Productive farming . is clay it iscalled a heavy clay loam. Soils between these two extremesare called loams or medium loams. When gravel or coarsesand and lime are present in considerable amounts, we havegravelly or limy loam. Loam soil is the best for most farmpurposes. Sand, clay, and humus are improved as theybecome mixed together. Medium loams are the best soils for farming if there isa large amount of humus present. The farmer says, they KINDS OF SOILS—THEIR CHARACTERISTICS 65 work up well. They are usually not too wet nor too do not bake and crack so badly as the heavy clay soi
Productive farming . is clay it iscalled a heavy clay loam. Soils between these two extremesare called loams or medium loams. When gravel or coarsesand and lime are present in considerable amounts, we havegravelly or limy loam. Loam soil is the best for most farmpurposes. Sand, clay, and humus are improved as theybecome mixed together. Medium loams are the best soils for farming if there isa large amount of humus present. The farmer says, they KINDS OF SOILS—THEIR CHARACTERISTICS 65 work up well. They are usually not too wet nor too do not bake and crack so badly as the heavy clay soilsdo. Clods are less likely to iorm. They hold moisture betterthan light sandy soils. Corn, cotton, potatoes, fruits, vege-tables, grains, and grasses all do well on the medium of Soil.—The texture of soil is determined by thesize and shape of the particles of which it is composed andthe way in which these particles are grouped in kernels orcrumbs or larger masses. The texture determines to a large. i \^ •: 1. tfi/ ^,V ?> , -II*» . i m Jr-v 1 i,-.*- .V ii^V :^ t) Fig. 31.—Soils of different texture. The coarse or open texture may be improvedby tillage and by packing with roller or planker. extent the agricultural value of soil (Fig. 31). It is a fac-tor to consider when studying the composition of soil, as itdetermines largely the capacity of soil to retain such foods asmay become available for plants. Soil such as sand is open- in texture and freely admitswater, which quickly passes downward, carrying soil fertil-ity with it. Open soil is more likely to lose its plant foodthan a soil that is fairly close in texture. Clay loams, in re-taining water, also retain their plant-food better. We callthem close in texture. An open texture also allows too rapiddecay of vegetable matter. On the other hand, a very com-pact soil such as clay is undesirable. When there is rain itpuddles, and neither air nor water can enter and circulate. 56 PRODUCTIVE FARMING When
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