decay of organic matter contained in the soil."

"I am very familiar with the literature of the whole subject of soil
fertility," replied the Chemist, "and our theories are being
accepted everywhere. I have just returned from a lecture tour
extending from Florida to Michigan, and our ideas and methods are
being very generally adopted, not only in this country but also in
Europe."

"The Chief of the Bureau very kindly permitted me to look over the
maps and reports relating to the soils of Maryland and Virginia,"
said Percy, "but in this literature I found no data as to the amount
of plant food contained in the various soil types that have been
found in the surveys. May I ask if the Bureau has made any analyses
to ascertain the total amounts of the different essential plant food
elements contained in these different soils?"

"No," the Chemist replied, "a chemical analysis gives practically no
information concerning the fertility of the soil. We have made no
ultimate analyses of soils, although we have used the same methods
of analysis in a study of the partial composition of the soil
separates, or particles of different grades, such as the sand, the
silt, and the clay."

"And have you also determined the percentages of sand, silt, and
clay in the soils themselves?"

"Oh, yes, the physical composition of the soil is a matter of very
great importance, and this is always determined and reported for
every soil. Did you not see that in the Reports you examined this