928 



Rural School LeafleI". 



soil as before. After this has been done with each sample, again set 

 them aside to settle for a third day, when they can be examined as before, 

 noting how much cleaner the soil in the bottom becomes. Pour off the 

 muddy water into bottle Number 2, and fill again with clear water. 

 After shaking thoroughly, set each bottle aside for two or three minutes 

 and then carefully pour off the turbid liquid into a glass vessel marked 

 3 and the name of the sample. Repeat this three times, and note how 

 the particles come down and how much more clean the material in the 

 bottom becomes. Watch the particles arrange themselves in layers and 

 remember the examples of this which have been seen in the field, for the 

 same things are taking place here in the bottles that are continually 

 occurring in the field where soils are being formed. 



When this process is complete, you then have each sample divided 

 into three parts. The one which resulted from the longest standing is 

 the finest and is the clay — the pure clay. Bottles numbered 3 contain 

 the next finest material which is silt. And in the first bottles remain 

 the sand and gravel which may be rinsed out into a tin cup and dried 

 after which -it may be sorted into two or more grades by means of a fine 

 sieve. A coarse meshed cheesecloth stretched over a frame may be used 

 instead of the sieve. Let the water in the silt and clay bottles stand 

 until it is practically all settled, and pour off all but a couple of inches 

 of water. Shake up the remainder and pour into a tin and dry on the 

 stove. Then compare the amount of each material obtained from each 

 sample. 



Closely examine the clay, silt, and sand to see how fine they are, and 

 learn to know them. Note which is the most stickv when wet. These 

 are the materials of which all soils are composed, and when you know 

 their properties you can understand any field soil you may see. We shall 

 frequently refer to these materials in the future studies, and it would be 

 an excellent plan to preserve the material obtained from each sample 

 in small bottles, to be examined occasionally in the future, as more of 

 its importance comes to be understood. 



r 



III I mi i 





--'^^vi 



