Depths at Which Plants Absorb Water and Nutrients. 



97 



per cent in the surface 6 or 8 inches, from 2 to 8 per cent in the second 6 or 8 

 inches, from 1 to 7 per cent in the third 6 or 8 inches, and from to 2 per cent 

 in the next 6-inch layer. Below 2 feet depth no change in water-content had 

 occurred that could not be easily accounted for by variations in soil sampling. 

 These losses are clearly correlated with root distribution, for although the 

 plants were only 27 days old, the roots were very abundant not only in the 



Table 31. — Water lost during the period May 19 to June 15. 



Con- 

 tainer. 



Percentage of water removed at various depths, in feet. 



Remarks. 



to 0.5 



0.5 to 1 



1 to 1.5 



1.5 to 2 



2 to 2.5 



2.5 to 3 



3 to 3.5 



No. 1 . . 



No. 3. . 



No. 5.. 4 

 No. 9.. 4 

 No. II. 4 

 No. 2 . . 

 No. 4. . 

 No. 10.. 



*8.3 

 4.2 



no. 5 



5.8 

 8.1 

 1+I.6 

 +11 

 +0.6 



«2.3 



2.2 



2 5.0 

 3.7 

 8.1 



2 + 1.0 



+0.6 

 +0.6 



n.7 



0.8 



3 3.2 

 2.6 

 7.4 

 3 +0.5 

 0.3 

 0.3 











14 plants; some roots 

 penetrated 2 feet but 

 were not abundant be- 

 low 1.5 feet; soil to 16 

 in. well filled with 

 roots. 



10 plants; root distribu- 

 tion approximately as 

 in No. 1, but fewer. 



20 plants. 



About 15 plants. 



About 20 plants. 



■ No plants. 



+0.2 















2.0 

 2.0 



0.8 

 +0.6 



+0.9 

 0.4 



+0.6 

 0.3 



+0.4 

 0.3 









+0.4 



0.2 



0.1 



1 Samples taken at depth of to 0.7 foot. 3 Samples taken at depth of 1.3 to 2 feet. 



2 Samples taken at depth of 0.7 to 1.3 foot. 4 Soil-tube holes refilled, plants undisturbed. 



surface, but also at depths of 8 to 16 inches, while some penetrated to 2 feet. 

 This root development is altogether in agreement with that of barley grown 

 in field plats. Moreover, the root distribution in the container with the wax 



Table 32. — Water-content of soil at the several intervals. 









Water-content. 





Container 



Depth of 



Loss, May 19 







Loss, June 15 



No. 



sample. 



to June 15. 







to 28. 







June 15. 



June 28. 







feet. 



p. ct. 



p. ct. 



p. ct. 



p. ct. 



5. 



to 0.7 



10.5 



18.8 



14.5 



4.3 





0.7 to 1.3 



5.0 



26.5 



16.4 



10.1 





1.3 to 2 



3.2 



28.0 



13.0 



15.0 



6 



to 0.5 





125.1 



24.8 



0.3 





0.5 to 1 





27.8 



26.9 



0.9 





1 to 1.5 





28.0 



27.2 



0.8 





1.5 to 2 





26.5 



26.3 



0.2 





2 to 2.5 





26.0 



26.8 



+0.8 



1 Water-content at all levels in this container is for May 19. 



seals was identical, so far as could be determined, with that in the unsealed 

 soil. Even the most delicate root-ends showed no external differences where 

 they encountered the wax seal. 



