258 
ANALYSES OF SOILS. 
Analysis of four specimens of soil from near the village of Rome, furnished by 
B. P. Johnson. 
The accompanying letter explanatory of the soils, is copied into this report. The country 
in the vicinity of Rome is underlaid by the shales and sandstones of the Hudson-river series, 
or the upper members of the Champlain division of the New-York rocks. The cobble¬ 
stones spoken of are of the usual size of paving stones, and are derived principally from 
the Potsdam sandstone and the gneiss of the Primary district surrounding the head waters 
of the Black river. In the neighborhood of Rome there are extensive tracts of peat lands, 
frequently accompanied with marl, beneath which is the boulder system composed of the 
cobblestones spoken of above. The depth of the peat and marl varies much at different 
places; sometimes there is merely a foot or two of peat resting on the drift bed, but at 
other points it is ten to fifteen feet deep. These lands, as they remain at present, are cold, 
and not productive of the valuable grains or grasses, but they contain an inexhaustible 
supply of organic matter for compost, which we hope will be employed in correcting the 
soils of this neighborhood at no distant day. 
LETTER FROM B. P. JOHNSON. 
Prof. E. EMMONS, Rome , July 3, 1845. 
Sir — I enclose you t\vo specimens of soil, taken from my land in this town, near the village of 
Rome. The land is the first rise of land above the Mohawk flats, and is mostly of the character of the 
samples sent you. This land is, to a considerable extent, covered with cobblestones, and they extend 
some distance below the surface. It is very productive usually, and is especially favorable for corn. 
Formeily wheat was extensively cultivated here, but, of late years, not to any very great extent, 
though excellent crops are still grown, when the seasons are favorable, and when the grain escapes the 
ravages of the fly or “wheat midge,” an insect somewhat resembling a gnat. This fly is what is fre¬ 
quently called in this country the “ weevil,” though entirely distinct from it. 
The Mohawk flats, which extend to a considerable distance from the river, are of the same character 
as the flats lower down, in Herkimer and Montgomery counties: they are very productive. We have 
another character of soil in this town, on land still more elevated, composed generally of gravel and 
loam, which is good and productive land 
I enclose you also two specimens of soil from the land of Henry Huntington, Esq., near this village. 
We feel a deep interest in the agricultural survey which you have been making, and we anticipate 
very beneficial results to the farming interests of the State. It is of vastly more importance than has 
generally been supposed, to the farmer, that the composition of his soil should be known, and the kind 
of manures best adapted to it pointed out: so also as to the crops best suited to it. I have long been 
satisfied that one reason why so many experiments have either wholly or in part failed, has been the 
want of attention to this subject. I shall be disappointed, if, from your varied experiments, great good 
does not result: it cannot, I think, be otherwise. Nothing so readily does away prejudice among 
farmers, as facts which are presented to them from actual experiments. 
There is much yet to be done in this State, before we shall be fully prepared to develope the abundant 
resources of our soil. It is, however, very gratifying to witness the advances which are making: they 
are such as to encourage every one interested in the subject, to persevere until the great work is fully 
accomplished. 
Wishing you every possible success in your labors, I am, very respectfully, 
B. P. JOHNSON. 
