The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1913-09-03
SOME ODD FACTS
ABOUT OUR SOIL
The Heat Penetrates Only
Three Feet Down.
SOME WARMER THAN OTHERS
Experiments Have Shown Diff
ference In Temperature
Below Surface.
"COLD" AND WARM SOILS

How far does the heat of the full
summers sun penetrate into the
ground?
Probably not one person in ten
will give an answer that is even APP
proximately correct. Their replies
generally vary from one inch to
many hundreds of feet. Actually,
the distance is about three feet. Be-
yond this depth the temperature OF
the soil does not vary appreciably
from hour to hour, let the midday
be never so hot and the midnight
never so cold At this depth the
mean temperature in the summer is
about 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and in
the winter about SO degrees Fahren-
heit.
And the annual difference? That
is TO say, the depth at which there
is some difference between the sum-
mer temperature and that OF the
winter? Well, at a depth of 60 feet
it is impossible TO measure any
change due to the changing sea-
sons overhead. Go down only 40
feet and it is minute-hardly meas
ureable. But at % feet to 80 feet
il is quite a definite amount.
The surface heat must take a long
while to penetrate downward. In
fact, curiously enough, the change
in temperature of the ground takes
more than six months to reach
the end of it's twenty-foot journey.
Thus. we are faced with the phe
nomenon OF midsummer upon the
surface occurring at the same time
as midwinter % to 80 feet down,
and vice versa.
AS most people are aware, the
temperature increases with the
depth At three feet down the av-
erage annual mean is just short of
A. degrees Fahrenheit, while at % !
feet it is just over a degree more. |
that is, AZ degrees Fahrenheit.
In agricultural districts you will
hear farmers in the same village |
talking about cold" soils and |
warm" soils. This. although it
sounds improbable to those who
have never had anything to do with
the land. is an actual fact.
Everybody knows, from personal
al !
hotter to wear when a hot summers
sun is shining than white ones.
hence the "flannels'' for men and
the white frocks for girls. The rea-
son for this is that black and other
dark colors absorb heat. while white /
and the lighter shades reflect it.
And this applies to soils equally
with cloths.
Those soils which by their ingre-
dents are darker color are liter
ally warmer than their lighter
neighbors.. Peaty soils, some of
which are nearly black. others a
rich dark brown. are the warmest.
bShl-'oioItu CldyS ana tHdlh the
coolest There may be as much as
10 or l6 degrees Fahrenheit be-
tween the temperatures of two soils
lying next each other and upon the
same day. On warm summers
day the temperature of peaty soil
may well be over 81 degrees Fair
enheit, while chalky field of SINH
lar situation in the same district
will not rise above 70 to "A degrees
Fahrenheit.
OF course. the great advantage OF
a warm soil is that the crops upon
II come to maturity so much ear
lier than those upon a cold one.
the man who is cultivat-
ing the former is enabled 10 place
his produce upon the market very
much sooner than his rival. and Of
ten gets an enhanced price ia conse-
Bits.