TACONIC DISTRICT. 253 



measure to meet the demands of a vigorous and healthy vegetation. A similar assertion 

 may be made in regard to potash : in a few instances we have found it ; in others, it has 

 been doubtful. 



Means for improving the soil of the taconic district. 



It is needless to urge the importance of making or saving all the excrements of cattle, 

 in their best and most valuable condition for manure. The best materials for increasing 

 the quantity of manures of tiiis district, are lime and peat, of each of which there is an 

 abundance. These materials are both wanted on every farm, without exception : it is 

 proved by the analysis of every variety of soil in the district. They should be composted, 

 which is the only way they can be profitably employed. A very useful addition to this 

 compost, is either leached or unleached ashes, inasmuch as there is a deficiency of potash 

 in the soil to meet the demands of the cultivated crops. Leaves, also, and all refuse 

 organic matters, should find a place in the compost heap. 



The soils of the Taconic district are rarely excessively leachy, but some are moderately 

 so. For a leachy soil, it is proper to make a bulky manure, consisting of burnt clay, 

 ashes, peat, or organic matters, the whole of which is only moderately soluble, but, when 

 exposed in a porous soil, it receives the influence of the air to bring it with sufficient ra- 

 pidity to a state fit for the consumption of vegetables. In a close and compact soil, the 

 solubility of the manure may be greater ; for tlien it may be retained for the future use of 

 plants, if not required immediately. 



Generally the basis for improvement in the Taconic district is excellent, there being 

 sufiicient tenacity in the soil to hold manure, and not so much sand as to dry up in mid- 

 summer when there is a temporary suspension of rain. Scarcely a field is met with which 

 bakes and cracks, if it is properly treated. A defect which is general, is found in the 

 texture, which, compared with the western soil, is considerably coarser. This defect is 

 partially removed by frequent hoeing, which exposes a fresh surface of soil to the atmo- 

 sphere. 



What are called cold lands are not uncommon in this district. Tiiey lie on tjie slopes of 

 hills, frequently two or three hundred feet above the vallies. This condition is produced 

 by the agency of many springs, which issue from the hill-sides, and saturate the earth 

 with water, in the shape of small fountains which percolate through the soil and subsoil 

 on their way to the valley below ; but this evil may be cured by draining. 



We may remark here that the soils of this district require draining more frequently than 

 western soils, especially when situated upon sloping surfaces, in consequence of the peculiar 

 structure of the underlying rock. In the Taconic district, it is invariably placed edgewise, 

 or at an angle varying from 15° to 30° ; and the layers or strata are compacted so closely, 

 that water seldom or never finds its way into the rock, and hence must pass through the 

 soil ; and if this is not very porous, the water passes off slowly, and frequently is detained 

 so long that the soil is most of the time saturated with it. 



