392 The Ohio Naturalist. [Vol. XII, No. 1,. 



In the soil studies, two samples were taken from the same 

 place and the same depth at the same time in order that each 

 might serve as a check upon the other. In order to compare soil 

 moisture for different locations, dctenninations were made of soil 

 taken from both places on the same day and at about the same 

 depth. In order to decrease the chances of error, a considerable 

 amount of soil was taken in each sample. The drying process 

 was continued until several weighings made at intervals of four 

 or five hours, gave exactly the same results. In no case was the 

 temperature allowed to rise to 100° C. The instruments used 

 were a shovel, a hoe, a meter rule, a number of quart tin cans, 

 and an oven. The geotome was not used because the amount or 

 soil taken for each sample made this instrument impracticable. 



The location of a station once decided upon, all the soil was 

 quickly remo\^ed to the depth at which the two samples were to 

 be taken. If any loose soil rolled into the excavation before the 

 samples were secured, it was carefully removed, so that the 

 samples would be entirely of the soil at the depth decided upon. 

 The excavations were made large enough so that a surface of 

 about two square feet w^ould be exposed. Then a layer of soil 

 not exceeding one inch in depth was loosened carefully so as not 

 to get any soil from a higher level mixed with it. put into the cans, 

 and the lids tightly sealed. The cans were taken to the labora- 

 tory, w^here they were weighed. The lids were then removed 

 and the drying process begun. In some instances the drying 

 extended over a period of four days, the cans being kept where 

 they w^ould be undisturbed and at a temperature below 100° C. 

 so that no humus would be burned. After the drying was com- 

 pleted, the cans w^ere weighed again and the percentage of moisture 

 for both moist and dry soil calculated. For instance in the first 

 sample in the table' (853— 7S7.01)-^ (853—125.05) gives the 

 proportion of moisture relative to the weight of the moist soil. 

 This reduced to per cent gives S.9S. For getting the per cent drv 

 soil weight for the first sample we used (853 — 787.61)^787.61 — 

 125.05). The five stations were selected mainly to represent 

 different types of soil, as the red clay of station number one, the 

 mixture of red and white clay of station number 2, the loam and 

 white clay of station number 3 and the loam of station number 4. 

 Stations numbers 1 and 2 were in the open and heavily sodded > 

 A large elm stood 16 feet from the first station. There were no- 

 trees within 100 feet of the second station. Station 3 was among 

 apple trees planted in April of the same year. A poor crop of 

 oats had been harvested; and the ground had been seeded to 

 clover and timothy, which failed because of drought. The 

 ground was hard and dry at the surface, and had not been stirred 

 since sowing the grain in April. vStation 4 was a rich, black loam 

 that had been carefully worked all summer, up to the time when 



