590 Indications of Fertility or Bai'rennesn of Soils. 
sea, is consequently very much exposed^ and is cold, bleak, and 
barren. 
VII.— The Old Red Sandstone. 
This formation is the lowest of what have been termed the 
secondary series. It occurs in Wales, Devon, Hereford, Shrop- 
shire, and is largely developed in Scotland. This soil is sometimes 
loose and sandy, and sometimes found to be rather a strong clay. 
It has a glossy appearance, and is excellent for the growth of hops. 
Generally it is very fertile. 
On the lias, new red sandstone, and the old red sandstone, a 
large quantity of apples and pears is grown, and converted into 
cider and perry. A scientific friend of mine thinks, that fruit 
grown on the old red sandstone is superior in flavour to that of any 
other geological formation. 
The Primary Series. 
These rocks may be arranged under three different divisions — 
I, Silurian system of Mr. Murchison, the Cambrian and Cum- 
brian system of Professor Sedge wick ; 2, the Metamorphic rocks ; 
and 3, the Plutonic or melted rocks of Dr. Buckland. 
1. The Silurian, Cambrian, and Cumbrian, are composed of 
slate-rocks, and embrace a considerable portion of Wales, and 
great part of Westmoreland and Cumberland. The land is ele- 
vated, cold and wet, and of little value, with some exceptions. It 
may safely be denominated barren. 
2. Metamorphic Mocks. — These rocks are composed of several 
subdivisions, two only of which we shall notice — the mica-schist, 
and the gneiss. The mica- schist is barren. The gneiss is a 
kind of slaty granite, often highly metalliferous. The soil is 
barren. 
3. The Plutonic Rocks. — The Plutonic rocks are composed of 
basalt and lava, which are fertile ; serpentine, which is barren ; 
sienite, which is fertile ; and the granitic rocks, the soils of which 
are barren. 
From the foregoing short and imperfect description of the geo- 
logical strata of England, it will be easy to collect the following 
table, in which the prevailing properties of all the soils become 
distinguished, by being classed under three simple divisions — 
namely, Clay Soils, Sandy and Rocky Soils, and Loamy Soils. 
The last kind of soil will, as usual, embrace all the soils that 
appear to have been a natural mixture of the two former, in such 
proportions as have produced a decidedly beneficial effect. The 
first two are always naturally barren, and the last is always 
fertile. 
