48 



BULLETIN 462, U. S, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ticulafly difficult problems only the results of experiments made in 

 the sandier soils will be given. 



Figure 7 shows graphically the path of the moisture in the soil. 

 The tests were made in a grove in the sandy soils of Maitland, in the 

 spring of 1914 when the soil was very dry. The numbers in the verti- 

 cal column show the percentages of soil moisture, while the numbers 

 at the bottom of the chart show depth in feet. For instance, the top 



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Fig. 7.- 



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-Curves showing percentages of soil moisture after running water at the 

 rate of 70 gallons per minute in open furrows at Maitland, Fla. 



curve represents the percentage of moisture 5 minutes after water 

 had been turned off. It will be seen that there is a little over 22 per 

 cent of moisture at the surface, about 21.3 per cent at the first foot, 

 19.5 per cent at the second foot, and 17.8 per cent at the third foot. 

 The curve then drops nearly vertically and reads only 2.1 per cent at 

 about 3.5 feet in depth, the moisture for the fourth, fifth, and sixth 

 feet being the same as before the water was put on. Observation of 

 the second curve taken one hour after this shows that the moisture 

 content for the first 3 feet in depth has lowered but that the moisture 



