302 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Oct. 
Improvement of Soils. 
Draining and manuring are the principal means 
which have hitherto been employed for improving the 
condition or composition of soils. Almost all agricul¬ 
turists—certainly all inquiring and well-informed ones 
—are now pretty well acquainted with the advantages 
to he derived from the above-named methods of im¬ 
provement, and are thoroughly convinced that all ju¬ 
dicious expenditures, either in the way of draining or 
of manuring, will or may be made to pay. The agri¬ 
cultural community do not need great additions to their 
knowledge on these points. But there is a method of 
improving soils, to which the attention of farmers has 
not been, as yet, much directed. We refer to that 
method which consists in adding to soils those earthy 
substances in which they are deficient. Some little 
has been done in this way in the case of gardens; but 
in the case of fields or plow-lands, very little has been 
attempted, principally, we presume, from the generally 
prevailing opinion that labor expended in this manner 
“ will not pay.” 
This opinion we are inclined to think an erroneous 
one in many cases. Where labor is scarce and high 
it may be true; but where there are quite a number 
of boys in a family and several teams on the farm, and 
work not crowding in the fall and early part of winter, 
we think that this opinion may stand in the way of 
making some additions to the too sandy, too clayey, 
too mucky or too something else soil of a field, which 
would render that field much more productive, caus¬ 
ing an increase in the crops from it for many years, 
which would amount to a large percentage on the cash 
value of the labor expended on it. From what we have 
witnessed in the case of some gardens and some patches 
for corn-culture, to which sand, meadow muck and com¬ 
posts of various kinds had been added so as to alter 
the composition of the soil very much,—as, for exam¬ 
ple, changing a hard clay, almost all the season too 
stiff to be worked with hoe or otherwise, into a loose, 
friable, dark-colored loam—we are very strongly in¬ 
clined to the opinion that, in many cases, as when la¬ 
bor is not extra expensive or when good markets are 
not remote, a large outlay in making needed al¬ 
terations in the composition of soils would be better 
than investing the money at an interest of 10 per cent. 
As small experiments of this kind, comparing the out¬ 
lay with the increase of products as far as that can bo 
done, would be the most likely way of banishing er¬ 
roneous opinions, and of leading to the general preva¬ 
lence of right ones, we would urge those who can spare 
the time and labor at any time from this date till the 
setting in of winter, to make trial on some small patch 
of garden, meadow or corn-ground. Let clay, clay 
marl, sand, gravel, meadow muck, Ac., be drawn out 
upon the soils which need such additions ; let these ad¬ 
ditions be spread equally over the surface in the spring 
and the results carefully noted. These results will not 
consist wholly in increased productiveness of soil, but 
there will be, besides an increase of crop, a greater 
facility and pleasure in cultivation, an opportunity of 
raising crops for which the soil was formerly unsuita¬ 
ble, and, probably, a more obvious- and ready return 
from the application' of manure. 
Minute details and specific directions are scarcely 
admissible on this subjeet. Some allowance must be 
made, and some variation in the mode of procedure 
according to the special wants of the soil, and especi¬ 
ally according as th 13 or that addition to it can be had 
within a short distance. In general, however, the ap¬ 
plication most likely to be beneficial may be deter¬ 
mined by attention to the following principles. Light 
sandy and gravelly soils, upon which, perhaps, wheat 
cannot he raised to any advantage,, are benefited 1 by 
additions of clay, clay marl, peaty earth or meadow 
muck, or a mixture of all of these in a compost with 
stable and barn manure. Clay soils, again, are bene¬ 
fited by additions of lime, sand, gravel, loamy sand, 
and peaty earth. Any of these separately, or a mix¬ 
ture of several of them will alter for the better th8 
composition of such soils, and render them more fria¬ 
ble, fertile, and easily cultivated. Upon both these 
kinds of soil, and indeed upon almost every variety of 
soil, peat earth' acts favorably. It should always form 
a part of any mixture which is ad’ded to a soil, if it 
can be had conveniently. 
To these general directions we will add a brief ac¬ 
count of two experiments, of the kind we are recom¬ 
mending, which have fallen under our observation, and 
from the details of which a hint or two may be glean¬ 
ed for the guidance of those who are disposed to con¬ 
tinue experimenting on this subject. In the first case, 
the spot most convenient for a garden on a new farm, 
was one of hard, stiff clay. An attempt was made 
during the first year to make the soil of this garden 
more friable and loose by plowing in a very liberal- 
supply of long or undecomposed manure. This, how¬ 
ever, seemed to have little effect. Next year leached 
ashes were spread freely upon a part of this clay gar¬ 
den, perhaps two inches deep, but with very little ef¬ 
fect in making the soil looser, or more capable of being 
hoed in warm dry weather. During the fall or early 
winter of another year enough of meadow muck was 
drawn upon the-garden to cover the whole surface to 
the depth of about two inches. This was intimately 
mixed with the clay to the depth of 8 or 9 inches the 
first year, by spading, raking, Ac., and from that time 
to this, that soil has had quite a different appearance, 
has been much more productive, never gets baked, 
compact or hard, and admits of the weeds being pull¬ 
ed up with much more ease than formerly. In the 
other case there was a peaty meadow and much ciay 
soil upon the farm. Near by, however, was a sand 
hill, from which could be taken any quantity of pretty 
fine and pure sand. In the fall of each year, for quite 
a term of years, enough of sand was drawn from this 
hill to cover a pretty large barn-yard to the depth of 
5 or 6 inches. This was spread out evenly with the 
hoe so as to be a good soft bed for the cattle. Being 
fed around this yard and sleeping in it at night, almost 
all the droppings of the cattle and all the urine fell 
. = . 
