THE SOIL OF THE COTTON STATES. 
61 
SECT. VII.— THE SOIL OF THE COTTON STATES. 
Soils may be arranged in the following classes : 
1. Clay soils, consisting of silex, alumina, and oxide 
of iron. 
2. Loamy soil, consisting of about equal parts of sand 
and clay, with more or less oxide of iron. 
3. Sandy soil, consisting of an excess of sand, with 
about ten per cent, of clay. 
4. Marly soils, containing loam and from 5 to 20 per 
cent, of lime. 
6. Calcareous soils, which exhibit loamy and silicious 
matter, mingled with lime, varying from 20 to 40 per cent. 
6. Vegetable moulds, presenting, upon examination, 
clayey, loamy, or sandy matter, mixed with about 10 per 
cent, of vegetable matter. 
The following directions for examining sojls are taken 
from Johnston's " Agricultural Chemistry " : 
1. Weigh 100 grains of the soil, spread them in a thin 
layer upon white paper, and place them for some hours in 
an oven or other hot place, the heat of which may be raised 
till it only does not discolor the paper. The loss is water. 
2. Let it now (after drying and weighing) be burned 
over the fire as above described. The second loss is or- 
ganic, chiefly vegetable matter, with a little water which 
still remained in the soil after drying. 
3. After being thus burned, let it be put into half a 
pint of water with half a wineglassful of spirit of salt, and 
frequently stirred. When minute bubbles of air cease to 
rise from the soil on settling, this process may be consid- 
ered as at an end. The loss by this treatment will be a 
little more than the true percentage of lime. 
