"Sft ft, 



;e 



^A With 

 lis , fopne 



Is by the 



emical 



maajr 

 :hers. 



'icinity of 



id flame, 

 of clay 



ter about 

 le barren 



argillacc* 



»o grains, 



» 



moifture, 

 be nicely 



r of lafltl 



fand 



of foil 

 oails 



^ors 



:s 



;rnc 



le 



:,^^ 



latter ; 



;bi* 



s 



not f 



'tainty;: 



to 



ffoil 



t^ 



i 



ADDITIONAL NOTES. 



pfobably contributes moft to the growth of vegetables 



5h 



and 



that th 



part 



there is reafoii 



elude, that if 



few 



pounds of different foils are dried by the fame degree of heat, and 

 then weighed, and afterwards expofed to a red heat in an open fire ; 

 that the foil, which lofes mofl weight, is probably the mofl fertile j 

 becaufe the carbonic matter will almoft all efcape in 



flame, and almofl 



half the weight of the calcareous earth in carbonic acid. 



Another method of giving fome conjeauYe concerning the fertility 

 of a foil may be by examining its fpecific gravity ; as the fpecific gra- 

 vity of garden-mould is faid by Mufchenbroek to be 1,630, compar 



ed to 1. 000 of water 



And Fabroni found th 



fpecific 



ty of 



barren fandy land to be 2,210 to 1,000 of water. This experiment 

 would not be difficult to try with fufficient accuracy by drying two 

 different foils at an equal diflance from a fi 

 and then weighing a pound of 



or in 



the fam 



1 



thin bladder with apertur 



top or neck ; and then letting the bladder fink fo 



w 



into 



f 



water, as to admit the water through the apertures amongfl the foil; 

 and laftly, obferving the difference between their refpedive weights 



in air, and in water. 



Neverthelefs the method mofi: in ufe by the purchafers of land to 

 judge of its value is by attending to the growth and colour of the ve- 

 o-etables, which cover it ; which requires an experienced eye, and can- 



to 



cr 



be eafily defcribed in words. Add to this that vegetables, which 



row wild on foils, will in fome meafure indicate the nature of them. 



As the digitalis, and arenarea, are found generally on fandy foils, the 



veronica becabunga, and creffes of fome kinds, belong to moift fitua- 



ones. A particular catalogue of fuch 



and others to mountainous 



plants, as fpontaneoufly grow in different fituations, might affift in dif- 

 covering the degree of fertility, and the nature of the foil ; as other 

 flowers by the time of their opening in each climate, which is term- 

 ed the Calendar of Flora, may teach the temperature of the feafon. "^ 



In fome parts of the country the fpontaneous produ6lion of many 



4F 



^ocksL 



