226 



SOIL. 



Soils according to com- 

 position. 



Clay with humus 



ditto 



ditto 



Marly soil 



Light soil, with humus. 



Sandy soil, humus 



Argillaceous land 



Marly soil 



Ai^illaceous land. .... 

 suffer argillaceous land 



Clay 



Stiff argillaceous land. . 



ditto 



Sandy clay 



ditto 



Clayey sand 



ditto 



Sandy soil 



ditto 



ditto 



Usually designated. 



Rich wheat land 



ditto 



ditto 



ditto 



Meadow land 



Rich barley land 



Good wheat land 



Wheatland 



ditto 



ditto 



ditto 



Barley land of the 1st class | 

 ditto 2d class 



ditto ditto 



Oat land 



ditto 



Rye land 



ditto 



ditto 



ditto 



Schwertz has given a summary of the opinions of Thaer upon the 

 value of different soils from an eminently practical point of view. 

 Agreeing with this distinguished agriculturist, that it is well to judge 

 of the soil by its produce, he also forms a scale of comparison after 

 the different kinds of grain, taking as extreme terms wheat and bar- 

 ley, the first succeeding in bad argillaceous soils, the second still 

 growing in sandy soils of the poorest description. In these extreme 

 or boundary soils, wheat and barley succeed very indifferently in- 

 deed ; but between the two extremes are comprised every variety of 

 soil which results from the fusion of the strongest or stifTest with the 

 lightest soils, from the most tenacious clay up to loose sand. In 

 these mixed soils of intermediate qualities, v;heat and barley gradu- 

 ally approach one another, taking the place successively of barley, 

 oats, and buckwheat, until they meet in the middle of the scale in 

 a kind of neutral soil, upon which every variety of grain may be 

 grown. 



Schwertz arranged his scale in the following manner :* 



0. Moving sand 0. Stiff clay, 



1. Rye land 1. Wheat land. 



2. Rye and buckwheat land 2. Wheat and oat land. 



3. Rye, buckwheat, and oat land 3. Wheat, oat, and barley land. 



4. Rye, oat, and small barley land 4 Wheat and large barley land. 



5. Wheat, rye, barley, »;< oat land. 



The species of soil which suit these different crops are : 



1. Light dry sand 1. Cold stiff clay. -, 



8. Moist, very slightly argillaceous sand- • .2. A lighter moist clay. *' 



3. Argillaceous sand 3. A warm dry clay < 



4, Sandy clay 4. Rich clay. 



5. Clay. 



• precepts of Practical Agricuituro, (in French,) p. 40. 



