The Soil 
7 
Even the addition of organic matter does not help them 
much, for as this organic matter is changed into liquid 
plant food it is washed out of the soil by the rains on 
account of there not being sufficient clay or fine particles 
bound together to retain the moisture until the plants 
are able to take it up. 
Sandy soils are very difficult and expensive to im- 
prove. A large quantity of broken clay is required. This 
must be dug into the soil to make it more retentive. A 
sandy soil is always a very early soil, because of the 
little water it contains. It warms up very quickly in 
spring. Seeds sown germinate, and, if there is plenty of 
rain, plants grow rapidly. In summer, however, unless 
there is sufficient moisture, the plants suffer and some- 
times die from lack of moisture. It is therefore advis- 
able to grow early crops on sandy soils, and to sow as 
early as possible, so that the roots will go down deeply 
into the soil before drought sets in. A sandy soil is 
very easy to cultivate. 
E. PEAT SOILS 
These are made up to a great extent of vegetable 
matter derived from decaying plants, together with small 
quantities of sand or mud which may be washed into the 
marshy places by streams. Draining is the first operation 
in the improvement of these soils. In this case the 
drains may be put in deeper than in the case of clay 
soil, as this soil is more porous. They may be placed 
from 3 to 4 ft. deep, and from 15 to 18 ft. apart. When 
this has been done, a liberal amount of grit may be 
