150 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, June 14, 1859. 
same temperature: ho did not require a perfect state of dryness, 
as this, at a temperature of 65) E. and in the open air, could not 
be expected. 
Kinds of earth. 
Capability of drying 
Evaporation from 
100 parts of ab¬ 
sorbed water, at 
G5^° F. in 4 hours. 
Times required lor 
90 parts of water 
to evaporate (at 
652° F.) from 100 
parts absorbed. 
Parts. 
Hours. 
Minutes. 
Siliceous sand... 
88. i . 
4 
4 
Calcareous sand . 
75.0 
4 
44 
Gypsum powder. 
71.7 
5 
1 
Sandy clay.. 
52.0 
6 
55 
Loamy clay . 
45.7 
7 
52 
Istiff clay, or brick earth . 
34.9 
10 
19 
Pure grey clay. 
31.9 
11 
17 
Vine lime . 
.! 28.0 
12 
51 
Humus . 
20.5 
17 
33 
Magnesia . 
10.8 
33 
20 
Garden mould. 
21.3 
14 
49 
Arable soil . 
32.0 
11 
15 
Slaty marl. 
68.0 
5 
53 
“ The degree of contraction which soils undergo by being 
dried also varies very considerably. The subjoined table gives 
the extent of this in the cases of the common earths 
Kinds of earth. 
1000 cubic lines 
became diminished 
in volume to 
1000 parts there¬ 
fore diminished in 
volume by 
Siliceous sand ./ 
Calcareous sand .( 
Fine lime ... 
(no change) 
950 cubic lines 
940 ,, 
50 parts. 
60 
Sandy clay. 
Loamy clay ... 
911 „ 
89 
Stiff clay, or brick earth . 
886 ,, 
114 ,, 
Pure grey clay. 
817 „ 
183- ” 
Carbonate of magnesia. 
846 
154 
Humus . 
800 
200 
Garden mould. 
149 
Arable soil. 
880 ' 
120 
Slaty marl. 
965 ” 
35 ,, 
“ The extent to which various soils absorb the insensible 
vapour of the atmosphere was first endeavoured to be ascer¬ 
tained by Sir IT. Davy ( Agric. Cltein., p. 183). It is a power, as 
he truly enough described it, much connected with fertility. M. 
Schubler lias much extended the experiments of Davy. {Jour. 
H. A. S., vol. i. p. 196). The following table gives the results of 
these valuable researches, which were made by exposing the 
various earths in an atmosphere contained in an inverted vessel, 
resting in a surface of water, in a temperature of 59° to 65f°. 
Under these circumstances the confined air, having free access to 
water, may be regarded as having been saturated with moisture. 
1000 grains of earth on a surface of 
Kinds of earth. ■ 50 square inches, absorbed in— 
12 hours. 
24 hours. 
48 hours. 
72 hours. 
, 
Grains. 
Grains. 
Grains. 
Grains. 
Siliceous sand . 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Calcareous sand . 
2 
3 
3 
3 
Gypsum powder. 
1 
l 
1 
1 
Sandy clay. 
21 
26 
28 
28 
Loamy clay . 
25 
30 
34 
35 
Stiff clay . 
30 
36 
40 
41 
Pure grey clay. 
37 
42 
48 
49 
Fine lime . 
26 
31 
35 
35 
Fine magnesia. 
69 
76 
80 
82 
Humus . 
80 
97 
110 
120 
Garden mould . 
35 
45 
50 
52 
Arable soil. 
16 
22 
23 
23 
Slaty marl. . 
24 
29 
32 
33 
“ It is a common error to regard the subsoil as being always 
similar in its earthy composition to the surface soil; and thus not 
to lookHfor assistance to that source. This erroneous conclusion 
long misled, for instance, the cultivators of some of the thin 
clays of the north of Hampshire, resting upon the chalk form¬ 
ation ; the chalk being there so very near the surface soil, no 
one imagined that a dressing with that could possibly fertilise the 
thin clay soil which merely covered it to the depth of a few 
inches ; they have found, however, upon a correct examination, 
such a deficiency of carbonate of lime (chalk) in this thin surface 
of clay that they have now generally adopted, with great ad¬ 
vantage, the plan of manuring these soils with copious dressings 
of chalk, brought to the surface, in some instances, by sinking 
dry wells to a considerable depth. And in another adjoining 
portion of the same county, the deep clays of the district around 
Stratlifieldsaye, it has been found, by the analysis of Professor 
Phillips, that this apparently uniform clay differs very materially 
in composition at different depths. He found (to give an in¬ 
stance) in one hundred parts of two varieties of clay, at twenty- 
two inches and at four feet six inches, per cent. 
