Clays may also have a floury feeling to them, indicating silt content, but clay soil lacks the gritty sand component found in loams. If you have difficulty determining your soil type by this method, dig into your soil when it is dry. A sandy soil will seldom exhibit clods. Any clods that do form will crumble easily. A loamy soil will have clods that can be sliced cleanly with a shovel.
Clay soils tend to form hard, persistent clods.
Rather than slicing through them, a shovel will get stuck or will shatter the clod into many hard, little blocks of soil. If you are still in doubt, take a soil sample to your local county extension agent or soils lab for analysis. If you have a sand or clay soil and wish to improve it, there is no better method than to add large quantities of organic matter. Compost and dead leaves are excellent. Do not use sawdust, wood chips, or similar materials.