THE KINDS OF SOILS 



Local Soils 



Notice the different kinds of soils which are used for 

 crops in your region. Get samples from a sandy upland 

 soil, a clay soil, a good garden loam, and a swamp soil. 

 Put them into bottles or tumblers and examine their 

 texture through a lens. Add water and shake thor- 

 oughly. Notice the differences after the soils settle in 

 the water. 



The Kinds of Soils 



Soils are classified in many ways, but for our present 

 purpose we may group them simply under these four 

 headings: clay soils, sandy soils, loamy soils, muck 

 soils. Clay soils are composed chiefly of clay, and are 

 liable to cake when wet and to bake when dry. Sandy 

 soils are composed chiefly of sand, the greatest number 

 of particles generally being quartz, and are liable to be 

 unproductive because of a lack of humus and because 

 of their inability to hold water. Loamy soils have a 

 considerable percentage of humus, which makes them 

 easy to work and suitable for plant growth. A given soil 

 may be a sandy loam, having much sand as a basis, or a 

 clay loam, having much clay as a basis. A muck soil 

 is derived mainly from plant growth, and may lack cer- 

 tain elements of fertility necessary to successful crop 

 production. 



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