OF SCOTLAND.
33
Small and loose grains of real sand, consisting mostly ofwhat is called s ilex, very hard, and neither cohering, nor sof-tened by water, nor soluble in acids, constitute a poor, loose,a, id barren soil.
But sandy soils along the margin of the sea, often containshells and mud; and, having thus a mixture of calcareousearth and of clay, they are thereby greatly enriched.
In the lower districts also, where fields of sand appear invarious parts of Scotland , enriched with vegetable earth orother substances, the soil, though open and porous, is kindly,and moderately productive.
When a sandy soil is very loose, and so clean as not in anymaterial degree to soil the fingers in handling it, the farmerconsiders it by far too poor, in that state, to be cultivated withadvantage.
The blowing sands, which have been destructive in Scot-land, not only on the eastern coast, but also in the Hebrides ,ought never to be cultivated, except in as far as may be ne-cessary, in order to sow them with the sca-bent, and othersuitable plants, for preventing their being driven by thewind.
fields of excellent sandy soil occur in Moray, Dumfries-shire and other counties. Being generally dry, open or po-rous, and early, they answer well for turnips, potatoes, barley,common oats, and pasture •, but, above all, carrots might becultivated on such soils to advantage.
This kind of soil often consists, chiefly, of the same sub-stance with that of sand, namely silex, only differing in pointof size ; but it also frequently contains granite, anti other kindsof rock, partially, but not very minutely, decomposed. Gravel ,being more porous even than sand, is generally a poor andhungry soil , especially when the parts ol it are hard in sub-