Economic Geology Or Geology in Its Relations to the Arts And Manufactures

ractical geologist. A soil may be deficient in composition and texture, and yet the elements of improvement may lie in another soil on the same farm : the question of drainage depends much on the nature of subsoils and subjacent rocks; and substances having a manurial value may be close at hand, and yet be unsuspected by the working farmer. On all such points the geological surveyor can render valuable assistance; and it is often more through the indolence of routine than through prejudice that the agriculturist fails to avail himself of the suggestions of science. It is true that by some the bearings of geology on agriculture have been overstated, and their value exaggerated ; but it is equally true that the chances of success are on the side of the farmer whose practice is directed by a knowledge of the facts and principles which lie at the foundation of his art. Nor for the farmer alone, but for the country at large, is it desirable that scientific principles should rule more thoroughly in practical agriculture. The area of our country is limited, and of that limited area a large portion, partly from structure and partly from climate, is totally unfit for general husbandry; hence the necessity (with an ever- increasing population) that the available portion should be rendered as fertile as it is possible for skill and industry to accomplish. In the present chapter we intend to direct attention, yfr-.rf, to the geological character of soils and subsoils, and the...