The Soil Beneath our Feet

Soil, like faith, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It is the starting point for all the living things that inhabit the earth. The flowers, fruits and vegetables that grow in the garden, the trees that tower in the woods and forests, and the grains and grasses that flourish in the fields, as well as animals that consume them – all owe their existence to the soil. And man himself, by way of the food he eats, is a product of the soil, and to the soil his body will be returned.

What is soil? In the largest part, soil is what is left of the rocks that originally covered the face of the earth after the winds and rains and the heat and cold of the centuries had broken them to pieces, and the water that fell as rain had dissolved and carried them away, largely out to sea.

But soil is more than a residue of rocks. It contains the remains of many generations of plants and animals that have lived on the earth. On and within a soil are the myriads of living things that use the soil as their abode. These are a part of the soil.

Considered as an entity in itself, the soil has certain readily apparent features, such as its color, the sizes, shapes, and arrangements of its component particles, and its internal air and water relationships.

The vegetation growing on any given area of soil in its virgin state provides a clue not only to the nature of the climate but to the nature of the underlying soil as well. The climate may vary all the way from that of the desert to that of the tropical jungles. And the vegetation, likewise, may vary all the way from the cactus of the arid regions and the short grasses of the semiarid regions to the tall tress of the high-rainfall regions, with the tall grasses and shrubs in between.

This means that soil must be considered in relation to its environment. Soil, climate and vegetation are so closely identified with each other that if one knows the facts about any two of these he can deduce most of the facts about the third. In other words, if one knows the nature of the soil and climate, he can predict quite accurately the nature of the natural vegetation. If he knows the nature of the soil and the vegetation, he can predict the nature of the climate. And if he knows the nature of the climate and vegetation, he can predict the nature of the soil.

Russian scientists were responsible for the development of the first systematic scheme for grouping soils on the basis of climatic and vegetative factors. If one takes the train from Odessa to Moscow, whether by way of Kiev to Krakow, he will travel over more than one thousand miles of to rolling plains that are covered with deep black soil, which the Russians named chernozem, meaning “black earth”. This is the great wheat belt of the Ukraine. A peculiar fact about this deep black soil is the whitish layer of a limestonelike deposit that is found in the subsoil.

The same kind of deep black soil are found in a number of other regions over the earth where climatic conditions are essentially the same as those in the Ukraine. In the United States they, and their close relatives, cover an extensive area from North Dakota Southward to the Rio Grande and eastward across Illinois and into Indiana. Other large areas of these black soils are found in Southern Canada, Northern Argentina, central Rumania and South Africa.

North of the Ukraine in Russia is another large area of quite different soil. The Russians named these soils podzols, meaning “ashes”. The explanations for this name lies in a highly bleached grayish-white layer that is found just below the fertile layer of topsoil.

These gray to gray-brown soils are dominant throughout central Europe. In North America they extend Southword from eastern Canada to the cotton belt and from Minnesota eastward to Nova Scotia. Similar soils are found in the temperature zones of South America.

Colors of soils vary from the deep reds of the tropics, the yellow-reds of the semitropical regions, and the gray-browns of the warmer portions of the humid temperature zones to the grays of the cooler, moister regions farther north. Going from the more humid to the drier temperature climates, the gray-brown soils of the once forested areas are displaced by the black-brown soils of the prairies and plains, the regions, and the gray-red soils of the deserts. Under conditions of poor drainage, as in a wet subsoil or under a manure heap, blue-green and mottled colors will be noted. Along the seashore the white sands are found in abundance.

The sizes of soil particles vary from coarse sands, the grains of which are readily apparent to the eye, to the very fine clays that, when broken down into their individual units, can be seen only with a microscope. In between are the fine sands and the intermediate sized silt particles. Every soil is made up particles of a wide range of sizes. One or another of these sizes may be predominant in any given soil, but most soils contain particles of all sizes between the coarsest sands and the finest clays.

In the tropics, where rainfall is heavy and the natural cover is an almost impenetrable forest, one is impressed by the deep red colour of the soil. This color has led to the soil’s being named latosol, a word derived from the Latin “later”, meaning “brick”.

1. According to the text what remains does soil contain?

a) winds

b) plants and Animals

c) rains

d) minerals

2. The word soil is closest in meaning to:

a) mineral

b) plant

c) earth

d) air

3. According to the text who was responsible for the development of the first systematic scheme for grouping soils on the basis of climatic and vegetative factors?

a) American scientists

b) British scientists

c) German scientists

d) Russian scientists

4. According to the text in relation to what must soil be considered?

a) to its place

b) to its environment

c) to its nature

d) to its development

5. According to the text what can one predict quite accurately if he knows the nature of the soil and climate?

a) the nature of deposits

b) the nature of grasses

c) the nature of natural vegetation

d) the nature of shrubs

6. According to the text how did the Russians name deep black soil?

a) clay

b) chalk

c) ashes

d) chernozem (black earth)

7. According to the text in what country is there a great wheat belt?

a) Belarus

b) The Ukraine

c) Poland

d) Russia

8. According to text where is another large area of quite different soil?

a) South of the Ukraine

b) North of the Ukraine in Russia

c) in Sweden

d) in Canada

9. According to the text where are gray to gray-brown soils dominant?

a) throughout North Europe

b) throughout Canada

c) throughout Central Europe

d) throughout South America

10. According to the text where are white sands found in abundance?

a) along the rivers

b) along the lakes

c) along the oceans

d) along the seashore