Indications of Fcrtilitij or Dai-rcnncss of Soils. 
II.~C0NS1STENCV. 
Indications of Barrenness. 
The consistency of soils is a matter of great importance, and 
must always be closely observed, having an intimate connection 
with their barrenness or fertility. Naked rock is always barren, 
and the soils composed of what we call sand and what we term 
clay, unmixed with other substances, are likewise always so. 
Land, the subsoil of which is composed of those substances, with 
but a thin coat of vegetable mould, of not more than 2, 3, or 
4 inches in depth, is always naturally barren. A large quantity 
of land in England, occupied as sheep-walks, called downs and 
wolds, is of this description, having sand and rock for subsoil ; 
and the coal-fields are examples with a clay subsoil. Other clay 
districts might be named, but they are not so uniformly barren as 
those mentioned. 
The soil of pasture-land is seldom exposed, and if the con- 
sistency cannot be ascertained by looking over the surface, it is 
usual to inspect the ditches, banks, pools, grips, furrows, and, if 
none of these exhibit any sufficient characteristics, a spade is used 
and sods are cut out of the turf, here and there, all over the land. 
In cases where the surface soil, or the soil that has been turned 
over by the plough, if the land ever has been ploughed, is very 
thin, the subsoil, if not a solid rock, will appear attached to the 
turf which is turned up : but, where a considerable depth of this 
soil exists, a second or third application of the spade becomes 
necessary, and if, at the depth of 18 inches or 2 feet or more, the 
subsoil * does not appear of a decisive character, the consistency 
of what has been exposed is examined, and a note made of its 
character, for future consideration, should such be necessary. 
If the sod, when turned up in various places, shows the subsoil, 
at the depth of 2, 3, or 4 inches, to be one regular compact mass 
of clay, such will be a certain indication of the barrenness of the 
land, notwithstanding any surface appearances to the contrary. 
I have seen many fields that are situated on a clay subsoil, with 
a slight covering of surface soil, as well as on a thin, dry, rocky, 
gravelly, and even sandy subsoil, appear nice and fresh, and the 
herbage of a lively green ; but such appearances always have their 
source in manure and good farming, and are liable to deceive the 
superficial observer. An examination into the depth of the soil, 
and the nature of the subsoil will at once show that such lands 
* In many situations there is a considerable quantity of soil unmixed 
and unstained with vegetable matter, and which has never been exposed 
by the plough. It will be convenient, but perhaps not quite accurate, to 
consider such undersoil as the subsoil, although it may not be formed 
exclusively of the soil, or be derived liom the rock peculiar to the forma- 
tion on which it rests. 
VOL. V. 2 P 
