14 STUDIES IN THE VEGETATION OF THE STATE 



Per Gent, of Space Occupied by Water in Soils. 



It will be seen from the above tables that the water ca- 

 pacity of both loose and hard soil in order of the amount 

 contained is as follows: saline, loam, loess, humus, clay, 

 sand, when estimated by the comparative weights. If the 

 water capacity is estimated by the per cent of space occu- 

 pied, the series is as follows in loose soil: loam, saline, 

 loess, clay, humus, sand. The order of shrinkage in be- 

 coming hard is slightly different being as follows: clay, 

 loam, loess, saline, humus, sand. 



The loss of water from the loose soil by evaporation, given 

 in grams for each period of 24 hours, and for the final 6 days 

 is given below. 



Evaporation of Water from Loose Soils. 



The evaporation from hard soil for each 24 hours is given 

 in the following table. There is also given in square cen- 

 timeters the amount of surface exposed to the air by each 

 dish of soil. The number at the head of each column is the 

 date of each daily evaporation. 



