New Series, November, 1905. 



355 



This darker and more loose material is the true soil. It is one of the two 

 parts of the great earth covering that produces plants. 



Just beneath the soil the material is of a different color — usually 

 lighter — anfl not so loose and open, for it does not contain so many plant 

 roots and rotten wood and is not stirred. This is the subsoil. It reaches 

 down several feet or as far as plant roots grow, and is just as important 

 as the true soil, since it helps to furnish what the plant must have — food, 

 water, and heat. 



Fig. 4. — ,4 spray of barberry. 



Questions on Lesson i 



1. Do you know of any place in the field or among the hills where 

 plants do not grow? 



2. How deep in the ground did you ever find roots of plants? Look 

 at the creek bank where the water has washed away the earth or where 

 the earth has been carried away in making the road more level, and see 

 the many roots — some fine and threadlike and others large and knotty. 



3. Can you tell the difference between the soil and the subsoil in the 

 school yard? 



4. Do the soil and the subsoil look the same in diff'erent places, as in 

 the creek bottom and on the hillside? 



5. What is the greatest depth of soil you know anywhere in your 

 neighborhood ? 



