334 GENERAL SCIENCE 



crops, like wheat, grass, or clover. Slopes and hillsides 

 need more care to prevent erosion than low lands, and 

 many farmers have ruined much of their land by not 

 guarding against erosion. 



QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES 



1. Why is it important to know how to care for soil? 



2. What is the effect if soil is cultivated while very wet? If 

 very dry? ; 



3. What kind of soil is in your community? Does it dry out 

 quickly? Why? What could be done to improve it? 



4. Why do you cultivate the soil? How can moisture be 

 retained in soil? 



5. What kind of soil do you have in your flowerpots and 

 flower beds? How should it be cared for? 



6. What is being done to reclaim the desert lands of western 

 United States? 



7. What can be done to keep rains from washing away the 

 surface soil? Is it a benefit or injury to have some of the soil 

 washed away? Why? 



8. How does sunlight affect soil? Is it better to have soil 

 bare or covered with vegetation? Why? 



