CAPILLARY MOVEMENT OF SOIL MOISTURE. 



G7 



Table 46. 

 of soil- 

 soil. 



—Horizontal 

 moisture in 



movement 

 Riverside 



Time 



in 

 days. 



Initial moisture. 



10 per 

 cent. 



15 per 

 cent. 



20 per 

 cent. 



1 

 2 

 3 



4 

 5 

 7 

 10 

 12 

 16 

 19 

 21 

 24 

 29 

 40 

 46 

 49 

 51 

 54 



Inches. 

 0.75 

 1.25 

 1.50 



Inches. 

 4.00 

 5.50 

 6.25 



Inches. 

 5. 75 

 7.00 

 8.25 

 9.25 

 9.75 



10.75 



1.83 



7.50 



3.00 



9.50 



13.50 

 15.00 



5.00 

 5.25 



11.00 





16.25 





13.25 





17. 75 

 19. 50 

 23.25 



5.50 



18.25 





19.00 





23.50 





19.25 







with the Riverside soil, with 10, 15, and 20 per cent moisture in the 

 wet soil. The table shows, like the preceding ones, that the rate and 

 extent of movement of the moisture varies as the initial percentage 

 of moisture in the wet pack. There 

 is also shown the rapid moisture 

 movement for the first few days and 

 a slowing down of this rate with 

 lapse of time. These data if plotted 

 would also give a curve of a para- 

 bolic form. It is surprising to find 

 so great an extent of movement 

 of moisture in a horizontal direc- 

 tion when compared with the down- 

 ward movements as shown in Table 

 >42. If the difference in movement 

 of moisture in the several boxes 

 as representing the upward, down- 

 ward, and horizontal can he attrib- 

 uted only to gravity, and this ap- 

 pears to be true, then gravity is a 

 most important factor in the capil- 

 lary distribution of soil moisture. 



While the experiments above noted are not sufficient in number 

 to warrant any final conclusion, in connection with many others 

 not contained in this report they indicate the probably distribution 

 of moisture. 



These data are in accord with results obtained by others (7), (9), 

 (10), (18). 



DISTRIBUTION OF MOISTURE IN BOXES CONTAINING WET AND DRY SOIL. 



It is interesting to observe the distribution of the moisture through- 

 out the entire length of the soil in the boxes at the termination of the 

 experiments. It is interesting to observe the movement of moisture 

 in quantity from the wet soil into the air-dried soil, and in the verti- 

 cal boxes to note the relative percentages of moisture moved upward 

 and downward. Table 4t gives the distribution of moisture at the 

 end of the experiment in the soil boxes just previously discussed. 



In Table 47 are given the kind of soil and the initial percentage 

 of moisture contained in the wet soil as placed in the boxes at the be- 

 ginning of the experiment. The percentages of moisture and the 

 distances inclosed between the heavy lines in the body of the table 

 show the original wet area of soil in the boxes and the remaining 

 figures outside of the heavy lines show that part of the original air- 

 dried soil with the corresponding percentages of moisture found at 

 the end of the experiment. For instance, in the first two columns the 

 first two lines indicated by minus 5 inches and minus 2 inches repre- 



