140 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
a vast extent of country—selecting some from one flock and some 
from another, until he collected a small but very superior flock, hav¬ 
ing in view, fine quality and great quantity of wool, united with a large 
and heavy carcass. 
Hereafter, I presume, we must look to Mr. R. for the pure breed 
of “ South Down” and “ Merino sheep,” as well as for the “ Im¬ 
proved Durham Short Horned” cattle, of which he has a herd, 
equalled by few—surpassed by none; for he is a great stickler for 
blood and pedigree, even to his barn-yard fowls. 
Mr. R. certainly deserves great credit, not only of the county of 
Otsego, but of this state, for his indefatigable exertions in procuring 
such animals; and we have every reason to hope and trust that he 
will be amply remunerated by a discerning community, for the very 
great expense he has already incurred. 
I have now in my possession, and propose to give, in the next 
number of the Cultivator, a cut, exhibiting a very striking resem¬ 
blance to one of the above bucks, in the form of “Don Pedro,” with 
a short history of the same, imported by Mr. Dupont in 1801—then 
residing in the vicinity of New-York, and supposed to be th e first 
buck of the pure Merino breed introduced into this country. 
Albany, Dec. 1834. AMATEUR. 
Elements of Practical Agriculitive, 
l!y David f.ow, Professor of Agriculture, <fcc. 
i. soils7~ 
III. Properties of Soils as determined by tlieir Vegetable Productions. 
When we regard the distribution of plants in different regions, we 
perceive that this is determined by causes which have little relation 
to the nature of the soil on which the plants grow. The soils of all 
countries are in their essential characters, alike. The same mine¬ 
ral masses, composed of the same substances, exist over all the 
world, and yield, by their disintegration or decomposition, the same 
materials lor the forming of soils. 
But, although the mineral matter of the soils of all countries is 
thus similar in its constituent parts, it is altogether different with 
the vegetation by which these soils are characterized. Every zone, 
from the equator to the polar circle, is distinguished by a different 
vegetation, and different regions have their peculiar plants. A dis¬ 
trict of granite, of sandstone, or trap, in southern Asia, will yield 
the same materials for forming soils as similar districts in northern 
Europe, while the vegetation produced will scarcely seem to possess 
any common character. 
Amongst the natural causes which effect the vegetation of coun¬ 
tries, the influence of temperature is that which is the most obvious 
to the senses. When we pass from a warm country to a cold, we 
perceive a change in the whole character of the vegetation. We 
cannot ascend a mountain without finding such a chan o in the 
kinds of plants produced, and in the vigor with which tii '’grow, 
dependent upon the change of temperature. The degree ot moist¬ 
ure, too, the distance or proximity of the sea, and other circumstan¬ 
ces connected with the climate and physical condition of the coun¬ 
try, affect the nature of its vegetable productions, and show that the 
influence of soil, with respect to the kinds of plants produced, is en¬ 
tirely subordinate to that of temperature and effects of climate. 
When we extend, then, the range of our observation to different 
and distant countries, we see that the nature of the plants can not 
indicate that of the soils on which they grow. It is only within 
narrow limits, and under given conditions of climate, that the kinds 
of plants afford any indication of the nature of the soils which pro¬ 
duce them. 
Within certain geographical limits, however, as those of a coun¬ 
try having throughout nearly the same climate with respect to tem¬ 
perature and humidity, useful rules may be given for distinguishing 
soils by means of the plants which they produce. Numerous species 
of plants, indeed, will grow, with equal readiness, on different kinds 
of soil; yet, there are other species which affect particular soils, 
and in their wild state do not grow on any other. Thus, there are 
plants whose natural habitat is peat, others which grow on soils 
charged with moisture, and others on soils which are dry; some 
which, under the like conditions of humidity and temperature, are 
proper to the light and silicious soils, some to the stiff and aluminous, 
some to the calcareous. 
But, as even within the limits of a single country, pretty similar 
in its climate throughout, variations must exist of altitude, and, con¬ 
sequently, of temperature,—of exposure to particular winds, and, 
consequently, of humidity,—of proximity or distance from the sea, 
and other circumstances affecting the habitats of plants,—it is often 
difficult to indicate the precise nature of a soil merely by its prevail¬ 
ing vegetation. It is almost always possible, however, to determine 
from this circumstance, whether the soil be wet or dry, and whether 
it be fertile or infertile. 
