Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-05-16

and never will. Some soils are iW ther
more naturally prone to- diseases, just
as some families and even races show
inherLed lack of vitality and hence
are subject to tuberculosis, cancer
and various other diseases.
One Of the factors which have been
recognized in such study as the one
that MIR. Coffey is making to satisfy
the requirements of the department
of graduate work of the George Wash
ington university is that of the me,
chanical composition of the soil. The
term means essentially the relative
cOarSness or fitness of the mineral
particles that are the basis of all
soil. The ordinary scheme of classi-
tication runs from gravel through
sands, sandy loans, loans, and silt
loans to clays. If the particles of
specimen of earth are prevailingly
cOrse the soil is apt to have one val
ne; if they are for the most part fine
quite another value There is a great
deal of var alton among even sCfen-
fists in the use of these terms and it
Is Mr.. COffeys purpose to try and Sc
cure more accurate and uniform
usage so the work of different inves-
tfgators will be more comparable
Some scientists think that this ques-
tion Of mechanical composition is the
most important of all Even those
who hold less extreme view are
agreed that it is certainly very vital
lie reasons for the differences of
soils as regards size of particles in
wolves the whole fascinating geologic
al story of the North American CONT
of the Atlantic from New York City to
the southern tip Of Florida are I'M
mense tracts of sandy soil which tell
to the geOlogist a tale OF the u9Waru
pushing Of the ocean bed in compare
lively recent times, with the result
of exposing a great shelf 200 miles
wide at its greatest extent in North
carolina. In this district, where SO
much of the garden truck OF the
whole country is raised, the soils are
composed largely Of sand washed
down by rivers from the Appalachian
mountains ana PIEDMONT Plateaus to
the west.
Further back in the Piedmont belt
are the soils which are heavier and
more consistent, being formed direct
ly from the nderlying rocks. Behind
this belt are the mountain sides, very
ancient and grizzled aristocrats, ac-
cording to the geological book A
wearing existence they have led, for
countless ages. Every drop of rain
that falls is charged with minute
quantities of acid that eats into the
mountain rocks and keeps the pro
cesses Of the formation of new mater
ial alive. The frosts, too, OF the winter
split boulders and lodges. The roots
of trees and plants on the steep
slopes contribute their quota Of chem
lcals that help to dissolve the stone
beneath, and also break it up by me
chanical action.
Considering the differences among
rocks Of only one section, to say no
thing of lie differences in the soils
due to differences in the processes of
formation, it is not strange the scien-
fist who undertakes to classify soils
finds an almost depressingly large
list of varieties or dirt awaiting his
disposition. The ice alone has made
mess enough to keep the experts
classifying for a generation or two.
Through the northern part Of the
country, in very recent times geologic
ally, the creeping glaciers from the
polar regions scratched off the tops
Of hills and mountains and deposited
On the outer rim Of their field of OPP
Grafton the products of their incess-
ant grinding, boulders borne for hun
dreds Of miles, gravel hills higher
than cuhrch steeple, and immense
scatterings Of the fine detritus known
TO biologists as 'Ioess.'' Again every
where through the far west, noun
tains which are very young as com
pared with those patriarchs, the Ap-
palacnians, have already begun to dis
tntergrate and to fill valleys and can
yons with varieties of what look to
the laymen like common garden dirt,
but which are cherished by the scien
tific men as peculiarly interesting.