260 SOILS AND FERTILIZERS 



there should be no dripping. Measure or weigh any water left in 

 the watering-pot. One box is to receive shallow surface cultivation, 

 using for the purpose a small gardener's tool. Another box is to 

 be left without receiving any treatment. The third is to receive 

 treatment imitating that of the disk harrow, having the disks set per- 

 pendicularly. A sharp knife may be used for this purpose. In the 

 fourth box the disk cuttings are to be made at an angle. Leave 

 each box exposed to the sun or in a heated room, and determine 

 the loss of weight every day for a week. From the loss of weight, 

 determine the per cent, of water lost and the per cent, left in the 

 soil. 



9. Capacity of Soil to Absorb Water. — Weigh 100 grams of dry 

 soil. Fit a medium-sized filter-paper in a funnel. Moisten the 

 paper so that it will not absorb any more water. Then place the 

 soil in the filter and add slowly from a beaker, containing exactly 

 100 cc. of water, enough to thoroughly saturate the soil. Collect 

 all of the drippings from the funnel. Measure the drippings and 

 the unused water in the beaker. Calculate the per cent, of water 

 absorbed by the soil. 



10. Capacity of Sand for Holding Water. — Repeat Experiment 9, 

 using sand. 



xi. The Influence of Manure upon the Water-holding Power of 

 Soil. — Repeat Experiment 9, using 95 grams of sand and 5 grams 

 of dry and finely pulverized manure. The sand and manure 

 should be thoroughly mixed before performing the experiment. 



12. Action of Heat upon Soils. — Expose to the sun's rays samples 

 of dry clay, peat, and sand ; after two hours' exposure, obtain the 

 temperature of each. The bulb of the thermometer is simply cov- 

 ered with soil. All of the observations should be made under sim- 

 ilar conditions. 



13. Influence of Manure upon Soil Temperature. — Expose to the 

 sun's rays, moist clay soil, and mixed clay and fresh horse manure. 

 After two hours observe the temperature of each, 



14. Odor and Taste of Soils. — Observe the odor of dry, peaty 

 soil that has been kept in a corked bottle. Note the taste of 



