142 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FARM 
Study 17. The Natural Fields of the Farm 
For the purposes of this study a somewhat diversified area 
should be selected, including bottomlands, large or small, 
bordering hills and level uplands, traversed by little streams. 
A map should be provided, showing soil types and all princi- 
pal topographic and cultural features. 
The tools needed will be a pocket compass for taking 
directions, and a 1oo-ft. line, a hand level, and a surveyor’s 
rod for measuring gradients. 
The program of work will consist in: 
1. A trip across the uplands, slopes and flood plains, 
observing their exposure and measuring their gradients. 
Natural adaptations to particular crops, and to choice sites 
for burrows for particular animals, should be noted. 
2. A comparison of the life and conditions in sunny and 
shaded slopes of a wooded ravine. 
The record of this study may consist in: 
1. The map with the natural fields roughly marked out in 
part—.e., the areas that are much alike in soil, gradient, 
exposure, etc., and that are, therefore, adapted to one kind of 
crop. Mark direction of slope and percentage of grade 
(roughly determined by measuring the descent per hundred 
feet with level, line, and rod at some average place) in each 
field. Mark also on the map the direction of the prevailing 
wind of the season that is most trying to vegetation. 
2. A summary statement as to relative area of each ex- 
posure; also the maximum gradient found under cultivation, 
and the condition of its soil. 
3. A comparison in word or diagram of the two sides of a 
wooded ravine having an East and West direction, as to, 
(a) tall plants, (b) undergrowth plants, (c) moisture, (d) 
accumulation of humus. 
