, 1912-03-09

consider are the physical and also the me-
chanical conditions of the soils he has to Gull
tivate. In describing the physical conditions
the first Of these that takes our attention IS
the variation in weight or comparative den
sity of soils.
TBS. per cubic foot.
Sane weighs when dry ITO
Loan 50
Clay %
Peaty Soils 80 to 50
In gravely or sandy soils, we find the den
sity increases, with the quantity of sand or
gravel it contains, and decreases with the
amount of organic matter, that may be add
ed to it, in the form of mahures etc, it also
follows that the greater the density of the
soil, the less will it suffer from treading or
trampling. It will therefore be distinctly
remembered that a distinction must be made
between the meaning, which is commonly
attached to the terms, heavy and light soils.
Sandy soils are considered light soils and yet
for It given bulk they are heavier than all
others, clays are called heavy soils and yet
for q given bulk they weigh light, so that IN
referring to such soils it is i'll reality the
horse power required to cultivate them and
not their weight which is meant.
The amount Of horsepower necessary to
plough a clay soil is greater than is required
for a sandy soil, and consequently is said to be
heavier ploughing, the friction being great
er on account of the adhesion Of the soil and
the very fine particles Of which it is compos-
ed. Sand is just the reverse, there is a
coarseness of texture and o gritty character
which has little tendency to hold together,
even to stick; in the first instance you will
find in p~loughing the mouldboard will be-
come polished, while in the and the soil be-
comes sticky and clogs the mouldboard. No
thing is better for such soils than the intro
duction of organic matter into the soil, by
which it's texture can be effectually changed
and made easy for mechanical tillage. For in
stance. when lime, mari or chalk is applied IN
large quantities (soils of this description
should never be cultivated i'll q wet or pIas-
tic condition, as the texture OF the soil ls
injured and It's friabllity destroyed for years.
some OF our best producing cane lands OF
AnguiIIa have been similarly treated. In
like manner we can notice the mechan1eal
condition of manv of our sandy soils which
gives an instance of a difficulty of the oppo-
site character. We often find what is really o
collection of minute gritty stones and IN
many cases with little soft earthly matter in
termixed with them, the difficulty is increas-
ed when this sand consists OF fragments OF
quartz, and therefore necessltates other mat
ter being added to the soil before it can
yield food for plants.
Between these two extremes we have
a great variety of soils which have an entire
" different mechanical condition. Very often
we find small stones and stony matter which
we often consider un encumbrance, still We
also find that wherever we find such that the
land generally keeps moist and is sometimes
of a very friable character, and we often fad
that such land retains its moisture, which
sometimes we cannot account for, therefore
it is of the greatest importance that the
planter should thoroughly understand the
physical and mechanical conditions Of the
land he has to cultivate, which can come only
by practical observation, and study. This is
very often exempli6ed by the different me-
thods adopted by different localities and
sometimes condemned by others u%nacquaint-
ed with such local practice, but when
brought forward with scientific and practi-
cal observation, have been found to be cor
rect although not assisted with the help Of
science at it's beginning.
The practical planter, who works un Ter
tropical conditions and especially in st.
Croix, should always eadeavour to keep his land
in a good mechanical condition, and, by observ-
ing lis physical aspect infinitely, he can bet
L a.. Eo.Uoon Eor ;~cto,oo lo,,1