one cent will do. 



* * * 



THE RELATION OF WATER 



TO SOIL 



Water reaches the soil in two 

 ways, (1) by the rains, (2) by irriga- 

 tion. The water which falls upon 

 the soil and is pulled in by gravity 

 is called gravitational water. If the 

 land is level and has been plowed, 



that is, plowing around a hill rather 

 than up and down. A better method 

 is to plant trees. Each tree has a 

 great mass of roots which acts as a 

 tub to hold water. Besides, leaves 

 fall to the ground soaking in the 

 rain and preventing the soil from be- 

 ing washed. The water company at 

 Berkeley has planted hundreds of 

 trees on the hills to conserve the 

 water. 



—•rTRANifplR^TlO/SAL LOtftf 



fftOJLO&S* 



1 1 'tifrowfMMT j Jifrf 



evapor, ati orr- 



CAPli-UAR.V. 

 WATER, 



&-ft,£W)TATlCV*AU 

 WATETRj 



very little of this water runs off. It 

 seeps through the soil, putting plant 

 food in solution and carrying it to 

 the roots of plants. Finally the 

 downward progress of the water may 

 be stopped by a bed of clay or hard 

 pan, or it may be lost through a bed 

 of gravel. The soil just above the 

 hard pan layer becomes saturated or 

 wet as does a sponge. When the 

 rains stop and the sun comes out 

 the water begins to climb back to 

 the surface through the capillary 

 tubes which most of you are familiar 

 with. This is capillary water and 

 is most used by the plants. The 

 water climbs through soil just as the 

 ink works up a blotter. 



If the water is not used by a plant 

 and partly thrown off into the air it 

 comes to the surface and is lost 

 through evaporation. This loss may 

 be prevented by breaking the capil- 

 lary tubes, by making mulch, or by 

 cultivating. (See picture.) 



This capillary water forms as a 

 film around each soil crumb as your 

 cap fits over your head. It follows 

 that the more soil crumbs there are 

 the more water there will be. There- 

 fore the soil should be kept fine. 



Much of the water which falls as 

 rain forms the "run off" which 

 rushes to the ocean by way of the 

 rivers, carrying the hills to the val- 

 leys, and much of the valleys to 

 the river beds and to the ocean. 



Floods are often due to the "run 

 off." The run off may be partially 

 prevented through contour plowing ; 



iTATUf^ATEr 



MAR.O pA/^T- tf* 



During the summer it is cool and 

 moist in the forest. The soil is full 

 of moisture. The water seeps into 

 the streams causing a steady flow of 

 water or it bubbles out as a spring. 



Thus the streams run all summer. 

 Without the trees the water would 

 rush down the hills causing torrents 

 in the rainy season only to dry up 

 during the summer time. 



In regions of China and in our own 

 country, once fertile region have be- 

 come barren stretches of land due 

 to the destruction of trees. Trees 

 have been cut ruthlessly, and forest 

 fires have destroyed thousands. How- 

 ever, the government of the United 

 States has come to realize the value 

 of forests and laws have been pass- 

 ed to set aside "forest reserves" 

 and to prevent reckless and ignor- 

 ant campers and lumbermen from de- 

 stroying trees. 



If you want to help this great 

 country of ours of which we are so 

 proud, spare the trees and plant as 

 many new ones as you can. 

 * * * 



THINNING OUT 



Sometimes a careless boy or girl 

 can cover up poor work in school 

 but he or she cannot mislead Nature. 

 Seeds that were sown carelessly by 

 those who did not listen to instruc- 

 tions or did not follow suggestions 

 have published to all ere this some- 

 thing of the character of the sower. 



We have seen some crooked rows, 

 some rows too close together, some 

 rows partly sowed, others with plants 



