156 
ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 
Exercise 2 
Object: To demonstrate how water deposits its load. 
Materials: Fruit jars, soil and subsoil samples collected in 
Exercise 1, two small vessels holding one gallon each. 
Procedure: Pour all the soil samples collected in Exercise 1 
together and mix them thoroughly. This will give you a uniform 
sample of soil. In similar manner mix the different subsoils 
together. 
2. Put a small amount of soil in one quart jar and the same 
amount of subsoil in another. Cover and shake the jars vigor¬ 
ously. Set aside and allow them to settle for several days. 
Results: What size particles does the water deposit after 
shaking? Why do we always find large boulders at the beginning 
of a stream? Tell why water deposits its load in layers. Which 
contains the greater amount of clay, soil or subsoil? 
Exercise 3 
Object: To show how moisture rises in soils. 
Materials: Three lamp chimneys, pieces of cloth large enough 
to tie over the ends of the chimneys, string, a vessel to stand the 
chimneys in, and enough dry sand, clay, and leaf mold which has 
been screened through a piece of gravel screen, to fill each chim¬ 
ney. 
Procedure: Tie the cloth on the base of each chimney, fill each 
with a different sample of soil and set them in the shallow vessel 
prepared to hold them. (Fig. 116.) 
Results: In which soil does the water rise most rapidly? Give 
reasons for your answer. 
Exercise 4 
Object: To demonstrate that organic matter gives color to soil. 
Material: An old shovel, a place for burning the soil, and a 
sample of good loam soil. 
Procedure: Burn a small sample of the soil collected in Exer¬ 
cise 1 for several hours. 
Results: Compare the burned soil with some of the original 
material. (Note: this exercise may be worked out by some of the 
older boys at home and the material returned to the school for 
study in class.) 
