Reviews — Horace B. Woodward' s Soils and Substrata. 127 



Roman times about 83 square miles of land have been lost, equal to 

 a strip 2^ miles in width along the Holderness sea- coast. 



The author describes the changes that have taken place in the 

 neighbourhood of Hull, and points out that the once flourishing sea- 

 port of Hedon, to the east, is now 2 miles distant from the Humber. 

 To the south-east the large tract of Sunk Island and bordering ground 

 have been reclaimed, but a number of villages have been lost between 

 that island and Spurn Head. Eull particulars are given of these 

 and other lost villages and towns along the Holderness shores. 

 The author then briefly describes the origin of the Humber mud, the 

 natural history of the district, and the extinct animals, including the 

 Mammoth and others among those pre-Glacial in the area. The early 

 and later history of the people and their works, the administration, 

 agriculture and other industries receive attention, and finally there 

 are notes on the climate and rainfall. A. good index completes this 

 able record of the natural and artificial changes that have taken place 

 in the district. 



IV. — Soils and Substrata. 



Thk Geology of Soils and Substrata, with Special Heference to 

 Agriculture, Estates, and Sanitation. By Horace B. 

 Woodward, F.R.S., F.G.S. 8vo ; pp. xvi, 366, illust. London: 

 Edward Arnold, 1912. Price 7s. 6d. net. 



THIS is exacth^ the sort of book one is always wanting, and it 

 could scarcely have proceeded from the hands of one more 

 competent than Mr. Woodward. It is not a book to criticize, but to 

 describe, and we content ourselves by offering to our readers a sketch 

 of the various points treated. 



After a preliminary outline of geology, the relations of rocks to 

 the form of the ground and scenic geology in general, the value of 

 geological maps, and the advantages of such knowledge in agricultural 

 research are pointed out, and definitions of subsoils and substrata are 

 given. The author then treats of weathering, subsidence, surface- 

 soils, and climatic and other physical conditions affecting the soils 

 and agricultural operations. Passing on to chemical and mechanical 

 constituents of soils, plant foods, and bacteria, he discusses the fertility 

 and barrenness of soils, drainage and irrigation, water meadows and 

 manures, dealing especially with forests, woodlands, orchards, market 

 gardens, and vineyards. Geological considerations concerning estates, 

 mineral rights and economic materials, sites for buildings, disposal of 

 waste water, farm drainage and refuse, sewage farms, cemeteries, 

 water supply, and ponds, are all dealt with in turn, and the remaining 

 chapters are devoted to sketches of the various geological formations 

 met with in England and Wales. 



The subject is dealt with from the practical point of view. Under 

 the term 'soils' are included the subsoils and surface-soils, the 

 term 'substrata' being, for the sake of convenience, applied to the 

 igneous as well as to the various sedimentary and metamorphic 

 formations from which the mineral constituents of the soils are 

 directly or indirectly derived. Prominence is therefore given to the 



