MARCH, 69 
SOILS, FRUITS, AND MANURES. 
(Continued from page 57.) 
Tux best fruit-tree soils in Britain, for general cultivation, belong to 
the tertiary bed of the London clay formation (geologically speaking), a 
large area of clays, sands, and gravels, covered for the most part with 
a surface soil (loam) possessing all the ingredients for growing fruit- 
trees in perfection. ‘The London clay overlies the chalk, and extends 
through the counties round London, and the south and east of England, 
varying from a few inches to several hundred feet in depth, which is 
the case at and for some distance round London. 
The loams of these districts differ considerably in composition, but are 
generally characterised by a yellowish colour. The best descriptions are 
soft and unctuous to the touch, owing to the presence of calcareous matter, 
and generally contain a number of round pebbles and very finely divided 
flints, showing that during their deposition the materials of which they 
are composed were for a long time exposed to the action of streams and 
currents of water. These loams drain themselves freely, and abound in 
fibrous matter, owing to the freedom with which the roots of the natural 
vegetation growing on them extend themselves, forming what all 
gardeners are so desirous of obtaining, viz., a@ turfy loam. We need 
scarcely add, that for all purposes of fruit-growing such loams hold the 
very highest place; but as the subsoil has something to do with the 
health and productiveness of fruits, we must notice this before de- 
scribing the soils of other formations. The subsoils of the London clay 
districts may be classed under four heads—clay, sand, gravel, and 
chalk. The gravel or drift beds extend over considerable areas, and 
where there is a depth of surface soil over.them of not less than twenty 
inches they form, of course, where the gravel is open, a well-drained 
soil, which may be termed a warm one, and on which all our tenderest 
fruits—as the Peach, Apricot, Vine, and Fig—thrive admirably, 
Where the subsoil consists of sand alone the same remark applies, if 
the land is free from landsprings; if not, the most effectual draining 
must be laid down before any kinds of fruit are committed to soils liable 
to springs ; and from the known coldness of such soils we should hesi- 
tate, under any circumstances, before planting fruit-trees on them, and 
on no account until we had satisfied ourselves that the drainage was 
complete. 
Clay subsoils should, in all cases, be made perfectly dry by draining, 
and should also be loosened for some depth, to permit the surface water 
to pass freely from the roots of the trees growing on them ; breaking 
up the subsoil will also prevent the tendency to burn in hot seasons, to 
which shallow clay soils are very liable. When the drainage is perfect, 
and there is a depth of twenty inches or more for the roots to penetrate, 
all the hardy kinds of fruit-trees—as the Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry— 
will thrive well, as also the Gooseberry, Currant, and Strawberry, 
although this latter requires a deeper and freer soil to flourish in per- 
fection. The chalk subsoils of the London clay are met with most 
