568 Indications of Fertility or Barrenness of Soils. 
of the barrenness of soils, but at the same time the most certain 
of any. It is said " every tree is known by its fruit," and it might 
also have been said, with as much truth, that pasture-land is known 
by its natural vegetable productions. 
To ascertain the quality and probable quantity of produce to 
that degree of certainly which is desirable, the herbage will re- 
quire to be very closely inspected. I am aware that it has been 
customary to estimate the produce, and, at the same time, the 
permanent capability of the land for continuing that produce, 
from surface-appearances, without taking into consideration the 
description of herbage which formed the principal portion of the 
crop. In certain circumstances such an estimate will be found 
to furnish a more accurate idea than could be expected ; but, if 
the judgment of the party thus attempting to give an opinion has 
not been matured by experience, it will be folly for him to allow 
himself to be guided solely by such an uncertain indication as 
mere surface-appearance. 
It is well known that a man cannot jump into all the necessary 
experience, and have his judgment disciplined at once, and at a 
period when he chooses. If so, how then can persons without 
this experience — which is often the labour of a life — be induced 
to rely on surface-appearances, as is sometimes, I was about to 
say frequently, the case ? It is impossible that an accurate opi- 
nion can be given of anything which is uncertain. All mere 
surface-appearances are liable to change from sundry causes, 
such as temperature, drought, too great abundance of moisture, 
manure, cultivation, &c. They scarcely ever remain the same 
for a week together. Then how absurd to presume to judge 
from such alone ! On the contrary, if a man takes into consider- 
ation the description of the herbage, knows what it is when he 
sees it, and can name it, and at the same time knows from expe- 
riment made, either by himself or by others who have preceded 
him, that the herbage he sees is unproductive in favourable cir- 
cumstances of cultivation, or productive in unfavourable circum- 
stances, or has a tendency to either, he can with greater confi- 
dence rely on the opinion he finally comes to being founded on, 
and derived from something possessing the character of certainty, 
having been tested and established by observation and experi- 
ment. 
The time of the year when examined, and a wet or dry season, 
often make a great difference in the surface-appearances, but 
they never alone change the vegetation with which the land is 
covered. There is a difference in the state of the growth of the 
grass: it is more luxuriant than usual, or the contrary; but its 
nature and description arc changed only by a change of soil from 
a state of barrenness to fertility, and the contrary. By making 
