CHAPTEE III 



THE NATURE OF THE SOIL 



WE have now learnt that the plant obtains food 

 from the soil, and shall therefore next try a few 

 experiments with a view to finding out something 

 about the nature of the soil itself. 



Experiment 16 



Take a little dry garden soil and rub it down 

 in a mortar, and then sift it through some muslin. 

 Notice the small stones and pieces of root and 

 blackened portions of plants left in the muslin. 

 Clean the mortar and place the sifted soil back in it, 

 and half fill the mortar with water, and grind the 

 soil and water together ; then pour the muddy water 

 off into another vessel, taking care to leave the 

 soil that settles to the bottom in the mortar. Do 

 this several times with fresh water until the water 

 comes off clean and is no longer muddy. Examine 

 the soil left in the bottom of the mortar and you 

 will notice that it consists of sand. 



