A.GBI01 LTUBAL MANUAL 

 INTERMEDIATE TYPES OF SOU. 



Between these extremes we have many types of soils, from the 

 light sands to the heavy clays, over which the glaciers passed and 

 on which they settled, all more or less rich in phosphorus and 

 potassium from the disintegrated rocks and containing a good 

 ; ic matter from the decay of vegetation. All of tnese 

 ■ i sorted 8 tremendous -and far-reaching influence on the pro- 

 ductivity of the several parts of the state, which lias greatly 

 influenced the development and character of the commonwealth. 



CHANGES [N BUBAL CONDITIONS 



The type of soil was a most important factor in the first settle- 

 ment of the land-. Later, lumbering and other matters not prim- 

 arily agricultural caused the occupancy of regions not at all suited 

 to agriculture. The fact that even the poorer, more elevated soils 

 were supplied with organic matter and had a considerable amount 

 vail able plant food, with the settler requiring little more from 

 the soil than sustenance for himself and family, made it possible 

 dwellers in such s< ctions 10 live in comparative comfort. The 

 destruction of the timber and in consequence the passing out of 

 kindred industries, such as the sawmill and tannery, made the 

 settler dependent -wholly on the soil, from which most of the 

 vegetable matter and available plant food were quickly exhausted; 

 and the increasing demands of a growing civilization made much 

 more than existence a serious problem, until on many of these 

 hilly or sandy soils it is no longer possible for a man "to make a 

 full and comfortable living from the land." 



Naturally and properly the population has decreased. Their 

 isolation from the highways of transportation has made it unprofit- 

 able to grow many crops, even if the land were capable of sus- 

 taining them, which is another factor in the abandonment of such 

 lands. Hence, in what were once thriving communities, churches 

 and can no longer be efficiently maintained, and naturally 



then □ a decline in population .and in the character of those 



who remain — the latter a mosi serious menace to civilization and 

 the welfare of the state. Why should men be urged to remain 

 away from the advantages of civilization when at best they can 

 onlv wring out a Bcanty living from the soil? Those who do live 



