48 BULLETIN 555, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE, 
(5) Marking and shipping. — Samples shall be shipped in tight boxes or bags 
and shall be accompanied by a card in the container or securely attached 
thereto, stating date, by whom taken, by whom submitted, source of supply, 
exact location where sample was taken, proposed purpose to which the material 
is to be put, space for remarks, and in case of source investigation, owner, 
quantity available, amount and character of stripping, whether material from 
same source has been previously used, where and for what purpose, and with 
what results, haul to nearest point on road, average haul to job, character of 
haul, initial cost of sand. 
Notification of sampling, containing the above data, shall be forwarded sepa- 
rately to the laboratory immediately upon taking the sample. 
Sampling Semi-Gravel, Top Soll, and Sand Clay. 
Samples of materials of this class shall be of two kinds : Class I, samples of 
the raw material taken from the natural deposit ; Class II, samples of the loose 
material after being mixed in place on the roadbed and before consolidation. 
Class I sample shall be used simply as preliminary evidence of the suitability 
of the aggregate subject to admixture of one or more ingredients to adjust the 
composition to the limits set forth in the specifications. 
The final acceptance of the material as satisfying the specifications shall be 
based on Class II samples. 
Standard containers. — (1) A three-compartment box of pasteboard, wood, or 
metal, outside dimensions 5 by 10 by 10 inches; or (2) close woven bags or 
sacks of material which do not allow sifting out of fine particles, dimensions 6 
inches wide by 12 inches long. 
Labeling. — Each compartment in the box container must contain a label show- 
ing at what depth the contents were taken. The whole sample shall be accom- 
panied by a card, securely attached thereto, stating date, by whom taken, by 
whom submitted, source of supply, exact location where sample was taken, posi- 
tion within the deposit where taken, owner, quantity available, amount and 
character of stripping, if any, whether material from same source has been 
previously used, where, and with what results, haul to nearest point on road, 
average haul to job, character of haul, initial cost of material. 
When bag containers are used, one complete sample shall comprise 3 bags, 
each bag labeled as to depth from which the material is taken. 
Each bag. or, if preferred, a larger receptacle containing the three bags, is to 
be labeled with the information detailed above. 
How to take Class I samples. — For each 1 acre or less of area two samples 
must be taken, one a local sample and the other a composite sample. 
The local sample is to be taken near the center of the area and is intended to 
represent the vertical average of the material at that point. It shall be taken 
in three layers, each layer inches thick, according to the method described 
as follows : 
The material is to be loosened over a 3 by 3 foot area to the specified depth, 
usually 4 inches. The loose material is to be intermixed with a shovel and the 
sample for one compartment of the box container or one of the bags is to be 
taken therefrom. 
The remaining loose material is to be shoveled out and discarded. The sec- 
ond layer is to be loosened to equal depth, usually 4 inches, to be intermixed as 
before, and a second compartment or bag is to be filled. The same procedure 
shall apply to the third layer, and the filling of the third compartment or bag. 
In exceptionally thick deposits the depth of each layer or the number of 
layers may be increased to cover the entire thickness of the deposit. 
