THE SOIL THE HOME OF THE PLANTS. 3/ 



at the very top or surface of the ground is called the 

 soil. For convenience it is divided into two parts : 

 the upper and usually shallow part is called the soil, 

 and the deeper part is called the subsoil. These two 

 words, the soil and the subsoil, are used in all agricul- 

 tural science ; and as we are considering this science, 

 we will remember them and use them in their exact 

 meaning, though it is often quite proper on some 

 occasions to give the name soil to both soil and sub- 

 soil. In some of our States and Territories, can be 

 found wild lands where no man has ever cultivated 

 the ground. In such places we call the soil virgin soil, 

 because it is untouched, and just as it was formed 

 from the remains of rocks, plants, and living creatures. 

 It might be interesting to examine this wild soil, but 

 for our present purposes we will examine only the 

 cultivated soils. We shall therefore understand the 

 word " soil " to generally mean the soil and subsoil of 

 our farms and gardens. It is in this soil that all our 

 useful plants live and make their home. 



One of the first difficulties we meet in any study of 

 nature is the infinite variety of things to be seen. It 

 is bewildering to think that there are so many kinds 

 of plants. A walk through the country, among the 

 farms, shows us the greatest variety in soils also. Our 

 exploring expeditions show endless variations in the 

 surface and character of the ground. This apparent 

 confusion and perplexing multitude of different things 

 disappear at once when we bring to our observations 

 the right scientific spirit. We must learn to classify 



