June, 1908.] HUMUS IN N. H. SOILS. 193 



fine sand. They are the least productive portions of the farm 

 for hay and suffer from drought. 



Clay forms the largest part of the farm when the subsoils are 

 considered and is the top soil on the lowest levels. It is the 

 boulder clay formed by the glacial period and is very compact. 

 The top soil when moist is very dark brown in color, but dries 

 to a dark gray tint. Tillage can be successfully done only when 

 the moisture conditions are favorable, since too much water 

 causes the soil to puddle while too little results in large clods 

 that will not pulverize. 



The clay loams are on the slopes which lie betw;een the low 

 land and upland. On the latter the soil is classified as a stony 

 loam, from the small boulders and irregular fragments of rocks 

 which occur in it. The subsoils of this type are of clay, which 

 is about as compact as that in the low land. 



For the chemical studies on these soils, the principal samples 

 were taken from grass land which had been cropped for three 

 or more seasons, since such soils would more nearly represent 

 the character of similar soils on other farms. 



The samples were taken from different fields on the various 

 types of soil by making borings with an auger to the subsoil. 

 A depth of eight inches accomplished this on the loam, while 

 six inches reached it in the clay soil. Since the sandy loams 

 formed a relatively small part of the area in grass, only one 

 sample was taken of this type. Ten samples represented the 

 clay loam, four of which were from the lower portions of the 

 slopes and six from the upper. Six samples were taken on 

 the clay soil of the low meadows, selected where the drains were 

 efficient in removing excess of water. 



Amount of Humus in the Soils. 



The percentages of humus found in these three types of soil 



are given in the following table : 



Percentage of Humus in G/a.s.s Land. 



Sandy loam, 1.81 



Clay loam, upper slopes, 2.10 to 2.57, Average 2.31 



Clay loam, lower slopes, 2.81 to 3.09, Average 2.93 



Clay, 3.33 to 5.37, Average 4.50 



