THE MAKING OF THE SOIL 



Observations on Soils 



If you live in a region where there are rocky ledges, 

 examine different parts of the ledges to see if you can find 

 where particles of rock have been broken up to help 

 form soil. Notice the plant growths upon the ledges and 

 see if there are fragments of such plants mixed with the 

 rock particles. Find places between the ledges where 

 higher plants are growing in small amounts of such soil. 



Examine the soil that you find in the woods. Notice 

 the layer of recently fallen leaves at the surface and note 

 that the soil below is composed of leaves that have 

 decayed. Dig down through the surface to the sub- 

 soil and notice the differences between the layers. 



Visit a swamp or a peat bog and dig into the soil 

 in a similar way. 



Visit a brook and examine the deposits of soil along 

 its margin. Notice where sand has been carried in and 

 deposited in pockets and where various bits of plant 

 life, such as dead twigs and pieces of tree trunk, have 

 been piled up to rot and form soil. 



The Making of the Soil 



The production of crops depends upon the relation 

 between the soil and the various crop plants. The 

 soil is made up primarily of particles of rock that have 



