Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-10-09
For the Freeman.
A Chat with Farmers.
No. Is.
BY AGRICOLA.

propose to "chat" this time upon the
scientific formation of the soil we Guilt
vate. This soil is formed. for the most
part, from the rocks which constitute the
crust of the earth. Under the influence
of air and water the rocks crumble. The
seeds of plants, waited by the wind. scat
tered upon this loose material, germinate
and spring up. Animals come to feed
upon the plants. Soon both plants and
animals die, and their remains mix with
the crumbling rock, and what we call soil
is formed.
The soil we cultivate differs in quality,
according to the nature of the rock and
the kind of vegetable matter which mixes
with it. These rocks are distinguished
from each other rs stratitied and unstratl-
fed, the largest portion of which. as we
meet them ON the surface of the earth,
are stratifed. These are composed, for
the most part, of limestone, sandstone and
clays. When limestone crumbes it forms
calcareous soil; and sandstone gives us
a sandy soil, and hard clay rock gives
US clay soil. These form the three lead
ing qualities of the soil best known to
practical farmers.
But in many instances the crumbling
rocks are of mixed nature, and they
produce mixed soil, neither calcareous
sandy nor clayey, but are open, fertile ant
valuable loan, which farmers most de
| light to cultivate.
When the unstraliiied rock crumbles, j
produces soil more or less productive
according to their kind. In granite coun
tries Chat is,where granite rock prevails.
the soil is comparatively poor. If tral
rocks prevail, the soil is always rich ant
fertile. The agency most employed il
producing this mixed soil, is the waite
falling upon the mountains and washin.
the finer and lighter portions of the vari
Gus rocks into the valleys below, leavin!
the coarser material on the hills AM
slopes. The winds, also, play an import
ant part in the formation of local soils
AS they sweep over the country, they tax
up the fine dust and bear it far away t
other regions; or, rushing from the sea
they bear inland the sand of the shore
and render soils which are naturally rio
and productive barren waste. Such ar
the agencies which modify the soils pre-
duced by the natural rocks. The aluvia
soils that border our rivers are produce
through the agency of water; while tn
sandy downs of European countries an
the desert regions of Africa and Asia ow
their existence to the winds.
Vegetation, also, has a hand in formin
he soil. When tree, or shrub, or plar
dies on the dry surface, it decays an
passes off into the air, but if it is burie
under the soil, or under the water,
crumbles and forms q part of the soil i
self. This accumulation of vegetable ma
ter from year to year, and age to ag
greatly modifes and enriches the soil.
The chemical composition of the rocl
is the primary cause of the diversity
( The soils; the physical distribution of rail-
and winds, and their mechanical action,
The secondary cause; and the growth in
accumulation of vegetable matter is II
third cause. All combining, these caus
account for the diversities which | hay
specified. The successful farmer must
guided by these chemical principles, as |
determines what crops shall be soug
upon given field. If he sows whe
, where he should plant corn, or plants p
tatoes where be should sow oats, he w
I suffer loss on account of his ignoranc