392 
The Ohio Naturalist. 
[Vol. XII, No. 1 
In the soil studies, two samples were taken from the same- 
place and the same depth at the same time in order that each 
might serve as a check upon the other. In order to compare soil 
moisture for different locations, determinations were made of soil 
taken from both places on the same day and at about the same 
depth. In order to decrease the chances of error, a considerable 
amount of soil was taken in each sample. The drying process 
was continued until several weighings made at intervals of four 
or five hours, gave exactly the same results. In no case was the 
temperature allowed to rise to 100° C. The instruments used 
were a shovel, a hoe, a meter rule, a number of quart tin cans, 
and an oven. The geotome was not used because the amount or 
soil taken for each sample made this instrument impracticable. 
The location of a station once decided upon, all the soil was 
quickly removed to the depth at which the two samples were to 
be taken. If any loose soil rolled into the excavation before the 
samples were secured, it was carefully removed, so that the 
samples would be entirely of the soil at the depth decided upon. 
The excavations were made large enough so that a surface of 
about two square feet would be exposed. Then a layer of soil 
not exceeding one inch in depth was loosened carefully so as not 
to get any soil from a higher level mixed with it, put into the cans, 
and the lids tightly sealed. The cans were taken to the labora- 
tory, where they were weighed. The lids were then removed 
and the drying process begun. In some instances the drying 
extended over a period of four days, the cans being kept where 
they would be undisturbed and at a temperature below 100° C. 
so that no humus would be burned. After the drying was com- 
pleted, the cans were weighed again and the percentage of moisture 
for both moist and dry soil calculated. For instance in the first 
sample in the table (853 — 787.61) -s- (853 — 125.05) gives the 
proportion of moisture relative to the weight of the moist soil. 
This reduced to per cent gives 8.98. For getting the per cent dry 
soil weight for the first sample we used (853 — 787.61) +787. 61 — 
125.05). The five stations were selected mainly to represent 
different types of soil, as the red clay of station number one, the 
mixture of red and white clay of station number 2, the loam and 
white clay of station number 3 and the loam of station number 4. 
Stations numbers 1 and 2 were in the open and heavily sodded. 
A large elm stood 16 feet from the first station. There were no 
trees within 100 feet of the second station. Station 3 was among 
apple trees planted in April of the same year. A poor crop of 
oats had been harvested; and the ground had been seeded to 
clover and timothy, which failed because of drought. The 
ground was hard and dry at the surface, and had not been stirred 
since sowing the grain in April. Station 4 was a rich, black loam 
that had been carefully worked all summer, up to the time when 
