334 NATURE AND PROPERTIES OF SOILS 

 Table LXXVI 



ANALYSIS OF SOME TYPICAL ALKALINE RIVER WATER OF WESTERN 

 UNITED STATES. 1 



sorption of ions by the soil. Sodium and chlorine ions seem 

 to be about as little absorbed by the soil as any of the com- 

 mon soil constituents. They are thus readily carried through 

 the soil and are free to accumulate in considerable amounts 

 at points where they may become noticeable. Their union of 

 necessity produces large quantities of sodium chloride or com- 

 mon salt. 2 



176. Effect of alkali on crops. — The presence of rela- 

 tively large amounts of salts dissolved in water and brought 

 into contact with a plant cell has been shown to cause a shrink- 

 age of the protoplasmic lining of the cell. This action, called 

 plasmolysis, increases with the concentration of the solution 

 until the plant finally dies. The phenomenon is due to the 

 osmotic movement of the water, which passes from the cell 

 towards the more concentrated soil solution. The nature of the 

 salt, the species, and even the individuality of the plant, as 

 well as other factors, determine the exact concentration at 

 which the plant succumbs. The carbonates of the alkali bases 

 have, in addition, a corroding effect on the plant tissues, dis- 



1 Harris, F. S., Soil Alkali, p. 232; New York, 1920. 

 a Dorsey, C. W., Alkali Soils of the United States; U. S. Dept. Agr., 

 Bur. Soils, Bui. 35, 1906. 



