JSo, 200.J 
187 
dedly hilly, but not mountainous, excepting those on the extreme east- 
ern border, at the sources of the principal rivers of the county. The 
slope of the county is not in a line perpendicular to the course of the 
river, but nearly parallel to it, intersecting it, however, near the north- 
western angle, and near the junction of the De Grasse, Racket and St. 
Regis rivers with the St. Lawrence. 
The soil of the first and second tier of towns along the St. Lawrence, 
may be set down as good, to which may be added large portions of the 
third tier. We may, therefore, consider two-thirds of the whole coun- 
ty as arable and productive land, or about 1,800 square miles as of 
this character. 
I have bestowed some attention on the nature and natural fertility of 
the soil in the several towns I visited. The number of specimens of the 
soil I collected is not numerous, but they will represent the kinds and 
classes which prevail in the county, so that an examination of them 
chemically will determine one or two important questions, viz. what 
the elements of the soil are, and what is probably wanting in them to 
make them the most productive, considered independently of their local 
connexions. 
Previous to entering upon the subject of the soils of this county, I 
shall state some facts and principles in relation to them in general, 
which are established by experience and observation. In the first place, 
in relation to productiveness, it may be said, that a soil is productive 
in proportion to its right adjustment to the four following circumstan- 
ces: 1st. Its texture and cohesion. 2d. Its composition. 3d. Its sub- 
stratum. And 4th. Its elevation. All of which is to be considered inde- 
pendent of the quantity of animal and vegetable substances they contain. 
1st. The texture of the soil must be loose to permit the free pene- 
tration of roots and the access of air and water. When its texture is 
so close that the air is excluded, and the fibres of the roots prevented 
from penetrating downward, the soil must be unproductive of the valu- 
able vegetables. 
2d. There are certain elements which enter into the composition of 
soil, the presence of which are necessary to ensure its value to the 
husbandman. These elements are the following earths: silex, alumine 
and lime. The great predominence of the first makes a soil too open 
and loose; of the two last, too close and tight. Besides these mecha- 
nical effects they are each of them necessary in the economy of vege- 
tables. 
