high power of the microscope to distinguish them as individuals 

 the soil is likely to be too impervious both to water and air. 

 Such soils are usually characterized as heavy. 



The Feel of the Soil : A very good idea as to the character of 

 the particles which make up the soil , and therefore as to its gen- 

 eral texture and quality, can be obtained by examination with the 

 fingers. Place a little of the soil in the most sensitive part of the 

 palm of the hand and rub it with the sensitive tips of the fingers . 

 If it is found to contain particles which tend to cut and scratch 

 the soil will be light. On the other hand, if it has a soft, smooth 

 feel it will have much better capacity to retuin water. Here 

 again, if on making the soil quite moist and rubbing it in the palm. 

 of the hand it is found to have almost the feeling of paste it prob- 

 ably contains a large proportion of clay and must be classed as 

 heavy. If a little of the soil be rolled between thumb and fingers, 

 while held close to the ear, a grating sound will be heard if it con- 

 tains much coarse sand. 



Settling in Water : Additional knowledge as to the relative 

 proportions of coarse and fine particles in the soil can be obtained by 

 stirring it up with a relatively large amount of water. The water 

 should be slowly added as in making paste and all the lumps 

 broken up. To the thick mixture a sufficient amount of water 

 should be added to make the whole vei-y fluid. This mixture of 

 soil and water should be turned into a glass cylinder and allowed 

 to settle. The coarser particles will go to the bottom first and by 

 examination through the glass the relative proportions of coarse 

 and fine can be quite accurately determined. A tumbler may be 

 used but a higher glass is preferable. If almost all the particles 

 go to the bottom at once the soil must be made up principally of 

 sand. If the water clears gradually, but remains turbid for a 

 considerable number of hours, there must be considerable silt or 

 clay. If clay predominates it will be many days before the water 

 will become entirely clear. In general, soils made up principally 

 of the finer grades of sand and silt, with only moderate quantities 

 of clay, have the best texture and give the best results in 

 agricuture. 



4. The General Appearance and Texture of the Sub-SoiL 



A suitable texture in the sub-soil to a depth of some five or six 

 feet, at least, is almost as important as in the surface soil. In 

 general it should be similar. It is far better, however, that the 

 sub-soil be more compact and of finer texture than the surface 

 soil than that it should have the opposite characteristics. A sub- 

 soil that is very open, and contains loose gravel or course sand in 

 large porportion is to be avoided for most crops. The methods 

 of examination should be the same as for surface soil. 



