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THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



The advantages of the method described below are as follows: — 



(1) The moisture moves through a wet soil. 



(2) The moisture passes through a very short column of the 

 wet soil and thus friction is reduced to a minimum. 



(3) The time required to make a measurement is reduced from 

 months to hours. 



(4) The final measurement is a fairly accurate measure of the 

 capillary lift of the soil. 



-WATtR SEAL 



-CAPILLARY Tube. 



-BOILtO DiSTILLtD WATCR 



-/MCRCURY CUP 



Figure 1. Apparatus used to measure the capillary lift of soils. 



The apparatus used is illustrated in Fig. 1. It consists of an 

 ordinary glass funnel about 4 cms. in diameter across the top. This 

 is joined to a thick walled capillary tube about 90 cms. long, by a piece 

 of rubber tubing. The lower end of the capillary tube is placed in a 

 cup of mercury. The water seal consists of a glass tube, 2 cms. di- 

 ameter and 15 cms. long, closed at the bottom with a rubber stopper 

 through which the capillary tube passes. The seal is filled with water 

 and prevents air from entering about the rubber tube. 



How the apparatus was set up. — Duplicate 6 gram samples of 

 soil were placed' in water and allowed to stand over night. They 

 were then boiled for a short time to expel air. The funnels were fitted 

 with cotton cloth filters, cut into the form of circles 2 cms. diameter 

 and folded filter fashion. Two cups of a centrifuge were then filled 

 with distilled water previously boiled to expel the air; the funnels, 

 with their filters, were placed in the cups, being supported by the 

 top rim of the cups. Part of the hot mixtures of soil and water was 



