82 Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, 



ground. In this pit are collected parings of grass sods from the sides of 

 roads and ditches, weeds taken out of the fields or canals, and every kind of 

 refuse from the gardens : all this is occasionally moistened with the washings 

 of the stables, or any other rich liquid ; a small portion of dung and urine is 

 added, if necessary, and when it has been accumulating for some time it is 

 taken out, a portion of lime is added, and the whole is well mixed together : 

 thus it forms the beginning of a heap, which rises gradually, and in due time 

 gives a very good supply of rich vegetable mould or compost, well adapted to 

 every purpose to which manure is applied.' (^Outlines of Flemish Husbandry, 

 p. 22.) 



" In the preparation of the land for the different crops, the Flemings and 

 Dutch do not use less solid manure than we do, and the liquid is an ad- 

 ditional means of producing a certain and abundant crop, and not merely a 

 substitute for the dung heap. 



" The great secret in the improvement of poor land is to increase its ferti- 

 lity by judiciously stirring, pulverising, and mixing together the different earths 

 of which it may be composed ; adding those which are different, where it 

 can be done without too great expense of labour or capital ; and, above all, 

 impregnating it throughout with portions of humus, that is, organic matter in 

 a state of decomposition. 



" The mechanical texture of the soil is of the first importance ; for on this 

 depends the proper retention of moisture, without superabundance or stag- 

 nation, which implies that the subsoil is naturally porous, or made so arti- 

 ficially, especially in northern climates, where the evaporation is slow, and 

 much rain falls throughout the year. 



" The roots of plants, in their tender state, must find pores in which they 

 can shoot and increase in bulk, for which the air and water are indispensable. 

 They must also find substances which can yield them carbon, in a soluble state, 

 as carbonic acid, which is produced in all vegetable fermentation. 



" In water and air are contained all the other elements of vegetables, and 

 even carbon in a small proportion. If the pores are so large as to let the 

 moisture through, or allow it to evaporate readily, vegetation ceases, and 

 the plant soon dies : if they are filled with water, so as to exclude air, the 

 same result follows. Hence it is evident that by altering the mechanical 

 texture of a soil without any chemical change in its component parts, it may 

 be made much more capable of supporting vegetation than it was before. The 

 quantity of organic matter or humus which will sustain vegetable life is ex- 

 tremely small, when other circumstances are favourable. Hence, in the 

 improvement of barren soils, the most essential process is to alter the me- 

 chanical texture. In clays this is effected by repeated tillage, when the 

 situation allows the superfluous moisture to run off. This is the reason why 

 good clays are in all countries looked upon as the best soils, and sands as 

 comparatively inferior. A soil which contains but little argillaceous or cal- 

 careous earth in its composition was long considered as irreclaimably barren ; 

 but, when the alternative presents itself of starving, or making poor sands 

 productive, means are soon found to correct their barrenness. 



" As pure siliceous sand is too porous, the first thing is to add substances 

 which will readily fill up some of the pores. Fine clay diffused through water 

 does so most effectually ; and it is astonishing how small a portion of pure 

 alumina will consolidate a loose sand, and convert it into a good loam, the parts of 

 which, when moistened, ivill adhere and form a clod in drt/ing. Whenever this is 

 the case, the soil can no longer be considered as barren ; but it may not yet 

 be fertile, however its porosity may be corrected : for this purpose it requires 

 organic matter already so far decomposed as to be readily assimilated to the 

 substance of the plants. When vegetation is active, and the organs of plants 

 vigorous, there is every reason to suppose that water is decomposed b}' the 

 action of the leaves ; but this does not take place in the infancy of the plant. 

 The roots must find some nourishment ready prepared and easily assimilated. 

 This has a strict analosiv with animal life. The infant finds its earliest 



