202 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. VIII, No. 6 
RELATION BETWEEN THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT FAILS TO FREEZE AND 
THE LOWERING OF THE FREEZING POINT 
The amount of water that fails to freeze under the above empirical 
conditions bears a significant relation to the lowering of the freezing 
point. In Table II there are presented the percentage of water that 
fails to freeze and the value of the freezing-point lowering of a few typical 
soils. The depression was obtained by mixing 20 gm. of soil with 4 c. c. 
of water, thus making a ratio of 5 of soil to 1 of water. This ratio is 
exactly the same as that employed in the dilatometer determinations. 
Table II. — Amount of water that fails to freeze in 5 c. c. added to various soils and their 
corresponding lowering of the freezing point 
’ failing 
eeze. 
Added water 
failing to 
freeze. 
Lowering of 
the freezing 
point. 
. c. 
Per cent. 
°C. 
O. I 
2. 0 
0. 009 
•3 
6 . O 
.074 
• 4 
8. O 
. 019 
*5 
10. O 
. 018 
*5 
IO * 0 
. 017 
•5 
IO. O 
. on 
i -7 
34.0 
.138 
2. 0 
40. 0 
, 200 
3-5 
70.0 
* 39 2 
3-5 
70. O 
• 3 12 
3-7 
74.O 
- .440 
3 -o 
60. O 
. 422 
Name of soil. 
Quartz sand. 
Sand. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Sandy loam. 
Silt loam. 
Superior clay....... 
Heavy silt loam.... 
Do. 
Houston black clay 
An examination of the data of Table II reveals at once the significant 
fact that there is an exceedingly close relation between the amount of 
water that fails to freeze in the various soils and the degree of their 
freezing-point lowering. Those soils, for instance, which show the 
greatest lowering of the freezing point allowed the smallest percentage 
of water added to freeze, while those soils which indicate the smallest 
freezing-point depression permitted the largest percentage of water 
added to freeze. 
The fact that not all of the added water freezes and the remarkable 
correlation between the percentage of unfrozen water and the lowering 
of the freezing point bear out the hypothesis proposed in former publi¬ 
cations (2) that the abnormally high depression of soils at the low mois¬ 
ture content, or the abnormally great increase of the depression with 
the decrease in moisture content, is due to the ability of soils to cause 
water to become inactive or unfree and thus be removed from the field 
of action so far as the freezing-point lowering is concerned. 
