The Opelousas courier., 1905-06-17
ARluT SOIL

The investigation of the physical
characteristics of soils deals chiefly
with the classification of soils accord
ing to the amounts of particles OF "a
rious sizes which Constitute the soil.
In order to secure uniformity OF clas-
sification and description a eonVcn-
tional table of sizes has been adopted
by the Bureau of Soils, United States
Department of Agriculture, and the
soils are described in the terms at
this table. Thus oil material above
two millenetres (about 1-12 OF an
inch) are classed as gravel and stone;
from one millimetre to one-half MILL
metre, or about the size OF clover
seed, the grains are called coarse
sand; from one half to one-quarter
millimetre the esains are classed as
medium sand; ffoneCpne-auarter TO
one-tenth millimetra Us fine sand;
from onetenth to five o~ne-hundredth
millimetre as very fine sand Sc TAR
all grains are readily distinguishable
by the eye as separate fragments OF
various minerals, and a little knoWl-
edge OF the appearance of different
minerals enables n to identity the
grains as belonging to n or more
of a half dozen common rock and soil
forming minerals. The next two
grades, silt (5-100 to 5-1000l and clay
(smaller than $1,000 millimetre) are
impalpable powders when dry, and
their mineral composition a be
made u only under a high power
microscope by q person skilled in the
recognition of minerals in small frag-
ments.
Pure silt when moist is not gritty,
like the different grades of sand, or
plastic and coherent, like the ex-
tremely minute particles of clay
The various grades ef sand usually
make up the skeleton or framework
of the majority of soils. They render
a soil more or less open or porous,
depending both on the size OF the
sand grains and their relative proper
tions in the total mass. The silt rem
aers a soil solid and somewhat COM
pact making it particularly adhesive
even when wet. The clay, il present
in proportions above 10 to Is per cent
lenders a soil waxy and adhesive
when wet and either granular ana
cloddy when dry or else solid and
fmpervious.
The graduation of soils according to
the size of the component grains is
a classification according to the sell
texture. 1t is the common classlnca-
ton OF the practical farmer and the
mechanical analysis, and standard
sizes of grains are merely used IN
order that the terms used In one To-
cality may be more widely inteliigl-
BILE. Thus soil made up OF large
grains, possessing an open, porous
structure, draining freely and work
ing easily, is, by common a~cceptaeion'
a sand. But one locality might con-
cider a given sand as coarse, Whlie IN
a different locality it would be estl-
mated as only medium. Similarly
soils locally known al clays frequent
ly find their place in a wider ciassi-
fication as clay loans or heavy loans.
A county Astounding in clay soil might
give rise to a local classification OF
lighter lands as sands, when they ac-
tually dsssTse to be called sandy
loans.
The physical properties OF soils de-
pend not only on tine texture OF the
soil, the size of the component grams
but also upon the structure OF the
soil-that is, the arrangement OF the
soil particles in space, the title, as it
is frequently called. Thus a clay soil
may be graduated and loamT, easy
to till, we'll drained and well aired,
or it may be SO puddled and mixed
that it forms a Shiny, plastic mass
when wet and dries to a consistency
OF concrete. In both cases the me-
chanical analysis might show almost
identical texture, but mere lnspec-
ton would show a vast difference In
the arrangement of soil grains, the
structure. The first soil would be
seen to consist of a lot of clay peb-
bles or grains, a made up OF thou
sands Of much more minute indivi-
dual grains. Each compound grain IS
in itself minutely porous; while be-
tween it and its surrounding granules
large pore spaces. exist. The second
soil Is made up OF a mass OF minute
grains so evenly distributed hat no
large pore spaces intervene, and only
the most minute openings exist in the
soil. The. first soil is in good condi-
ton, suited to crop production. easy
to till, productive. The second is
quite often barren and unproductiVe.
With the same chemical composition
and the same texture, but with such
a difference in structure, the first oil
forms q fertile, productive field; the
second forms a barren waste fit only
to support weeds or, to furnish clay
for Neutrality-suspicious. Farmer.
GET THE CALF STARTED RIGHT.
1t is worth while to get the calf
started right. Everything depends
upon it, 50 it will not lose a day in
gaining.
/ would select a high grade Short
horn OF Hereford calf, bred from a
registered bull of the beef type. Feed
the COW corn and cob meal with bran
mixed, and a little oil meal, Yith all
the clover hay the COW wants. The
cow should he MIXED while the calf