LECTURE III. COLUMELLA. BOOK II. BEFORE proceeding, in his second Book, to the consideration of the different kinds of soil, and the modes of amending them, Columella takes the trouble of refuting the vulgar notion, that the ground itself is becoming effete, and worn out, like a female, from old age. The analogy, he observes, does not hold good: for in the latter case the animal does not become less prolific, but ceases to bear children altogether; whereas, in the case of the ground, complete barrenness never takes place, and the decrease in its fertility may be corrected by manuring. "It is true," he observes, "that the ground, after it has been brought into cultivation, seems to fall back in the scale of fertility; but the fruitfulness which it first possessed was owing to its having been fattened, as it were, by the residue from so many former crops which it had spontaneously brought forth." Thus Virgil, who might seem to have in his eye the clearings of a North American forest, remarks, "Aut, unde iratus silvam devexit arator, (GEORG. ii. 207.) This store of exuberance being gradually used up by a succession of harvests, the soil becomes poor in consequence :-"Non igitur fatigatione, quemadmodum plurimi crediderunt, sed nostra scilicet inertia, minus benigne nobis arva respondent." The notion of the soil being worn out by fatigue may appear to us too absurd to require the trouble of refuting, but modern farmers are guilty of a similar absurdity, when they talk of land being tired of a particular crop. In both instances the error is committed of attributing to inert matter properties belonging only to living substances; and it must be admitted that of the two the modern notion is the most extravagant, inasmuch as it assigns to an inanimate body, not merely a decay in certain of its properties, which is at least conceivable, but even volition, inclinations, and affections, which are the attributes not only of organization, but even of vitality. It may indeed appear an affront to attribute to any man of intelligence such a notion, but the degree in which our views are imperceptibly warped by the adoption of a particular phraseology, may be seen from the prevalent notion, that as manures are said to act as stimulants to vegetation, they lose their effect by frequent repetition; a theory which implies, either that an inorganic substance, like the soil, can be affected by exciting influences, like a living or organized body, or that the crop of the succeeding year may be rendered less susceptible, by stimuli applied to that which had preceded it. Our author next proceeds to distinguish the several kinds of land. This may in the first place be divided into champaign, hilly, and mountainous. The first of these should not be quite level, but possess a gentle slope in one direction; the second should rise gently and gradually; the third should not consist of abrupt precipices, but be suited for trees and herbage. In each of these kinds we may distinguish six species of soil, namely, fat and lean, loose and dense, moist and dry; and of course these properties may be combined in all manner of ways, so as to create a much greater number of subspecies. In a treatise of this kind however our business is to confine ourselves to generic distinctions, and not to bewilder the mind by stating minute differences. By a fat soil Columella seems to express merely the fact of its yielding abundantly without much labour-a soil, in short, naturally rich and fertile. G By a lean soil the reverse is implied. By a loose soil he intends one that is light and easily worked. By a heavy soil, one which requires to be much worked, but which, when labour is spent upon it, produces an abundant return. This is known to be the case with many of the stiff soils of this country. They contain all the elements of fertility, but in a state of combination, which renders it not easy to extract them by water; and hence frequent and long exposure to atmospheric agents is necessary to effect their decomposition. This is done by ploughing, and the other operations of husbandry; and when so prepared, not only is their mechanical condition improved, but their chemical constituents, their alkalies, &c., in which they are often rich, are rendered soluble, and consequently available for the uses of plants. Of this fact Columella was quite aware, although chemistry was not then sufficiently advanced to enable him to point out the reason of it. Virgil, too, after remarking, that coldness of the soil is scarcely to be discovered but by the nature of the trees that grow upon it; the presence of the pine, the yew, and the ivy affording indications of this property; goes on to recommend, that the ground should be prepared by trenching, and the soil exposed to the north wind, before vines are planted; adding, that the looseness and fertility, which we express by the term putre, is obtained by the winds, the frost, and the continued stirring up and digging of the soil. "at sceleratum exquirere frigus Difficile est; piceæ tantum, taxique nocentes There is one species of soil, called cariosa, mentioned by Cato, Columella and Pliny, which deserves a moment's notice. Columella describes it, as one which becomes wet with a very little rain, the latter not penetrating to the lower part of the soil. Pliny compares it to the rottenness of wood, being arid, porous, rough, white, worm-eaten, and like pumice. Hardouin says it is the kind which the Lyonnaise farmers call by the opprobrious name of "terre pouilleuse." Whatever it may be, Cato regards it with great aversion, and says, that it is neither fit for arable, nor for pasture land. The terms of moist and dry, as applied to soils, sufficiently explain themselves. It is evident that the above nomenclature is not to be regarded as precise, or as serving to divide soils into six species. It rather corresponds with the distinctions made in them by |