56 



SOILS. 



2. Marly day. (London clay.) This stratum is almost 

 Baking and universal in bottom grounds. Alone, it bakes in a drought, 



winter-kil- . . , . „ 



ling. and IS mortar m a wet season. V\ heat wmter-kills m it. But 



it generally contains from fifteen to twenty per cent, of carbo- 

 nate of lime, and considerable muriate of lime. Wells dug in 

 haS° water. almost invariably furnish '^hard waters," on account of the 

 Mixed with the muriate of lime. These salts give it richness. Therefore if 

 marine sand ^^j^ mixed with marine sand (which generally overlays it) 

 it forms rich and very durable soil. From near Lake Cham- 

 plain to Greene county, on the west side of the Hudson, this clay, 

 overlayed with marine sand, prevails. Also throughout most of 

 the northern part of New-Jersey, along the valley of the Missis- 

 sippi, &c. If the vast plains marine sand, between the Missis- 

 sippi and Rocky Mts. are generally underlayed with this clay, as 

 they certainly are in some localities, next century may, under the 

 hand of culture, enliven that barren waste with fruitful fields. 

 Bad soil 3. Marine sand. (Bagshot sand.) This stratum alone is a 

 * meagre barren soil. But makes an excellent kind when duly 



Mixed with intermixed with the marly clay beneath it, as mentioned under 

 marly clay. . 



marly clay. This stratum often passes into crag, or stratified 



gravel, hardpan, &c. The crag is a better t?oil alone, than the 



sand, excepting the hardpan and some other varieties, wherein 



the gravel is held together compactly by ferruginous, calcareous 



or clayey cement. But, if duly intermixed with the marly clay, 



it forms a good soil. 



Good ma- 4. Shell-marl. This deposite is a most excellent manure, 

 when intermixed with any of the other soils — best with soils 

 in which clay predominates. It is chiefly carbonate of lime ; 

 but being made up of broken shells of minute species, it is al- 

 ways in a state suited to its application as a manure. But 

 when alone, it is not very productive, especially in a dry sea- 

 son. 



Very vari- 5, Biluvion. As this deposite is the most heterogenious of 

 all deposites, it presents the characters of most other soils. In 

 general it is very rich in vegetable manure ; but it ifs often toe 



