of
water clings to its surface. This is adhesion. The more surface area
there is, the greater the amount of moisture that can be held by
adhesion. If we crushed that stone into dust, we would greatly
increase the amount of water that could adhere to the original
material. Clay particles, it should be noted, are so small that
clay's ability to hold water is not as great as its mathematically
computed surface area would indicate.

Surface Area of One Gram of Soil Particles

Particle type Diameter of Number of
particles particles Surface area
in mm per gm in sq. cm.

Very coarse sand 2.00-1.00 90 11
Coarse sand 1.00-0.50 720 23
Medium sand 0.50-0.25 5,700 45
Fine sand 0.25-0.10 46,000 91
Very fine sand 0.10-0.05 772,000 227
Silt 0.05-0.002 5,776,000 454
Clay Below 0.002 90,260,853,000 8,000,000

Source: Foth, Henry D., _Fundamentals of Soil Science,_ 8th ed.
(New York: John Wylie & Sons, 1990).

This direct relationship between particle size, surface area, and
water-holding capacity is so essential to understanding plant growth
that the surface areas presented by various sizes of soil particles
have been calculated. Soils are not composed of a single size of
particle. If the mix is primarily sand, we call it a sandy soil. If
the mix is primarily clay, we call it a clay soil. If the soil is a
relatively equal mix of all three, containing no more than 35
percent clay, we call it a loam.

Available Moisture (inches of water per foot of soil)

Soil Texture Average Amount

Very coarse sand 0.5
Coarse sand 0.7
Sandy 1.0
Sandy loam 1.4
Loam 2.0
Clay loam 2.3
Silty clay 2.5
Clay 2.7

Source: _Fundamentals of Soil Science_.

Adhering water films can vary greatly in thickness. But if the water
molecules adhering to a soil particle become too thick, the force of
adhesion becomes too weak to resist the force of gravity, and some
water flows deeper into the soil. When water films are relatively
thick the soil feels wet and plant roots can easily absorb moisture.
"Field capacity