What 18 the soil made off 3 



should be taken for further examination ; the two 

 samples should be kept separate and not mixed 



First look carefully at the top soil and rub some of 

 it between your fingers. We found that our sample was 

 wet and therefore contained water ; it was very sticky 

 like clay and therefore contained clay ; there were a 

 few stones and some grit present and also some tiny 

 pieces of dead plants — roots, stems or leaves, but some 

 so decayed that we could not quite tell what they were. 

 A few pieces of a soft white stone were found that 

 marked on the blackboard like chalk. Lastly, there 

 were a few fragments of coal and cinders, but as these 

 were not a real part of the soil we supposed they had 

 got in by accident. The subsoil was also wet and even 

 more sticky than the top soil, it contained stones and 

 grit, but seemed almost free from plant remains and 

 from the white chalky fragments. 



A few experiments will show how much of some of 

 these things are present. The amount of water may be 

 discovered by weighing out ten grams of soil, leaving it 

 to dry in a warm place near the fire or in the sun, and 

 then weighing it again. In one experiment the results 

 were : — 



Weight of top soil before drying ,„ 10 grams = 100 decigrams 

 „ „ after „ ... 8-3 „ « 83 „ 



Water lost 17 „ =17 „ 



A column 100 millimetres long was drawn to represent 

 the 100 decigrams of soil, and a mark was drawn 17 

 millimetres up to show the amount of water (see Fig. 2). 



Weight of bottom soil before drying ... 10 grams = 100 decigrams 

 fi » » after „ ... 87 „ = 87 „ 



Water lost 1-3 „ = 13 „ 



1—2 