It is for the last mentioned purpose, namely, determining the cha¬ 
racter of a soil with respect to its fertility, that the examination of 
its vegetable produce is the most important in practice. The nature 
of a soil, with regard to its texture and composition, w T ill generally 
be best determined by an examination of the substance itself. But 
its fertility, or power of production, may be judged of from its natu¬ 
ral produce; in part from the kinds of plants which are peculiar to 
it, and in part from the luxuriance with which they grow. 
When we cast the eye over a tract of country, we have generally 
little difficulty in determining whether this tract be barren or fer¬ 
tile. The general aspect of the vegetation, whether stunted or vi¬ 
gorous, the absence or presence of heaths, the richness of the 
sward, the cleanness and straightness of the stems of trees, the ver¬ 
dure of the foliage, and the like, present to the eye a general cha¬ 
racter not readily mistaken. 
When we observe a tract covered with luxuriant grasses and other 
plants, and w T ith vigorous shrubs and trees, we naturally associate 
these appearances with fertility in the soil itself. When, again, we 
see a tract ol heaths or naked sands, with the plants small or sickly, 
the soil thinly covered with lichens, mosses, and other inferior plants, 
the eye alone is sufficient to indicate that the tract is absolutely or 
relatively infertile. 
The same method of judging of the productiveness of the soil 
may be extended to a field or to a farm. Let us direct the eye over 
it, and its general character with relation to its vegetable produc¬ 
tiveness, will impress us at once with an idea of its fertility or bar¬ 
renness. 
This conclusion, indeed, will not be so securely arrived at if the 
surface be limited to a single field, and still less if that field shall be 
cultivated; in which case effects of art, and the stimulus of cultiva¬ 
tion, may disguise the natural characters of the soil. But if the 
range of our observation shall be so extended as to take in a suffi¬ 
cient number of fields and objects, as trees, shrubs, hedges, and na¬ 
tural meadows, we shall scarcely fail, if the eye be at all accus¬ 
tomed to country objects, to arrive at a tolerably correct conclu¬ 
sion as to the general character of the soil in respect to fertility; 
and our conclusions will be yet more satisfactory and precise, if we 
know the particular kinds of plants which thus give the character 
of infertility or productiveness to the soil. 
The plants the most important in this species of examination are 
the heaths, the grasses, and other herbage plants. In the vast fo¬ 
rests of the New World, the most common method resorted to by 
settlers forjudging of the comparative productiveness of soils, is by 
observing the kinds of trees produced, whether pine, cedar, hickory, 
or oak. This is because the principal vegetable productions of 
these countries are wood. But with us, the principal vegetable pro¬ 
ductions are the heaths, the grasses, and other plants that form the 
sward. These may be said to cover the entire surface of the coun¬ 
try when not extirpated by art; and they afford, accordingly, the 
readiest means which vegetable productions present of judging of 
the properl ies of soils. 
The fertility of soils, generally speaking, is denoted by their pow¬ 
er to yield the useful plants ; and it is a law, with few exceptions, 
that the poorer the soil is, the less nutritious are the plants which, 
in its natural state, it produces. The soils of the poorest class pro¬ 
duce mosses, lichens, and heaths, which are less nutritious than the 
grasses. As the soil improves in quality, the grasses become inter¬ 
mixed with the heaths, lichens, and mosses. But these grasses are 
still inferior and little nutritious. As the soil continues to improve, 
the grasses bcome more valuable in their kind, and more numerous 
in their species; and in like manner, the leguminous and other 
herbage plants indicate, by their kinds and greater numbers, the in¬ 
creasing fertility of the soil. A square foot of rich old turf has been 
found to contain 1,000 separate plants of twenty distinct species ;* 
while a square foot of silicious sand will frequently contain not more 
than half a dozen distinct plants, and those of a single species. 
In the northern latitudes of Europe, the plants most generally re¬ 
garded as indicative of inferior soils are the heaths. Some of the 
species of this family characterize, in a peculiar manner, the soils 
* Hurt, Gram, Woburnensis. 
