gantly formed moss, which bears a miniature resemblance to trees and shrubs; these, too, run through their destined course; they die, and leave behind their remains for the birthplace of some more perfect plants, such as the grasses, the saxifrages, the wormwoods, and plants with small leaves and low slender stems. The vegetable mould now deepens; generation succeeds to generation; plants of a more complex structure, and of a higher stature, such as shrubs and bushes, begin to rise upon the rock, or the sand, now no longer an inhospitable mass; at last, the loftiest monarchs of the forest are developed, and spread over an immense surface, for perchance a single seed, wafted by wind, borne by some bird, washed by some flood, or swallowed by some animal, and thus prepared for germination, is the means by which the new generation bursts into birth, and changes the face of nature. There is an uninterrupted circle of events on which the preservation and the gradual improvement of all the productions of Nature hangs, and there is an endless source of inquiry for man.

The processes here described are such as are at this moment proceeding on the surface of the earth. But they do not, of themselves, account for the phenomena which the surface of the earth at present displays. If the reader has at all attended to what has been said in the 'Winter' volume, respecting geological changes and revolutions, he will understand in what manner these operations may have been accelerated, and the various soils, thus formed, may have been removed and mixed. The hand of the great Creator is as conspicuous in the one class of operations as in the other; and while we trace these operations, we should never lose sight of Him, who not only at first endowed matter with such tendencies, but who afterwards presided over and controlled all its convulsions, so as to fulfil His high behests, and, finally, to produce a world so admirably fitted for the habitation of a race of rational beings, such as man.

Peaty soils are produced by very different causes from those already mentioned. They arise from the accumu

The Lancet.

lation of neglected vegetable matter in moist situations. Where successive generations of vegetables have grown upon a soil, Sir H. Davy observes, unless part of their produce has been carried off by man, or consumed by animals, the vegetable matter increases in such a proportion that the soil approaches to a peat in its nature; and, if it happen to be in a situation where it can receive water from a higher district, it becomes spongy and permeated by that fluid, and is generally rendered incapable of supporting the nobler class of vegetables. Another mode in which peat has been formed, is by the gradual accumulation and decomposition of aquatic plants in shallow lakes and stagnant pools. This kind of peat is of a more loose and spongy quality, and the fermentation which takes place seems to be of a different kind, more gaseous matter being evolved.

What has greatly contributed to the growth of peat, is the destruction of ancient forests, either by the operation of some natural cause, or by the hand of man. In Britain, and various parts of the European continent, the conquests of the Romans seem greatly to have contributed to this. That adventurous and warlike people found it necessary, for the evolutions of their armies, to destroy the extensive woods which formed the natural fastnesses of the inhabitants; and, having accomplished this object, by fire or by other means, they suffered the unconsumed trees to lie where they fell; and these, where the ground was level, damming up the little brooks and rills, and causing the moisture to accumulate, gave rise to a coarse vegetation, which, in process of time, formed into extensive morasses. The existence of great quantities of wood, in various stages of decomposition, having sometimes very obviously undergone the action of fire, sometimes of the hatchet, in almost all the mosses of this country, may readily be accounted for on this supposition."

It is instructive to observe, in the management of soils, a principle not yet adverted to, but brought into view by this account of the origin of peat-bogs and mosses. Land, as appears by this example, is capable of deterioration by neglect or abuse, as well as of improve

ment by cultivation. The peaty soil of Great Britain and Ireland, and, indeed, it has been alleged, of the habitable globe, constitutes nearly one fourth of the whole surface. This ungenial soil is constantly on the increase, wherever it is not arrested in its progress by human industry. Here, then, we have a stimulus to exertion, the converse of that previously mentioned. The former holds out a reward to industry, the latter acts as a punishment upon negligence and sloth. This is entirely in conformity with the operations of Providence in other respects, and, indeed, in various modes, enters into all the operations of agriculture. While judicious management never fails to repay the active and intelligent cultivator by an improved soil and a liberal return, the slothful and foolish find, to their cost, that the ground cannot be neglected or abused with impunity. The field of the sluggard is quickly filled with noxious weeds, which encumber the soil and destroy the useful plants intended to be produced. Excessive or unskilful cropping reduces the soil to barrenness. In either case, the earth resents, as it were, the treatment she receives, and refuses to give forth her fertility. Such is the wise decree of the Most High.

