68 
BULLETIN 835,. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
sent that part of the soil column immediately below the original wet 
soil area. Likewise the distances 34 inches and 40 inches at the bot- 
tom of the table represent that part of the original air-dried soil on 
top of the original wet soil. The other part of the table has a similar 
arrangement, except that the distances were taken from the bottom of 
the boxes. Eef erring to the Riverside soil it is found that the distri- 
bution of moisture from the bottom of the box upward is quite uni- 
form until near the upper extremity of the original wet area. At a 
distance of 47 inches 9.19 per cent of moisture is found, while at 50 
inches there is 6.6 per cent of moisture. In corresponding distances 
at the bottom of the box, represented by 22 inches and 18 inches, re- 
spectively, a much less variation in the percentage of moisture is 
found. 
Table 4" 
-Distribution of moisture by percentage in the soil boxes. 
Idaho soil, initial 
moisture 20 per cent. 
Riverside soil, initial moi 
15 per cent. 
stare 
Distance. 
Moisture 
content. 
Distance. 
Moisture 
content. 
Distance. 
Moisture 
content. 
Inches. 
—5 
2 
Per cent. 
9.46 
11.31 
Inches. 
3 
6 
9 
12 
15 
IS 
Per cent. 
5.65 
7.08 
8.25 
8.61 
9.09 
9.42 
Inches. 
5 
8 
11 
15 
19 
22 
Per cent. 
4.74 
6.90 
8.05 
8.81 
9.04 
S.75 
2 
6 
12 
18 
24 
28 
31 
14.09 
14.46 
15.05 
16.00 
15.44 
15.51 
15. 40 
22 
25 
26 
31 
34 
37 
40 
44 
47 
10. 79 
10.20 
10.34 
10.60 
10.00 
9.86 
9.3S 
9.50 
9.19 
24.5 
27 
30 
34 
- 38 
42 
46 
50 
54 
58 
62 
66 
70 
11.40 
12.37 
11.28 
11.50 
11.05 
11.13 
10.45 
10.40 
9.35 
9.48 
9.43 
8.92 
8.28 
34 
40 
50 
58 
6.60 
3.90 
1 

74 
77 
4.99 
3.2S 
that gravity has played its part in 
conjunction with capillarity in a rather uniform distribution of soil 
moisture from the wet soil area to the dry soil area. Upon the other 
hand it is found in taking the moisture percentages that gravity has 
very materially retarded the upward movement of the soil moisture. 
It is found, for instance, that the percentage of moisture found im- 
mediately below the original wet soil area is almost double the per- 
centage of moisture found immediately above the upper end of the 
original wet soil area. 
If such a condition as this maintains in the field, and there is no 
reason to believe it does not, then we can expect that capillarity and 
gravity will tend to a -deep penetration of the moisture. The figures 
