Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts c20.67

c20.67

It is curious and not a little interesting that these experiments correspond exactly with those of Lord Kairns in his theory of fertilising soils. He says: ‘Some earths fill not the hole out of which they were dug: some do more than fill it. Poverty occasions the former; the pores are diminished by handling which makes it more compact. Solidity occasions the latter; clay swells by stirring and continues so, till its former solidity be restored by the power of gravity.’²⁶ It is equally remarkable that these experiments of the Malabar farmer, should correspond with Sir H. Davy’s philosophical observation; ‘that the fertility of soils is in proportion to their power of absorbing moisture’. ‘Alumina, or pure clay,’ he says, ‘is the earth to which soils owe their fertility.’ He adds: ‘Soil with too great a proportion of sand is absolutely sterile.’²⁷