1.Origin and Formation of Soils.
Introduction.
ChapterI.Physical Processes of Soil Formation.
“II.Chemical Processes of Soil Formation.
“III.Chief Soil-forming Minerals.
“IV.The Various Rocks as Soil-Formers.
“V.Minor Mineral Ingredients of Soils. Mineral
Fertilizers. Minerals Injurious to Agriculture.
2.Physics of Soils.
ChapterVI.Physical Composition of Soils.
“VII.Density, Pore Space, and Volume-Weight of Soils.
“VIII.Soil and Subsoil; Causes and Processes of
Differentiation; Humus.
“IX.Soil and Subsoil; Organisms Influencing
Soil-Conditions. Bacteria.
“X.Soil and Subsoil in their Relations to Vegetation.
“XI.Water of Soils; Hygroscopic and Capillary Moisture.
“XII.Water of Soils; Surface, Hydrostatic, and Ground
water; Percolation.
“XIII.Water of Soils; Conservation and Regulation of
Soil Moisture. Irrigation.
“XIV.Absorption by Soils of Solids from Solutions.
Absorption of Gases. The Air of Soils.
“XV.Colors of Soils.
“XVI.Climate.
“XVII.Relations of Soils and Plant-Growth to Heat.
3.Chemistry of Soils.
ChapterXVIII.Physico-Chemical Investigation of Soils in
Relation to Crop Production.
“XIX.Analysis of Virgin Soils by Extraction with
Strong Acids, and its Interpretation.
“XX.Soils of Arid and Humid Regions.
“XXI.Soils of Arid and Humid Regions continued.
“XXII.Alkali Soils, their Nature and Composition.
“XXIII.Utilization and Reclamation of Alkali Lands.
4.Soils and Native Vegetation.
Chapter XXIV.Recognition of the Character of Soils from their
Native Vegetation. Mississippi.
“XXV.Recognition of the Character of Soils from their
Native Vegetation. United States at large, Europe.
“XXVI.Vegetation of Saline and Alkali Lands.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Preface [xvii]

Introduction, [xxiii].—Definition of Soils, [xxiii].—Elements Constituting the Earth’s Crust, [xxiii].—Average Quantitative Composition of the Earth’s Crust, [xxiii].—Clarke’s Table, [xxiv].—Oxids Constitute Earth’s Crust, [xxiv].—Elements Important to Agriculture; Table, [xxv].—The Volatile Part of Plants, [xxvi].

CHAPTER I.

Agencies of Soil Formation, [1].—[1]. Physical Agencies, [1].—Effects of Heat and Cold on Rocks, [1].—Unequal Expansion of Crystals, [2].—Cleavage of Rocks, [3].—Effects of Freezing Water, [3].—Glaciers; Figure, [3].—Glacier Flour and Mud, [4].—“Green” and “White” Rivers, [4].—Moraines, [5].—Action of Flowing Water, [5].—Enormous Result of Corrasion and Denudation, [6].—Effects of Winds, [8].—Dunes, [8].—Sand and Dust Storms in Deserts, Continental Plateaus and Plains, [8].—Loess of China, [9].—Migration of Gobi Lakes, [9].—Classification of Soils, [10].—Their Physical Constituents, [10].—Sedentary or Residual Soils, [11].—Colluvial Soils, [12].—Alluvial Soils. Diagram, [12].—Character of these Soil Classes, [13].—Richness of Flood-plain and Delta Lands, [14].—Lowering of the Land Surface by Soil Formation, [15].

CHAPTER II.

Chemical Processes of Soil Formation, [16].—[2]. Chemical Disintegrations or Decomposition, [16].—Ingredients of the Atmosphere, [16].—Effects of Water; of Carbonic Acid, [17].—Carbonated water a universal solvent, [17].—Ammonic carbonate, effect on silicates, [18].—Action of oxygen; on ferrous compounds, [18].—Action of Plants and their Remnants, [19].—A. Mechanical; Force of Root Penetration, [19].—B. Chemical; Action of Root Secretions, [19].—Bacterial Action, [20].—Humification, [20].—Causes Influencing Chemical Action and Decomposition, [21].—Heat and Moisture, [21].—Influence of Rainfall on Soil-Formation, [22].—Leaching of the Land, [22].—Residual Soils, [22].—Drain Waters; River Waters. Tables of Solid Contents, [22].—Amount of Dissolved Matters Carried into the Sea; Amount of Sediment, [24].—Sea Water, Composition of; Waters of Landlocked Lakes, [25].—Results of Insufficient Rainfall; Alkali Lands, [28].

CHAPTER III.

Rock-and Soil-Forming Minerals, [29].—Quartz, quartzite, jasper, hornstone, flint, [29].—Solubility of silica in water; absorption by plants, [30].—Silicate Minerals, [31].—Feldspars, their Kaolinization, [31].—Formation of Clays, [33].—Hornblende or Amphibole, Pyroxene or Augite, [33].—Their Weathering and its Products, [33].—Mica, Muscovite and Biotite, [35].—Hydromica, Chlorite, [35].—Talc and Serpentine; “Soapstone”, [36]. The Zeolites; Exchange of Bases in Solutions, [36].—Importance in Soils, in Rocks, [38].—Calcite, Marble, Limestones; their Origin, [39].—Impure Limestones as Soil-Formers, [40].—Caves, Sinkholes, Stalactites, Tufa, [41].—Dolomite; Magnesian Limestones as Soil-Formers, [42].—Selenite, Gypsum, Land Plaster; Agricultural Uses, [42].—Iron Spar, Limonite, Hematite, Magnetite, [44].—Reduction of Ferric Hydrate in Ill-drained Soils, [45].