New-York tribune., 1921-05-08
Soil To Be Right Must
Hare Several Conponents
This Can BE Determined by Interesting and
Simple Test; Depth of Color in Natural
Plants Indicates Correctly Quality of Ground

the ingredients prcdominates it gives
its name TO the loam--viz, sand loam
or clay loan.
A sandy soil, by adding hunius, can
be converted into sandy loans snd
heavy clay SOIL by adding sand, pez-
leaf mold, and often lime is necessary.
can be converted into clayey loam
Easy Soil Analysis
Aside from the feel of soil and its
appearance there are mechanical tests
which are not so difficult to apply
First get fair sample of the soil from
several different places-say quart
Weigh this and put down the weight
Next put the soil in pan at the back
Of the stove and let it stand until
thoroughly dry, but it must not be al
lowed to burn. Weigh again and the
difference between this and the first
weight is the amount of water the soil
holds.
Now put it in hot oven for three
or four hours; then weigh again. The
humus will have burned and the differ
ence between the second and third
weights gives the amount of humus.
Now in your pan is clay, sand and
silt. Put this soil in wide-mouthed
glass bottle or jar, two-quart jar
will do, the larger the better. Fill it
with water and then shake it violently
Then set it down on table and OBJ
serve.
The sand or gravel, being heaviest,
Will settle first; next, the silt: while
the clay will remain in the water for
hours. After day or so it will be
seen that there are no, sharp divisions.
but yet the different elements are sep
arated definitely enough to give fair
ly good idea of the proportions. You
can then work and treat your soil ac-
eordingly to make it well balanced.
1t is hardly ever necessary to make
complete chemical and mechanical
analysis of soil, unless one knows for
certain that its failure TO carry the de-
sired crop is entirely due to the
structure or chemical constituents and
not to position or environment or the
climate conditions ruling in the dis
trict
If soil is known to be barren il is
necessary to make close analysis OF
it to find out why it is barren. IL,
however, the soil is not barren, but
does not carry crop well or is under
suspicion, it is we'll TO test for nitro
gen, phosphoric acid, potash and lime.
but unnecessary to test for iron, mag
nesia. sulphuric acid, silica, soda or
chlorine, because the latter are so gem
orally present that they can be almost
ignored.
It is almost always better to work
from description and an examination
Of samples of soil in prescribing than
from the closest and cleverest analy-
sis, unless the soil is known TO be
barren.
Soil Must BE Representative
The analysis of soil can only be ap-
proximately true, for these reasons:
II the sample is taken from one
place and represents several acres. it
may be absolutely misleading. The
presence Of leguminous plant grow
ing on the spot, the stalling of beast
or the presence of a piece of refuse.
might throw the analysis right out of
gear.
If the area to be analyzed is plotted
and samples carefully taken from each
plot, the whole mixed and a small por-
ton anatyzed, the result would be sub
stantlally correct, but in all probab!-
/ ity if portions Of the one sample were
| sent to different chemists for analysis
each one would give a slightly different
result.
To sum up. science in regard to agri
culture is good servant, but cruel
master, or, in othar words, crop can
not be grown by thumb and rule, and
unless rainfall, temperature, the hu-
midity Of the air, the quality of the
soil, its conditions, drainage, power
to conserve water and all such factors
are taken into account, and are more
or less favorable, soil may be barren,
although it may be proved by analysis
to be rich and fertile.
The analysis of poor soil placed
against a good soil is pretty confusing
to the ordinary man and so hopelessly
unintelligible to the majority that they
rarely exist except in textbooks.