1900.] 



PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 



G5 



In order to obtain a better idea ol" the relative amounts of 

 the various constituents found in tiie different soils, we can 

 arrange them as in Table II., in which the average constitu- 

 ents contained in the four coast soils are shown alongside of 

 four inland soils which are characteristic of the central and 

 western regions of Massachusetts. The four coast soils 

 represent badly infested regions, while the four inland soils 

 represent those in which only the fall stage has occurred. 



Table II. — Average Percentage of Organic Matter, Gravel, Sand, 

 Silt and Clay in Orleans, Eastham, Concord and Bridgeivater 

 (Coast Soils), and Worcester, Spencer, Amherst and Pittsjield 

 {Inland Soils). 



The largest amount of gravel as shown by the table is in 

 the Orleans soil from Cape Cod, which is 20.97 per cent. ; 

 the average for the whole is 13.12 per cent., against 2.70 

 per cent, for the inland soils. What holds true in regard to 

 the gravel is also true when we consider the coarse sand, 

 where the proportion is 24.48 per cent, in the coast soil, to 

 2.63 per cent, in the inland soils; while in the medium sand 

 it is 19.11 per cent, to 4.57 per cent. Only slight differences 

 are shown in the proportion of fine and very fine sand between 

 the two regions, although the coast soils are ahead in the for- 

 mer and the inland in the latter; whereas in both of the silts 

 and clay the largest amounts are found in the inland soils. 

 If we turn to the organic matter, we find that it is also more 

 abundant in the inland soil than it is in the coast soil. This 

 difference is partly accounted for by the fact that some of the 

 samples of inland soil represent highly manured soils, adapted 

 to intensive cultivation. Even making allowances for this 

 fact, the organic matter would seem higher in the inland soils 

 than in the coast soils, inasmuch as various samples of soil 



