42 
BULLETIN 835, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
of the soil moisture. At the end of the thirtieth clay we find that the 
flume inclined upward at 45° gives only one-half as extensive a 
movement of the soil moisture as the horizontal flume, and the flume 
inclined upward at an angle of 30° gives about two-thirds as exten- 
sive a movement of the soil moisture. Taking the four flumes, the 
horizontal, the one inclined upward at 30°, the one inclined upward 
at 45°, and the vertical flume, the extent of soil moisture in distance 
within these flumes is in the order given, with the greater extent of 
moisture in flume 31 or the horizontal flume. 
To show more clearly the effect of gravity upon the movement of 
moisture by capillarity, Table 31 gives the data of Table 30 in per- 
centages of movement in the flume inclined downward 30° : 
Table 31. — Relative movement of moisture in flumes, expressed in percentages 
of movement in flume 3'/. 
Flume. 
Number 
of days. 
31 
32 
31 39 
42 
43 
Per cent. 
Per cent. 
Per cent. 
Per cent. 
Per cent. 
Per cent. 
1 
100 
85 
80 
63 
64 
60 
3 
100 
93 
76 
56 
00 
47 
5 
100 
94 
71 
49 
49 
39 
10 
100 
90 
59 
39 
36 
29 
15 
100 
90 
52 
33 
29 
24 
20 
100 
87 
46 
30 
25 
20 
30 
100 
85 
42 
26 
21 
12 
On the thirtieth day we find that the moisture in the vertical flume 
has moved but 12 per cent as far as in flume 34 and in flume 42 it has 
moved 21 per cent as far; in flume 39, 26 per cent as far; in flume 
32, 85 per cent as far; and in flume 31, 42 per cent as far. It is 
obvious that the above percentages are comparable to the angles of 
inclination relative to the horizontal. This table brings out even 
more strikingly the effect of gravity in the movement of soil moisture 
by capillarity. 
Table 32 gives the relative distance the moisture had moved in the 
several flumes for different periods of time, based on the distance the 
miosture had moved in 30 days in the respective flumes. 
Table 32. — Capillary movement of moisture at various time*, in percentage of 
the movement in 30 days. 
Flume. 
Number 
of da vs. 
34 
32 
31 
39 
42 
3-i 
Per cent. 
Per cent. 
Per cent. 
Per cent. 
Percent. 
Per cent. 
1 
14 
14 
26 
34 
45 
50 
5 
32 
36 
54 
59 
77 
72 
10 
50 
53 
70 
74 
88 
S3 
15 
65 
68 
81 
83 
92 
90 
20 
79 
79 
87 
90 
96 
93 
30 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
