The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1885-05-20
KENTUCKY SOILS.
Their Superiority shonld be Considered
by Those Seeking Homes.
[Prof. J. r. Proetor.l

IProf ). r. Proesor.l
/ cannot better state the difference be
tween the soils of this state and those ol
tae northwest than by quoting from DR.
i Peter, chemist of the Kentucky geologi
cal sslrvey-an agricultural chemist and
practical agricultnraiisr of large expe
rience.
Hence geologists inform us that, even
in strata which had been deposited OF
formed at the same geological time. tht
rock-layers ut the north are sometime,
/ formed of coarse-grained, ins0lubIe, sill
cious material. while those farther south
and west are limestoHes, or 6ne. grained
shales rich in phosphstes and other sol
able materials.
Another geological cause of the com
parative fertility Of Kentucky soils is
/ that these rock strata, out of which they
were formed and which are made mp OF
the most finely divided or soluble mate
/ rails, were raised above the general sur.
/ face of the primeyal ocean very early in
| geological history, and have therefore
been exposed to the disintegrating infiu-
ence of the atmospheric agencies for inn
mense unknown ages, so that soils formed
OF these rocks alone have been gradually
produced to much greater depth than
| Is to be observed in almost any other
-country. Soils thus formed, in place,
out of the rock strata on which they rest,
are called by writers sedentary soils, end
said to have usually little depth. They
are hardly known over the broad expanse
of our continent north and west of Ken
lucky, the whole of that extensive region
being covered by mixed deposit of CLAW,
sand, gravel and boulders, called the
Drift" made up of the debris of more
northern rock stata, which have been
carried, during long periods of polar re.
| frigeration, by the immense glaciers
which then covered great portion of the
northern hemisphere.
| This mixed deposit-made up largely
of coarse and hard silicious materials,
which so covers the country of the great
northwest that scientific observers OF the
north have asserted that the soil is not
affected by its underlying rock stratum
does not seem to have crossed the valley
OF the Ohio river to enter Kentucky.
The southern extremity of the polar Ice
field seems 10 have been near the line of
our latitude, and the great stream of wa
ter flowing from it carrying its gravel
and sand, detected by the river valley
and by the elevated table-.and of our an
cient rocks, was turned west of our state.
leaving undisturbed and unburied the
rich soil which had been produced in the
long period during which those rocks
had been raised above the ocean level.
To these fortunate geological conii-
tons, therefore, are orr Kentucky soils
greatly indebted for their fertility and
for the extremely fine state of division
of their constituent particles. la the
great majority OF these soils anasvzcd
by the writer, the siiiciOus particles, left
after digesting the soils In ehlorohytlrie
acid, of specific gravity /. l. all passed
through fine sieve, which had sixteen
hundred meshes in the centimetre square.
All scientific writer's on soils attach the
greatest Importance TO the relative fine
ness of the particles which form them.
Mons DeGasparin says: at mast not be
forgotten that the nutrative power OF a
soil, other things being equal, Is In d.
rect proportion to the fineness of the par
ticles which compose it; so much 20. in
deed, that when soil is To be chemically
analysed, only the ''fine EARTH or that
portion which will pass through sieve
having ten wires to the centimetre. ia
taken for the analysis, the coarser part
being considered practically inert rs to
plant nourishnent-oniy i skeleton,
which Is not TO De taken into account
when estimating the fertility of soil;
and this is especially true when the
coarser particles are of quartz, or some
hard silieate not readily to be disintegra-
ted or decomposed by the ordinary pro-
cess of weafhering, or which do not con-
tain any essential element of plant nour-
ishment.
In this important particular our Ken
tncky soils are more valuable than the
great body of those of the great north
west: that not only are their constituent
particles very infinitely divided, but even
these, fine enough 20 pass through the
meshes of the finest sieve above de-
seribed, are not entirely fine sand of sill
ca, but contain considerable proportion
of fine PARTICLES of decomposab(e siiicates,
which IN the process of weathering help
to keep up the supply of essential plant
food, aud make the soils very durnbIe.
In some of his analyses of Kentucky soils.
the writer has found rs much as 3. 9 per
cent. of potash in the fine silieious resi-
due of soil which was left after q weeks
digestion in diluted chlorohydric acid.
but which would gradually be unlocked
and made available for plant growth IN
der the Influence of time and the atnos-
pheric agencies.
The late Dr.. David d. Owen. former
director OF the Kentucky geological sur
yey, placed in the writer's possession a
series of samples of soils which he had
collected during his celebrated explora-
ton of the great Northwestern Territory
for the United States government in
l847-50s some of which the writer ana
iyzed, giving the results in vol. iv. o.
s., Kentucky Geological Reports. These
soils, Characteristic Of the best of tisis
great prairie region, are mostly very dark
eolored, sometimes almost black. forrn
the presence of large proportion Of or
ganic matter, some OF which Is peatv or
semi-bitaminous-of little value for plant
fo6d-derived from accompanying aesaains
OF many successive growths of grasses or
aquatic plants In recent or former azes:
but in them all, and in some OF sheTn in
very large proportion. are visible grxins