CAPILLARITY IN SOILS 



109 



Materials: Gravel, sand, coarse soil, fine soil, vege- 

 table mold. 



a. Arrange the apparatus as shown in the illustra- 

 tion and have 

 the water cover 

 the ends of the 

 chimneys. Fill 

 each chimney 

 with a different 

 kind of material. 

 In which d o e s!f 

 the water rise :pl 

 the highest? In 

 which does the water rise the fastest? Which soil would 

 you prefer to have on your farm, if you were a farmer? 



The farmer is very much concerned with capillarity 

 and we will study it some more when we come to Section 

 54, in which we shall learn that the farm is just like a 

 workshop. Capillarity, besides bringing the water to the 

 roots of plants, is one of the causes of the rise of sap in 

 the stalks of plants and trunks of trees. The evapo- 

 ration of water from the leaves aids the rise of sap, just 

 as the burning of the oil in lamps aids the capillarity in 

 the wicks in bringing the oil to the flame. The next 

 Cut supplied through United States Department of Agriculture. 