NINTH WEEK-WEDNESDAY.

MANAGEMENT OF SOILS.

FROM what has been already said, it appears, that the constituent elements of soil, as regards their general chemical properties, are very simple. There are, however, various modifications of these elements, which render the subject somewhat more complicated than it might at first sight appear. Not only are the ingredients mingled in very different proportions, but, by their chemical combinations, their appearance and properties are altered, so as to constitute soils of very different quality. All these circumstances give rise to the necessity of varied manage

ment, and a variety of agricultural implements, which increase in number and perfection in proportion as the science is better understood. In treating of this subject, with reference to the manner in which these arrangements are adapted, by Creative Wisdom, to the condition and powers of human beings, it is evident, that it will be necessary to confine ourselves to a consideration of the broad and general features which it exhibits.

British soils may, in this view, be arranged into four different classes, according to the ingredient most predominant in each, namely, clayey, sandy, gravelly, and mossy.* Each of these requires a different mode of cultivation. A clay soil, in whatever way it may be distinguished, by its color of black, white, yellow, or red,differs from all other soils, by being tough, wet, and cold. It holds water like a cup, and consequently, when once wetted, does not soon dry; and, on the other hand, when once dry, is not soon saturated with moisture. In a summer without rain, the surface is covered with chinks or cracks, and is, in this way, prepared by the hand of Nature for receiving the water when it falls. In this latter state, when ploughed, it is found to be hard and cloddy, and not easily pulverized by labor; and if, on the other hand, it be ploughed when full of moisture, it sticks to the plough like mortar.

This description shows the difficulties with which the agriculturist has to contend, when such soil is subjected to his management. He must employ his art in rendering it less adhesive, both that it may become more pervious to moisture, and better fitted to admit the free insertion of the rooty fibres of the plants sown upon it. This he may effect in various ways. Top-dressings of other kinds of soil, a liberal use of lime, frequent ploughing, considerable quantities of manure, are among the means usually employed in such a case, and not employed in vain. By such means, the stiffest and most unproductive clay can be converted into a rich loam,

* [This description of soils answers very well for the soils of New England, though it would not suit the rich alluvial lands of the West, and other districts of our country.-AM. ED.]

which bountifully rewards the skill and labor bestowed on it.

Sandy soils are of a very different nature, and are subject to defects of an opposite description. When there is little foreign admixture in this kind of soil, it is light and barren, and requires a considerable addition of other earths to render it fruitful. It is, under all circumstances, loose and crumbling, and is not susceptible of equal improvement with the land already described. In dry weather, the moisture, having rapidly escaped, both by evaporation and filtration, leaves the soil without a sufficient quantity of nutritive juices to bring the plants to perfection, and thus the crops must be always comparatively precarious. Much, however, may be done to counteract this defect; a remarkable instance of which is presented to us in the agriculture of Norfolk. Nearly one half of the lands of that county were little better than a barren waste. But a judicious system of management was adopted by a liberal use of clay and marl, and common manure, during a considerable period, a new soil may be almost said to have been created; and, when a crop of clover precedes one of wheat, this plant, by acting mechanically, so as to bind the surface, and perhaps also by some unknown chemical operation during its decay, produces so favorable a state of the soil, that a very large quantity of grain is frequently the result.

A gravelly soil is nearly allied to one of sand, and is subject to similar defects; the main difference, indeed, is, that the former is mixed with small stones, generally soft, but sometimes also of a flinty or chalky nature. This soil requires to be deepened by the plough, and by frequent dressings of marl, earth, or clay, as well as enriched by liberal applications of manure. Under such management, the return, in ordinary years, will be liberal; but drought, as well as frequent and heavy falls of rain, is injurious; and, though the cultivation is easy and unexpensive, the return is not secure.

The last kind of soil which was noticed, is that of peatThis, in its natural state, does not produce plants

moss.