50 NATURAL RESOURCES OF HOME ENVIRONMENT 



sand or river gravel will show you how small particles of soil 

 might thus be formed. 



After plants and animals began to live on the earth, their 

 dead bodies, upon decaying, became a part of the soil. 

 Any boy who has been in a forest knows that the soil is 

 covered with dead leaves, decaying wood, and the like. 

 He also knows that if he digs down through the tangled 



Formation of organic soil or humus. (U. S. Forest Service.) 



mass of roots and other materials forming black rich soil, he 

 may at last come to sand or to crumbling rock. 



Soil and the home. Soils play a very important part 

 in the health of our home. If the soil is of sand and not 

 clay, water will drain readily, and we shall not be troubled 

 with standing bodies of water after rains. Our garden 

 will grow better and conditions of drainage will be good. 

 We shall later see that the fertility of the garden depends 

 largely upon the kind and composition of soil, and this 

 means that the home grounds may or may not be attrac- 



