98 
Improvement of Sandy Soils, 
mg barreness; hedges of flowers of every va¬ 
riety and hue greet the eye and perfume the 
air; while groves of orange and citrons, of 
dates and pomegranates, minister gratification to 
every sense. 
Such results from the most extreme cases, 
show the practicability of converting every por¬ 
tion of the earth’s surface into prolific fields. 
Where population is dense, as in the countries 
above alluded to, necessity compels the adoption 
of such a course. Famine in many instances 
offers them the only alternative. Self-preserva¬ 
tion, the most powerful stimulant that can in¬ 
fluence human action, is the controlling mo¬ 
tive ; and when we see results so astonishing 
and so gratifying, we are compelled to deduct 
a portion of the admiration, we should other¬ 
wise feel for the architects, and ascribe to neces¬ 
sity, what we should prefer to attribute to an en¬ 
lightened taste. 
The circumstances of our country, are hap¬ 
pily, however, widely different. We are not 
driven to the adoption of any system from the 
apprehension of want. The question with us 
is one of pecuniary consideration, or the indul¬ 
gence of a judicious taste; and as this last is 
necessarily confined to the few, we must limit 
our inquiry for the present, exclusively to the 
former. 
The first question for the farmer or planter 
then is, ivill it fay. to reclaim my worn out 
fields and restore them again to their former 
fertility % An earlier and more appropriate in¬ 
quiry should have been made, when he first 
commenced the cultivation of his land, which is 
more easily and satisfactorily answered, shall 
I maintain my land in its present condition of 
fertility 1 There is a wide difference between 
supporting the character of a soil already ca¬ 
pable of producing a large growth of vege¬ 
tables, which are occasionally added by entire 
crops to the land, to sustain its fertility, or it 
may be to enhance its productiveness, and the 
slpwer process of accumulating a soil through 
years of careful toil, where sterility already 
exists. The first may be done at the same 
time that the husbandman is abundantly re¬ 
warded for his labour: the last requires, per¬ 
haps years of delay, before he is sufficiently re¬ 
numerated for his exertions. Yet this inquiry 
must be answered fairly and fully, and after a 
thorough examination of the whole circum¬ 
stances of the case. 
There are three cogent reasons against re¬ 
claiming sterile lands in our country, viz. the 
great abundance of new, cheap lands; the low 
price of agricultural products; and the high 
price of labor. There are on the other hand 
some equally strong reasons to counteract these. 
The two that generally exist, are proximity to 
one’s own land already under cultivation, and 
this motive is greatly enhanced, if it belongs to 
the estate, as it generally does ; and such lands 
generally have the advantage of being near to 
market, or afford facilities of intercourse to them 
by roads or otherwise. There may also occa¬ 
sionally be other advantages which are from 
their weight and consequence, fully entitled to 
determine the question in favor of the project of 
reclaiming. Such are the existence in the vi¬ 
cinity, of mineral, or accumulated stores of ve¬ 
getable manures. If for instance, there are 
deposites of mud, or clay, or lime, or peat, or 
swamp muck, near by, which may be conveyed 
to the land at not too great an expense; or if 
contiguousness to the sea, afford any of the ma¬ 
rine sources of fertilization, such as sea-weed, 
which is charged with salts and vegetable mat¬ 
ter, and especially if fish can be procured in 
quantities, to impart sufficiently their fertilizing- 
properties to the light soils of the Atlantic coast; 
or if facility for irrigation exist; if one or more of 
these resources can be had for imparting fertility 
to exhausted land, the plan to be pursued is plain 
and easy. The addition of either will gene¬ 
rally afford such a measure of productiveness-, 
that the subsequent vegetable growth can yield 
all the addition that may be necessary for an 
eminently fertile soil. It’ these are wanting, 
the process is a slower one, though with care 
and attention, if the farmer can afford it, not the 
less certain. 
It would afford the surest clue to the best 
method of improving a soil, to ascertain, if pos¬ 
sible, in what elements essential to vegetable 
production, if any there are, it is deficient. 
The strictest analysis has shown that several in¬ 
organic substances are necessary to the- perfect 
growth and maturity of every plant. These exist 
in the ash of vegetables, and are fixed and im¬ 
movable, and drawn foi all practical purposes, 
exclusively from the earth where the plant 
grows. Soda may, it is true, be often carried 
by tbe ocean blasts, to a greater or less distance 
and in larger or smaller quantities, according 
to their strength, and sometimes deposites from 
this source are found far inland. Occasionally 
other fixed matters may be temporarily sus¬ 
pended in the air, which are subsequently de¬ 
posited on the earth, but not in sufficient quan¬ 
tities to afford an appreciable supply to growing 
vegetation. 
The inorganic substances required for wheat, 
are potash, soda, lime, magnesia, alumina, sil¬ 
ica, iron, sulphure, phosphorus and chlorine. 
In addition to the above, barley contains man¬ 
ganese ; and many vegetables contain iodine • 
this with chlorine and soda being furnished in 
sea water, and the two last are the exclusive 
ingredients of salt. All tho grains, clover. 
