The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lessons on Soil, by E. J. Russell

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Title: Lessons on Soil

Author: E. J. Russell

Release Date: April 10, 2007 [EBook #21022]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LESSONS ON SOIL ***

Produced by Al Haines

LESSONS ON SOIL

BY

E. J. RUSSELL, D.Sc. (Lond.)

GOLDSMITH COMPANY'S SOIL CHEMIST,
ROTHAMSTED EXPERIMENTAL STATION

Cambridge:

at the University Press

1911

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{v}

PREFACE

The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press propose to issue a Nature
Study Series of which this is the first volume.

We count ourselves fortunate in securing Dr E. J. Russell as author and
Soil as subject. The subject is fundamental, for, just as the soil
lies beneath the plant and animal life we see, so is a knowledge of the
soil necessary for all understanding of flora and fauna. The real
complexity of the apparently simple element "Earth," and the variety of
methods required for exploring it, are typical of the problems which
the _tout ensemble_ of the outdoor world presents to the naturalist.

Dr E. J. Russell has not only acquired a first-rate and first-hand
knowledge of his subject at Wye and at Rothamsted; his own researches
have recently extended our knowledge of the micro-organisms in the soil
and their influence on fertility. Further, what is very much to our
purpose, he has himself had practical experience in teaching at an
elementary school in Wye and at a secondary school in Harpenden.

Just at the present moment, County Councils are trying to push rural
education and to awaken the intelligence of country children by
interesting them in their surroundings. It is, therefore, a favourable
opportunity to offer these pages as a concrete suggestion in model
lessons and object lessons, showing exactly what can be done