Indications of the Fertility or Barrenness of Soils. 441 
and fertile land, also poor and barren land of all colours. If 
judgment is to be formed by the colour, it should be entirely con- 
fined to the particular soil in question, and in that case great 
deference should be paid to the texture also ; as, for instance, all 
newly broken up land is of a more hollow nature, and much 
darker in colour than old tillage- land on the same strata, even if 
the fields lie side by side. It is only in the same field, farm, 
parish, or district that any judgment can be correctly formed as 
to its relative fertility, and then much judgment also must be ex- 
ercised in examining the cause which tends to change of colour. 
My opinion is, that on almost all old tillage-land the supersoil takes 
its colour from the subsoil. There may be some, which have 
been very highly manured for a long course of years, that are 
altered a little by that means, but not many, as most manures 
dissolve entirely in time; also lime, applied to arable-land in 
large quantities, gives it a lighter colour, and tends to firm the 
staple of it. 
Consistence of the Component Parts which form the Super and 
Subsoils of the Earth. — The most fertile soils that have come 
under my notice (as will be seen in the foregoing pages) are the 
alluvium and loams of every description, whether mixed with 
gravel, marl, stone, or clay. The latter is often wet, but, when 
drained, it will generally produce very heavy crops of wheat and 
beans ; and most of such soils are good pasture if drained. A 
great deal depends on the depths of the top-soil, as well as on 
the nature of the subsoil. If the top-soil be of a good depth it 
often answers the purpose of a loose, porous subsoil, for it is im- 
possible for any crop to flourish on a hard, compact bottom : yet 
I must not be understood to say that these soils will be ever 
fertile without good tillage and good manuring. Some pasture- 
land will remain in a rich state provided it be grazed at all times, 
and not mowed at all ; but the best of arable-land will soon get 
poor by constant cropping. It is true the best land will (what 
we farmers call) answer the whip much sooner than poor, weak 
land. 
Poor and barren soils are often composed of one individual 
stratum, or at best but little mixed with any others. Such is the 
case where stone, sand, clay, or gravel predominates. Where 
this happens the subsoil will be found much to resemble the top- 
soil, whence comes the barrenness for want of mixture of strata, 
or earthy matter. Some soils are barren from being of too hol- 
low or light a texture, while others are so from being of too plastic 
and adhesive a nature. I never found good land yet but what 
would tread firm under foot if in a dry state, and even in a wet 
state if the water is not suffered to lie on it ; but poor land I 
have, such as moory soils, light sands, and even clay when pul- 
