VERTICAL FARMING 



PART I 



The Origin and Character of Soils 



Soils Are Rock Waste. Soils were not originally a part of 

 the earth's surface, but have been formed slowly by the crum- 

 bling and breaking up of the surface rocks into fine particles, 

 such as clay and sand. Sometimes this breaking up occurred 

 where the soils are now found, and the character of the soil is 

 governed by the kind of rock that was left on the surface, 

 while in other cases the rocks and the soil that came from them 

 have been carried thousands of miles and mixed with other 

 material, forming a conglomerate mixture from many sources. 

 The highland and mountain soils in this country have, as a rule, 

 been formed very near the places where they are now found, 

 while the soils in the larger valleys, and along most of the 

 coast line, have resulted from material washed down from the 

 hills and deposited along the level stretches near the sea. 

 Much of the soil of the more northern states has been brought 

 down from Canada by the movement of ice along the surface. 



This breaking down of the rocks and formation and moving 

 of the soil has taken a long time ; but this work is yet going 

 on, and the exposed rocks, boulders and ledges in our fields and 

 mountains are yearly being attacked by the different forces, 

 and are slowly yielding up material to help replenish the older 

 soil. Different natural and artificial processes are also going 

 on in the soils that may either improve or injure them. Most 

 of these processes can be controlled by man and made to be his 

 servant, so that he can become a great factor in the formation 

 of profitable soil. 



