56 TALKS ABOUT THE SOIL. 



clay soil would appear, from all these experiments, a 

 poor soil for any plants. We must not, however, be 

 led astray by our own experiments. It is not easy to 

 find a soil composed wholly of clay. It is usually 

 mixed with other things, and then forms a valuable 

 part of any soil. Sand alone would be a poor soil. 

 Clay alone would be even poorer still. Mixed together, 

 and mixed with other things, they make a part of the 

 best soils. 



XII. SAND SOILS AND CLAY SOILS. The 

 fact that clay and sand are found in nearly all soils 

 has made it easy to classify soils into six classes or 

 groups. These are as follows : 



1. A Light Sand. This is a soil containing ninety 

 per cent of sand. If it had more sand, and less of 

 clay or other matter, particularly organic matter, it 

 would hardly produce any useful plants, and could not 

 fairly be called a soil. 



2. A Pure Clay. This would be a soil in which' 

 no sand could be found. A pure clay soil would be 

 wet and cold, and it would not be a good soil for our 

 common plants. Such soils are rare ; and what is 

 commonly called a pure clay soil is one containing a 

 great excess of clay, and only a little sand and organic 

 matter. 



3. A Loam. This is one of the best of all soils. 

 Such a soil may contain both sand and clay, as well 

 as organic matter. There may be from twenty to sixty 

 per cent of sand, or from forty to sixty per cent of 

 clay and organic matter. A mixture of pure sand and 



