The native Virginian. [volume] (Orange Court House, Va.) 1867-187?, 1868-05-08
8arltt attS GarSttt.
COMPOSITIONS OF SOILS.

| A correspondent asks lis TO publish
an article on soils, giving tie distin-
gushing characteristics OF the different
| Kinds, SO that beginner can tell mari
from loan, muck from peat, &c.
| An exact classification of soils is not
an easy matter, illasmuch as in nature
| distinct lines of separation cannot gem
orally be traced, yet such an arrange
ment is of great practical utility, and
| il standlr could be definitely settled,
and generally understood, it would
render clearer much OF the writing on
agricultural topics. The ingredients
most common in soil are, clay, lime,
SILICA, as sand and gravel. and humus
or animal and vegetable remains. Soil
| is rarely composed of only one or even
two of these substance, and it is the
! preponderance and mixture of one or
more which gives its character and
| name. ufFt - of
We should denominate Sandy Soils
| those composed almost entirely of siE
llcious sand or gravel; the nearer they
approach to being pure sand the more
worthless they are for all agricultural
purposes. They absorb, large. amounts
of manure without corresponding bene-
fit to the crops, andiire very difficult to
bring to q state OF Fertility. Their
greatest capabilltyf tor improyemept
consists IN the admiNture of other soil
elements which may lie in the subsoi1
or near at hand. But a perfect sand
soil Is the mostshopelsss of any toscouz
vert to proftable, hHsbandry.Ss - s.egsa.
% Clay Soils are those IN which clay
greatly predohinates, and thefr qtlali-
ties are directly opposite those Of sand.
They have great erlo'fiabsorbingand
retaining. moisture AND gases from the
air; they are adhesive, stif1 and impen-'
etraBle; they are cold, late, and difficult
to cultivate in dry and wet seasons.A
Yet they are III general, highly FERTILE,
and their faults. which arise from theft
mechanical and not from their chemical
structure, may be amended by drainage
and fermentive manlires. sstF-
A soil of nearly pure mold or h,mus is
usually termed peat, muck, or bog. 1T
is valuable for special purposes; is usp-
ally wet, and not adapted to general
farming. GdlcdfeouS Soils are those
which contain distinguishing quantities
OF lime. a.atig
From the combination Of these. sever
al soils arises great variety TO which
the general name of loans may be ip@
proprlately given, with Il specific term
which indicates what property appears
most prominently in their composition.
THUS we hrve sandy loan in which there
may be clay, lime and vegetable mold,
but the sand predominates and stamps
its characteristic on the soil. Clay Loan
may be similarly described, except that
clay takes the place of the sand in
quantity; then there are marty loans
which contain good deal OF lime and
clay, and oegetable mods or loans in
which the humus exists most largely
These different loans are the most
valuable soils and have the widest
| adaptability to various products. Their
mechanical and chemical conditions are
the most perfect; they are most readi-
ly renovated when worn by over crop
ping, and are also the most easily cul-
tivaled. They retain moisture best iR
drouuh, and pass it offin seasons of unu-.
sual wet, and the highest perfection in
agriculture is attainable on this discrip-
tion of soil.--Rurdl Nelo Yorker.