Earth Study 849 



clover should never be acid. They are usually well; limed before an 

 attempt is made to grow these legumes. 



Experiment 6, which indicates the proper treatment of clay soils Fill four 

 pie tins with clay which has been wet and smoothly puddled. In one mix 

 with the clay a small portion of lime; in another add a larger portion of 

 muck; leave two with pure clay, and place one of these out-of-doors where 

 it will freeze hard. Then place the four tins on a shelf and allow to dry. 

 In which of these is the clay most friable ? In which is it the hardest ? 



Hints to the teacher on Experiment 6 This experiment shows that freez- 

 ing the clay rendered it finer, so that it may be broken easily into particles 

 small enough to set closely about the plant's roots. The clay mixed with 

 lime is much more friable than the one mixed with muck, showing that clay 

 needs lime more than organic matter to make it of greatest use. The pure 

 clay which is dried without freezing hardens into large, flat pieces,, each 

 being almost as hard as stone. 



Supplementary reading Ch. I, II, III in The Great World's Farm, Gaye; 

 Ch. IV. in Practical Forestry, Gifford. 



Beside the moist clods the slender flags arise filled with the sweetness of the earth. Out of 

 the darkness under that darkness which knows no day save when the ploughshare opens its 

 chinks they have come to the light. To the light they have brought a colour which will 

 attract the sunbeams from now till harvest. RICHARD JEFFERIES. 



'Here is a problem, a wonder for all to see. 



Look at this marvelous thing I hold in my hand! 

 This is a magic surprising, a mystery 



Strange as a miracle, harder to understand. 



What is it? Only a handful of dust: to your touch 

 A dry, rough powder you trample beneath your feet, 



Dark and lifeless; but think for a moment, how much 

 It hides and holds that is beautiful, bitter, or sweet. 



Think of the glory of color! The red of the rose, 



Green of the myriad leaves and the fields of grass, 

 Yellow as bright as the sun where the daffodil blows, 



Purple where violets nod as the breezes pass. 



Strange, that this lifeless thing gives vine, flower, tree, 



Color and shape and character, fragrance too; 

 That the timber that builds the house, the ship for the sea,^ 



Out of this powder its strength and its toughness drew!" 



From "Dust," CELIA THAXTER. 



Some years ago there was received at Cornell University a letter from a boy working upon 

 a farm in Canada. In this letter he said: 



"I have read your leaflet entitled, 'The Soil, What It Is,' and as I trudged up and down 

 the furrows every stone, every lump of earth, every shady knoll, every sod hollow had for me 

 a new interest. The day passed, the work was done, and I at least had had a rich experience." 



