a cold wind. A peaty soil 



9* 