At 22 ins. 
At 54 ins 
Silica ..... 
. 59.0 . 
.. 72.9 
Alumina . . 
. . 23.5 . 
.. 13.4 
Peroxide of iron . . . 
. 8.1 . 
.. 6.6 
Carbonate of lime 
. . 1.0 . 
.. 0.8 
Water, sulphate of lime, Ac. 
. 4.8 . 
5.5 
Carbonate of magnesia . 
-{Jour. H. A. S. vol. vii. p. 258.) 
. . 0.0 . 
.. 9.8 
“ The cultivators of the northern portion of our island, who 
principally obtain their lime from limestone, are, generally speak¬ 
ing, hardly sufficiently particular as to the quality of the stone 
they employ—this varies very considerably. Thus, some of the 
limestones of Argyleshire, have been found by Professor Johnston 
to contain— 
Carbonate of lime ' . . . . 90.14 
Carbonate of magnesia . . .0.31 
Alumina, and oxide of iron . . . 0.51 
Insoluble siliceous matter . . . .9.08 
“The lime obtained from such limestone would not contain so 
large a portion of magnesia as to be injurious to vegetables ; 
other limestones, however, are of a very different description; 
specimens from Berwickshire contained— 
From Langton 
Park. 
Langton 
Wood. 
Grueldykes. 
Carbonate of lime . 
43.85 
47.00 
43.81 
Carbonate of magnesia. 
33.31 
38.04 
39.50 
Alumina and oxide of iron 
1.59 
1.99 
3.57 
Insoluble siliceous matter. 
21.41 
12.97 
13.09 
—{Trans. High. Soc., 1847, p. 574—577.)” 
Before leaving this branch of our subject—the constitution of 
soils, we must detail that of the soil so valuable to the gardener, 
peat earth or hog mould. This is not that mass of moss or 
sphagnum dug out of wet, fenny places for fuel; but a sharp, 
sandy soil, mixed with the dead, fibrous roots of heath, and 
usually of a dark-grey colour, such as is found upon the surface 
beneath the heath on Wimbledon, Bagshot, and many other dry 
commons. Peat of the best description is thus constituted. Of 
400 parts— 
Fine siliceous sand 
. 156 
Unaltered vegetable fibre . 
. 2 
Decomposing vegetable matter 
. 110 
Silica (flinl) .... 
. 102 
Alumina (clay) 
. 16 
Oxide of iron .... 
. 4 
Soluble, vegetable, and saline matter . 
. 4 
Muriate of lime .... 
. 4 
Loss ..... 
. 2 
{To he continited.) 
WHAT MAY BE DONE WITH AN 
ORCHARD 
HOUSE. 
Dr. Beck thanks The Cottage Gardener for calling the 
attention of the horticultural world to the orchard-house, the 
value of which this unfavourable spring will establish. 
The fruit trees in Dr. Beck’s orchard-houses are. covered with 
well-grown fruit, with abundance of shoots to bear another year, 
and the foliage in perfect health. Not an insect or blight of 
any kind. What a contrast to unprotected fruit trees this year ! 
It was a very pretty sight to see twenty-two Peach and Nec¬ 
tarine trees in pots, in full bloom and health at the same time. 
The fruit on them is now the size of Walnuts. The pots are 
sunk, which they should be, or twice the quantity of water is 
required. On Lire back wall of the orchard-house are five esta¬ 
blished Peach and Nectarine trees, in full bearing, one of which 
bore 240 Peaches last year,—too many by half. Dr. Beck 
allows only from eighteen to twenty-four Peaches and Nectarines 
