The Nature and Properties of Soils: A College Text of Edaphology (Classic Reprint)

Due to the action of climatic agencies the outer solid portions of the earth readily pass into a loose and disintegrated condition. This layer, although superficial and insignificant in comparison to the bulk of the earth, has performed and is still performing a marvelous function. Life on the earth has been slowly but steadily developing and changing until we see about us the forms that characterize our age. This evolution has depended to no small degree on this superficial layer of decomposed rock with its admixture of decaying organic matter which together form the soil. In this medium many and varied organisms have lived and from it have drawn, wholly or in part, their sustenance, leaving as a recompense a contribution of organic debris, which in its turn has given rise to reactions of almost unbelievable complexity. Like the life which it has sustained and nourished, the soil has been changing and evolving. The soil of today is not the soil of yesterday nor will it be the soil of tomorrow. It is never still.
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

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