Rural School Leaflet. 1093 



whether those trees which will remain are likely to be uprooted by the 

 wind after the removal of their companions. The young trees are more 

 tender, and it is generally more necessary for them than for the grown 

 trees that they have the right conditions. 



Notice the conditions for yourself, when you go into the forest. On 

 a hot day it feels cooler, on a cold day warmer than the open field, and 

 always the air is quieter. Since things dry most quickly in the wind, 

 this means that the air drinks up less moisture from the soil. Yet this 

 quiet, shaded air is relatively more moist than the air outside. 



Now, for the health of the young trees which are to renew the forest. 

 The all-important question, after they have light enough to grow at all, 

 is the condition of the soil. The soil must furnish plenty of water to the 

 roots; it must be rich enough to afford a proper supply of plant-food; 

 and it must be spongy, not hard-packed, if a large percentage of the 

 young trees thrive. 



Go into the woods where the trees are dense and the soil fairly deep, 

 and where fire has not run through. The top of the ground is covered 

 with leaves and little sticks. Get down on your knees and clear some 

 of this litter away, observing carefully. What is its condition as you 

 begin to get down to the top of the soil? What effect has the litter 

 on the drying out of the soil? Remember what you learned about the 

 effect of a mulch in your soil lesson last February.* 



Now carefully loosen some of the soil itself. Does it look rich? What 

 makes it so? What do you find in it? 



When you have scraped deep enough you come to soil of another 

 color. The distinction is usually sharp; yet the only difference is that 

 the top layer is full of decayed vegetable matter, or humus, mixed with 

 the mineral soil. Into the mineral soil below, also, the humus gradually 

 works, enriching it, making it less heavy, and increasing its power to 

 absorb water readily. 



If you will take home a little pailful or bagful of humus soil, and half 

 as much of the soil beneath, keeping the two separate, and try some 

 lamp-chimney experiments with them.f you will learn some more about 

 the power of the forest-soil to take up and hold water. First dry both 

 soils thoroughly by spreading them out in the sun or near the fire. This 

 will take a day or two, and a little attention to stir the soil that it may 

 be dried through. If practicable, after separating your humus soil into 

 two equal parts by measure, burn one of the two for at least half an 

 hour, or still better, for one or two hours. This may be done by 



♦ See Rural School Leaflet for February, 1909, p. 127 

 t See Rural School Leaflet for January, 1909, p. 109 



